Customer Reviews

Domestic Affairs

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Childhood friends, Abigail and Lila, are torn apart by a betrayal that leaves them each damaged in different ways for years to come.

Abigail, the daughter of the family housekeeper, strives to achieve something with her life, and after many years of struggle, she becomes a household name...a diva of domesticity...a brand name. Her family life appears perfect, just like her domestic goddess kingdom, but underneath, more secrets and betrayals lurk.

Lila, worlds apart from Abigail in the beginning, as the daughter of a rich family, seemingly continues on this path, ending up with her handsome husband, beautiful Park Avenue apartment, and loving son. Then, with one brutal stroke of luck---or karma---it is all taken away, and
she is forced to seek employment just to sustain herself and her son. Which is why she finds herself, after numerous rejections, on the doorstep of her former friend.

When Abigail offers Lila a job as her housekeeper, it would seem like vengeance, or some kind of karmic justice.

Meanwhile, Lila's twin brother Vaughn, a world traveler and Abigail's teenage lover comes home with devastating news of his own.

The scene is set for drama, but everything seemingly spins out of control when a woman from Mexico begins wending her way to New York to avenge her daughter's death. A factory fire took the life of Concepcion's daughter, Milagros, which Concepcion believes is the direct result of Abigail's negligence.

Will the secrets and betrayals of the past finally come home to roost? Will Abigail and Lila ever restore the bond they once shared? What is going on with Abigail's teenage daughter, and will her strange, obsessive preoccupation with Lila's son turn into something even more troubling? And finally, what culminating events will bring all of the characters together or forever tear them asunder?

An intriguing read, Domestic Affairs, a story of domestic drama, truly transcends the "domestic" to become a sweeping emotional tale of lives derailed and family secrets revealed.

I have been a fan of Eileen Goudge for many years and always look forward to her books. This one was certainly not a disappointment, but the best Of hers I have ever read. The plot is so intricate; the characters so well developed. I felt like I was living in the moment that it was written and so wanted to help each character. I even cried for them. My husband is now reading it and can not put it down. So this is a book for everyone: young, old, man or woman. I am in my 60's and could relate to the story, and I have recommended it to my 40 year old daughter and my 18 year old granddaughter.

In 1982 Greenhaven, Georgia, Abigail and Lila were best friends although the former's mother worked as a housekeeper to the latter's affluent family. Abigail also was attracted to Lila's twin brother Vaughn. However, Lila's mom accuses Abigail's mother of stealing, fired her, and tossed mother and daughter into the street.

In present day New York, Abigail runs a successful catering business and is a TV show guest due to a popular cook book she wrote; while she and her husband Kent raise their child Phoebe. However, lately Abigail has been unhappy as Kent ignores her and Phoebe seems frighteningly withdrawn. In that environs Lila arrives impoverished from a factory fire and despondent from her husband's suicide. She begs for a job for the sake of her son. Abigail hires her frantic former friend as the family housekeeper. However, what has split them for over two decades remains especially with the insult of the job as a reminder of reverse fortunes; but soon current painful issues such as Vaughn reappearing will surface to complicate any chance of reconciliation between the once two best friends.

DOMESTIC AFFAIR is an engaging contemporary tale that focuses on friendship and betrayal. The story line is character driven obviously first by the two lead females, but also enhanced by their extended family members. Although at times the plot veers into soap opera turf, readers will enjoy this fine modern day drama wondering what will happen to each key cast member as the underlying rapport and discord of relationships change.

Harriet Klausner

Revenge is suppose to be sweet, right? "Domestic Affairs" is the story of two childhood friends who cease their friendship as a result of family conflicts. Abigail was left penniless, while Lila continued her life of luxury. Decades later, tides turned, and it was Lila who was penniless, and Abigail well off from her life of hard work. Lila begs Abigail for assistance; but their re-entrance into each other's lives does not happen without consequences. A gripping tale about the morality of revenge, the complexity of life, and friendship, "Domestic Affairs" is a highly recommended read for anyone looking for a story with these elements done well.

Spanning four decades, this story begins with three teens, Abigail, Lila, and her brother Vaughn. The three friends experience a shocking, tragic and misleading separation. Not totally able to cope with the reasons and rationale for the swift departure of Abigail and her mother, who is the housekeeper for Lila and Vaughn's wealthy family, Lila and Abigail become estranged for decades.

Fast forward to the lifestyle of the rich and famous. This is where you find Lila, as the wife of a wealthy business man who is headed for prison; Abigail the founder and wealthy owner of her own business; and the successful world traveler, Vaughn, roaming to far-flung reaches of the globe.

Through a bizarre series of events, and a reverse turn of fortune, Lila becomes the housekeeper for Abigail as she struggles to bring financial stability and security in her and her son's life.

Abigail's business demands and workaholic motivation regularly keep her away from her family. Her husband, Kent, and daughter, Phoebe, are often left to fend for themselves, which leads to dramatic consequences for the family. Abigail is the last to know the extent to which her family ties are deteriorating; when she discovers the worst it may be too late. Faced with failing family issues, Abigail is also challenged by making risky business decisions that lead to life-threatening consequences for employees in her Mexico manufacturing facility.

Conception, the grieving mother who lost her only daughter in the tragic fire at Abigail's Mexican manufacturing facility, vows to seek out Abigail for vengeance. Conception is not deterred from making the illegal journey to the United States where she plans to confront Abigail who she believes is a terrible woman.

This novel is filled with enough twists and turns to keep you turning page after page. Abigail finds life throws her more than its fair share of challenges and life lessons, but there are redeeming qualities in Abigail you will find welcoming. Lila rights herself and discovers her own self-worth, even after the humiliating personal encounter with Abigail. Vaughn returns from his world travels to face a personal demon and finds love, and hope for lasting happiness.

