Book Review - The Marriage Break

For years I read romance books. Not the cheesy kind with half-naked men or ladies with half-exposed breasts spilling out of their bodice on the cover, but respected romance books by Lesley Pearce, Erica James, Penny Vincenzi, etc.

Then at some point, I got fed up with the love scene. It was always the same … boy meets girl, boy and girl struggle for a while, love conquers all and they live happily ever after.

So, I went looking for something else and came across authors such as James Patterson, John Grisham, and Tom Clancy. I was on cloud nine, no more love stories for me, give me a good murder any day.

But then disaster struck. I found myself without anything to read, the local bookshop only had a very limited selection of books and against my better judgment I walked out with 'The Marriage Break' by Claudia Carroll.

By the time I had read chapter three, I was ready to toss this book in Lake Ontario, but since I had nothing else to read, I was stuck with it.

The story

Meet Annie, the main character. A bigger pushover you'll never find. Not only is she a doormat for her husband, she also lets her mother-in-law, her sister-in-law, a friend, and everyone else walk all over her. From morning 'till night she's at everyone's beck and call. She hates her mother-in-law, her sister-in-law is the type who sleeps until noon, moves to the sofa to watch TV all day, and visits a friend in the evening. Annie penny-pinches where she can, while her husband dolls out money to everyone who asks him.

Dan, the husband, is the local veterinarian. A man who has absolutely no time for his young wife. He takes off in the morning and comes back well after the moon and the stars are out. Annie 'talks' to him via post-it notes on the fridge because he never has time for her. Every appointment/date she makes with him gets broken. Whether it's a Christmas dinner or a romantic date, he always lets her down.

When Annie gets offered the leading part in a play in Dublin she grabs it with both hands. She's elated. She's finally out of the small town that she hates and away from everyone who uses her as a maid, a cook, and a shopper.

The play is a hit and plans are made to move for a year to Broadway. Annie makes plans to spend one last night with her husband, pulling out all the stops to turn this into a memorable evening, but once again, her dear husband has no time for her.

He does agree to take her to the airport, but somewhere on the congested highway, he gets a call from a hypochondriac farmer who will go to any lengths to get attention. So dear Dan rushes off to the farmer while Annie can make her own way to the airport.

In New York, Annie is having the time of her life. She and the rest of the cast are housed in a luxury apartment, the play is a hit, and Annie enjoys all the city has to offer.

The director of the show is smitten with Annie. He shows her the sights of New York, takes her shopping, introduces her to the finest restaurants the city has to offer and treats her like a queen. She gives him the cold shoulder.

At every opportunity, Claudia Carroll mentions Jack's ice-cold hands. Not once, not twice, but at least 20 times. While it's perfectly normal to have cold hands in winter, if one has ice-cold hands all the time, all year round, this could be an indication of a disease such as anemia, Buerger's disease, diabetes, lupus, Raynaud's disease or scleroderma. This is something Claudia Carroll clearly didn't take into account.

Fast forward a few months and the play and some of its actors are nominated for Tony awards. By now the readers of 'The Marriage Break' have found out that one of the supporting actresses, Liz Shields, is an alcoholic and a cokehead.

On the night of the Tony's the cast makes its way to Radio City Music Hall all glammed up for the big night. Family members have joined the cast for moral support and to (possibly) celebrate a win. The only one absent is … (you guessed it) dear Dan. Even though Dan has two veterinary assistants, a Tony nomination for his wife can't make him join his wife on the biggest night of her life.

Shields wins a Tony for her performance and while accepting her award she makes a fool of herself by insulting the show, her director and the rest of the cast. She tells the audience she has nobody to thank but herself and the cast can !@#$ off. After a short stay in a rehab center, everyone forgives her though because (sarcastic) … oh shame, she wasn't herself, she was under the influence of cocaine. The insulted director even lets her back in the play.

When she blows her lines on stage and once again makes a complete fool of herself, she is fired and promptly overdoses on coke. The cast once again falls over themselves in pitying her because (sarcastic) the poor dear didn't know what she was doing.

Meanwhile, in Ireland, Dan accompanies Lisa (a friend) and her two kids to EuroDisney. The man who didn't have time for his wife does have time for a freeloading bitch and her offspring.

Fast forward another few months and Dan shows up in New York when he hears from his sister that Annie has had a bit of a fling with Jack. The couple sorts out their troubles and Dan returns home.

The story concludes where Dan is offered a job in Dublin and as such he and Annie can escape the small town, the annoying family, etc.

Annie is pleased as punch with this development and tells Dan that she's pregnant.

So much for female empowerment. Annie is a doormat who not only takes everything her husband and extended family throws at her, with a year in a successful show and a Tony nomination, she finally can get the life she always wanted, but no, she throws it all away for the sake of a neglectful husband and a baby.

Is this how Claudia Carroll sees women?

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