The Divorce Party [Hardcover]

Laura Dave (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2008

A novel about loyalty, loss, and the endurance of love

On their 35th anniversary, Gwyn Huntington and her husband Thomas have invited friends and family to their Montauk home. Instead of celebrating their decades-long love, they are toasting their divorce. This also marks the weekend that their son brings home his fiancée, Maggie Mackenzie, for the first time. Maggie thought she was joining a perfect family, but she is about to reckon with some uncomfortable truths about the man she wants to marry.

A multi-generational story about what it means to share a life with someone, The Divorce Party brings us two immensely appealing women: Gwyn who is stumbling upon the end of her marriage, and Maggie, her future-daughter-in-law, who is trying to navigate the beginning of hers. With emotional candor and surprising humor, these two women find themselves trying to answer the same questions: Can you ever really know someone? When should you fight for the person you love most, and when should you begin to let him go?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I'm looking forward to reading [The Divorce Party] Laura Dave's latest book."
--Emily Giffin, USA Today

“A revealing, honest portrait of how love binds us together -- and drives us apart. Laura Dave understands the affections and contradictions within the human soul. I love this book!”
—Kate Jacobs, author of FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB

"In lustrous, supple language and with breathtaking acuity, Laura Dave explores the intricate inner lives of two women as they struggle to know the men they love… they face the same thorny question: how many lies—and how much truth—can love bear?"
—Marisa de los Santos, author of LOVE WALKED IN

Praise for LONDON IS THE BEST CITY IN AMERICA:
“Endearingly quirky . . . [a] charming, offbeat debut . . . that winningly explores the romantic choices we make.”
—USA Today

”Incredibly deft, utterly satisfying, a triumph of a first novel.”
—Melissa Bank

”Such a satisfying read . . . The relationships among her cast are complicated, fraught and tender. Her story reads sweet but real.”
—The Washington Post

About the Author

Laura Dave is the author of London Is the Best City in America. She contributes to Self, Glamour, ESPN The Magazine, The New York Observer, and Blueprint. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Virginia and is currently at work on her third novel.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670018597
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018598
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #982,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Dave is the author of London is the Best City in America, The Divorce Party, and The First Husband. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Glamour, Self, NPR's All Things Considered, The Huffington Post, and Redbook. She lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, May 18, 2008

By 

UES - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Divorce Party (Hardcover)

Set in Montauk, this novel tells the story of two women, Gwyn, who's getting ready to end her 35-year marriage, and her future daughter-in-law, Maggie, who's learning just how little she knows about her fiancé. Smart, insightful, and gorgeously written, The Divorce Party is a must-read for anyone who appreciates good fiction.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely and moving read, June 16, 2008

By 

Margaret - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Divorce Party (Hardcover)

The Divorce Party is one of the most oddly moving books I've read in a long time. Since I finished reading it, I have been trying to sort out what, exactly, makes it work so well. Certainly, it captures the emotions of complex people in complex relationships in incredibly lovely prose. It is funny, and surprisingly heartwarming, and hard to put down. And yet it goes beyond that somehow, in a way that so few books do. There is some little bit of magic that it delivers. It leaves you hopeful for your own relationships, and for your ability to embrace your future, whatever it has in store.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Secrets and Lies of the Huntington Men, August 1, 2009

By 

A. Mason (Windermere, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Divorce Party: A Novel (Paperback)

This story is told by the two main female characters: Gwyn and Maggie. Gwyn Huntington is planning a Divorce Party that falls on the day of her thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Her husband says that he has found a new religion and that they are now too different from each other, but she knows better. Maggie is Gwyn's soon to be daughter-in-law. On the day that Maggie is to meet her in-laws for the first time, she finds out all about Nate's, her fiance, hidden past. The two women must overcome secrets in their relationships to move forward with their lives.

Ok, first let me ask--who thinks a Divorce Party is a good idea?? Maybe since I am so far removed from that situation that I just don't see how it could work. But what do I know?

I do know that I really felt for the female characters in this story. I really liked Gwyn. I felt so bad for her--her knowing that her husband is lying. And I must admit that I admired the way she brought it to his attention that she knew. And I felt bad for Maggie finding out about Nate the way she did. He should have been honest about his past with her from the start. I'm not so sure I would be as forgiving as she she should have been.

That being said, I also liked the male characters. There were times that Thomas seemed to still want to be with his wife. I just wanted to reach into the book and shake him! And Nate seemed so sweet--why was it necessary for him to lie about his past?

This was a serious and moving book. It was a quick read and I think that I liked it although it leaves me feeling unsettled.