Mating for Life by Marissa Stapley {Review}
Disclaimer: I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.
If you are following along, I have been involved with BookSparks and their summer reading challenges for two years now. I am so excited to see them add in a Fall challenge. More reading…more books!!
I signed up right away.
With pitch-perfect honesty and heartwarming humor, this captivating debut explores marriage, motherhood, identity, and what it takes to love someone—family members, friends, or spouses—for life.
Former folk singer Helen Sear was a feminist wild child who proudly disdained monogamy, raising three daughters—each by a different father—largely on her own. Now in her sixties, Helen has fallen in love with a traditional man who desperately wants to marry her. And while she fears losing him, she’s equally afraid of abandoning everything she’s ever stood for if she goes through with it.
Meanwhile, Helen’s youngest daughter, Liane, is in the heady early days of a relationship with her soul mate. But he has an ex-wife and two kids, and her new role as a “step-something” doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Ilsa, an artist, has put her bohemian past behind her and is fervently hoping her second marriage will stick. Yet her world feels like it is slowly shrinking, and her painting is suffering as a result—and she realizes she may need to break free again, even if it means disrupting the lives of her two young children. And then there’s Fiona, the eldest sister, who has worked tirelessly to make her world pristine, yet who still doesn’t feel at peace. When she discovers her husband has been harboring a huge secret, Fiona loses her tenuous grip on happiness and is forced to face some truths about herself that she’d rather keep buried.
Interweaving the alternating perspectives of Helen, her daughters, and the women surrounding them, “each new chapter brings a wise and tender look at single life, dating rituals, and marital unease” (New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Close). In this “absolute feat of storytelling” (bestselling author Grace O’Connell), Marissa Stapley celebrates the many roles modern women play, and shows that even though happy endings aren’t one-size-fits-all, some loves really can last for life.
My Review
I am having a hard time putting into words why I liked this book so much. And I did – I really liked it!
First off, Marissa Stapley is a magnificent writer. She describes a scene with such clarity and beauty that you can picture each character and place with no trouble.
We follow the love lives of 3 sisters and their bohemian Mom. Liane, the youngest, who is trying to decide if staying with someone because they are safe is what she wants. Ilsa is the daughter most like her Mother – an artist who is struggling with finding and keeping love. Fiona is the oldest and the one sister who likes rules and wants her life to follow the path she laid out. Unfortunately, her husband has been keeping a secret that will threaten to change her life forever. And then there is Helen, the hippy Mom who was determined to raise her daughters on her own and now faces losing the man she loves because of her non-traditional ways.
Sometimes books with many characters can get confusing. I love that in Mating For Life, each chapter concentrates on one character. I think this really allowed me to immerse myself in what they were going through. And the end, oh the end, I closed the book with a sigh and a big smile.
I definitely related to Fiona the most. She is a busy Mom who is trying to keep up a front of having it all together. Her husband’s secret is revealed and while it stops her in her tracks, I found myself relating it all back to my own family as we dealt with the same thing recently.
What is this big secret? I CAN’T TELL YOU!!! I know! You have to get the book and read it. And while this isn’t my most eloquent review, I think it shows that this book just really gets you thinking and it doesn’t leave you when you read the last word.
The Author
Marissa Stapley is a National Magazine Award nominated writer and former magazine editor whose work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, National Post, Elle Canada, and many others. Mating for Life (Atria Books; Simon & Schuster Canada) is her first novel. When Marissa is not writing, she’s reading. (In fact, she never goes anywhere without a book. Except maybe swimming.) Some of her favorite authors are Meg Wolitzer, Julia Glass, Alice Munro, John Irving, Lauren Groff, Margaret Atwood and James Salter. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two children, where she teaches writing, and is working on another novel.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website.
Interested in what books I will be reading and review? Check out the list of books on the BookSparks page. Come back here every weekend to check out my reviews.
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