Amidst tragedy you'll find hope, courtship, love, friendship, and redemption.

Armchair Interviews says: Make this book a must summer read.

What kind of doors open to those whose choices stem from betrayal and revenge? Can one mentally lock those gates to close the ensuing destructive cycle? Even though readers rationally know the memories hiding in Pandora's box are best left imprisoned in a locked part of our psyche, why are we so fascinated by the exciting, unpredictable chain of events loosed when past, shameful acts are allowed to become a part of the present?

Abigail's mother is a housekeeper for the Meriwhether family who seduces Mr. Meriwhether in order to keep him from straying out of the family. It's an act that has repercussions beyond imagination as Mrs. Meriwhether fires the seemingly innocent housekeeper. The worst part of it is that Lila Meriwhether, Abigail's best childhood friend, does absolutely nothing to help prevent Abigail and her mother being turned out into economic poverty and struggle. Lila's brother, with whom Abigail had one blissful romantic union, has been supportive by mail in the years since that terrible separation. But Lila and Abigail are consumed by their respective shame and fury surrounding that terrible day.

Both Lila and Abigail have become rich, the former by marriage to a successful financier and the latter by hard work as a renowned Martha Stewart-type entrepreneur. Lila, however, through tragic, unforeseen events, is transformed from a stylish socialite to a penniless, unskilled woman needing to find employment yesterday. She is finally brought to seeking that job from Abigail, who hires Lila in a burst of convenience as a housekeeper. Will such a debasement of Lila provide Abigail the satisfaction she seeks for revenge or is there a different spin that forms from this unlikely scenario?

Domestic Affairs abounds with unhappy people, including Abigail, her husband and sulking daughter, Lila and her fuming son, a warmhearted Afghani gardener who becomes a more than helpful companion to Lila, and a fierce Latin American mother determined to find justice for her daughter's death at the hands of Abigail's factory manager's rules.

The interplay between these satisfying characters is unpredictable and the outcome for all is cleverly constructed and quite surprising, without seeming contrived or naive.

Domestic Affairs is a fine, fine read that exemplifies the possibility of hope in the face of even the most dire circumstances!

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on August 2, 2008

i am a big fan of ms goudge and Domestic Affairs is one of her best. there is a lot going on and many people to love, hate or identify with. i enjoyed it from cover to cover. the epiloge was a nice surprise and added a great ending to an already great book

My Review of DOMESTIC AFFAIRS by Eileen Goudge
Submitted by Karen Haney, August, 2008

RATING: 5 STARS
For Eileen Goudge to write a novel better than Woman in Red is something I never saw coming until I opened to the first page of this remarkable book. Nevertheless, in Domestic Affairs, Goudge has done just that! She brings us a love story on so many levels that it grabs you in the beginning and never lets go until the last page. First and foremost, this love story is about friends-and how although their friendship definitely is a roller coaster over time, it never loses its effect on the lives of the people it touches, nor the reader. It is also about how only a deep friendship like this can change people's lives forever especially when secrets shared in that relationship remain unspoken for years.

The story starts with the friendship and alliance of Abigail Armstrong with Lila and her brother, Vaughn, Meriwhether. These three grow up from children to teens, sharing what at a certain point is essentially too much to share. These secrets they share will direct the paths their lives take as they are torn apart in their youth, but then brings them back together later as adults. When Abby's mother, the housekeeper for Lila and Vaughn's family is unceremoniously fired and chased from the only home Abby has ever known, horrific feelings and secrets go with Abby and her mother, Rosalie, as they leave the Meriwhether estate.

Fast forward twenty-five years and the proverbial shoe is on the other foot as Lila, once a high member of New York society, is brought down by the results of her husband's illegal actions. When he cowardly commits suicide rather than take his punishment, Lila's life falls apart. She is a pariah to those she once courted and was courted by. She is left without anything and the only work she could take on was if someone wanted a socialite to run a party. With not much call for that "skill", in an ironic twist, Lila is saved when she is hired to be a housekeeper in the now very successful, Martha Stewart-like, media maven, Abigail Armstrong. While this NEW Abby now will only deal decently with her housekeeper, in memory of her now deceased mother, she is quite the opposite in the business world. A sharp tongue and iron fist enables Abigail to run a top-notch business, while trying to still hold on to her husband and family. When Lila becomes her housekeeper, the revenge should be sweet, but is it?

Into this duo, a third important female character, Concepcion Delgado, enters. As a mother who wants to revenge her daughter's tragic death at what she believes is caused by Abby's company and how it runs its "sweatshops" she is on a mission to confront the people responsible. The cost of producing inexpensive while highly desirable linens is too much when Concepcion's daughter pays the price with her life. Concepcion travels to find the driven leader of this company that she feels took her child from her.

As these three very different lives come headed on a collision course and confrontation, Eileen Goudge has not settled to just reward readers with the results of this meeting. Gouge has not forgotten to also expertly stir into this mix tragedies, illness, suicide, teen angst and the only thing needed to complete the end product, a former lover. All that a reader could want is there for them to sink their teeth into. The final morsel leaves the reader satisfied but also sorry to see it end. This is a MUST READ for everyone!

It was a great book.It kept my interest throughout the whole book. I was sorry to see it end. I wish I can find another book that's similiar in content.

Domestic Affairs started out good, but about 1/2 way through the story got predictable and I started to lose interest. I found myself rushing through the last 1/4 of the book just to be done with it. This is a good book to read on a plane or for a rainy day if you have nothing else to do.