Review & Giveaway: The Uncoupling

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer

Publication Date: April 2011
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Genre:
Pages: Hardcover, 288pp
ISBN-13: 9781594487880
ISBN: 159448788X

(Received for review from TLC Tours)

Purchase: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound

Meg Wolitzer on the WEB: Website, Blog, Facebook

Excerpt from The Uncoupling

Synopsis (Book Blurb):

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Ten-Year Nap comes a provocative and dazzlingly witty new novel about female desire.

When the elliptical new drama teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Stellar Plains, New Jersey, chooses for the school play Lysistrata - the Aristophanes comedy where women stop having sex with men in order to stop war - a strange spell seems to be cast over the school. Or, at least over the women. One by one, throughout the high school community, perfectly healthy, normal women and teenage girls turn away from their husbands and boyfriends in the bedroom, for reasons they don't really understand. As the women worry over their loss of passion, and the men become, by turns, unhappy, offended, and above all, confused, both sides are forced to look at their partners, their shared history, and their sexual selves in a new light.

Written with the sly humor and piercing intelligence that readers have come to expect from Meg Wolitzer, The Uncoupling tackles a difficult subject head-on and makes it funny, riveting, and totally fresh - and in the process gives readers the chance to see their own lives through her insightful lens.

Thoughts:

Bestselling author Meg Wolitzer uses her trademark wit and style to bring readers a contemporary novel about the role that sex plays in our lives. This book explores what might happen if suddenly sex were taken out of the game. What would our relationships be based on? Would they survive? Readers will be enthralled by this unusual premise and find themselves captivated by the drama that plays out in this small New Jersey town, when all of the women suddenly stop having sex.

When the new drama teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt High decides to stage a production of the anti-war drama, Lysistrata written by Aristophanes she has no idea how it will effect the people of Stellar Plains, New Jersey. Once rehearsals begin, the school and it's women fall under a very dramatic spell. In Lysistrata the women decided to withhold sex from the men in order to end the Polynesian War, but there seems to be no explanation for what's happening Stellar Plains. None of women want to have sex. There desire is completely gone from young girls to older women. The men are beside themselves unable to understand what's going on, what they've done wrong or how to fix it.

Meg Wolitzer brings the reader a book that is all about sex, or the lack there of. She brings up some really valid points in this book as as each woman and girl in this small New Jersey town is forced to reevaluate their relationships and what they are based on. If sex was out of the equation, would we still be with the same person? Would we be able to maintain the relationships we have? It may take more than love for a relationship to last, but can it survive without sex? These are just a few of the questions that were swirling around in my mind after reading this one. A very interesting premise that will have readers doing scratching their heads and doing some thinking.

I liked the idea of the book and the thoughts that evoked in me. The book had a great hook, it grabbed me from the beginning but I did have a few problems with it as well. The premise was really strong, the author's style of writing was engaging and it was full of potential, but it just didn't seem to get off the ground. The characters were not as well developed as I would have liked. They were a bit one dimensional with the exception of Dory, an English teacher and her husband. I didn't find a lot of depth in the characters. They just didn't come across as real people. I think the author had a great plan, but it just didn't quite translate to the reader.

I liked the way the author seemed to put the entire town under a sort of spell. In which they experienced a collective withdrawal from their partners. When it was all said and done they had no idea what had happened only that their relationships were totally different than before. In the end the men of the town storm the stage during the play performance and demand their desires be met. I liked the dramatic conclusion, I just felt a little let down by the characters. I love Meg Wolitzer's writing, but this one just wasn't my cup of tea. That's not to say that it won't float another readers boat.

I would recommend this one to fans of Meg Wolitzer's and to people who enjoy reading about the relationships between men and women. It's a book about sex, but without the sex scenes. It was definitely interesting and made me think a lot.

The Uncoupling is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 3 out of 5 apples from my book bag! Meg's wit and humor and the great premise for this book, make it an interesting read, though not my favorite by her.





Not one to dally, Meg Wolitzer graduated from Brown University in 1981 - and published her debut novel, Sleepwalking, the following year. Since then, shes written several more novels, as well as short stories and screenplays, and has taught writing at the University Of Iowa Writers' Workshop and Skidmore College.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

The publisher has generously offered one copy of The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer for giveaway.

~ You must be a Google Friend Connect Follower to participate.
~ US and Canadian addresses only (Publisher's Request)
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST May 4th.

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