8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
richly textured, moving and insightful, May 28, 1998
For those wanting an escape from legal potboilers, books about horses and medical thrillers, here is a great summer read that may actually linger in your mind awhile. Reminiscent of Updike's Rabbit novels, Casey's Half-Life of Happiness is a richly textured, very moving account of the breakup of a marriage set against the backdrop of a fascinating Congressional election.
The characters come alive in the skilled hands of John Casey, who describes the couple's boredom, their inability to communicate as their world crumbles around them, and the frustrations felt by liberal Democrat lawyer Mike Riordan as he slips into middle age and is coaxed into a seemingly futile bid to run for Congress.
The story is one about relationships- at its core the novel deals with the breakup of Mike and Joss, but it works on so many more levels including the strained relationship between sisters Edith and Nora, as well as numerous effective passages involving the couple's friends, colleagues, political opponents, etc. The narrative focus changes frequently, but never in such a fashion as to disrupt the continuity of the plot. Overall, a very intelligent, moving novel of a family crisis written with humor, compassion and attention to detail.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Half-Life of Happiness, December 28, 2000
By A Customer
Casey reveals characters that breath. He ask the reader to work on knowing the meaninging behind the motivations of his characters. I found myself "dog-earing" many pages and reading sections over again as I connected to the narrative. I found The Half-Life of Happiness to be a wonderful companion to the complexities of this holiday season. This book will challenge you to slow down and look at the life around you from many different narratives. You will see yourself, your family and your friends in this powerful piece of work. Enjoy and watch the compassion in you grow with each chapter.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One wife short of a four star book, March 9, 2000
John Casey had a knack for capturing emotions through dialog or action. This is good for most of his characters. However, its bothersome for the wife/mother, Joss.
Joss (a film-maker) is married to Mike (a lawyer) and they have two daughters, and live in Charlottesville with many odd charcaters hanging around. Their life is turned updside down when Joss falls for a girl named Bonnie and Mike copes with the new arrangement by running for Congress and sleeping with his campaign aides.
There are plenty twists and turns in the plot and the characters are fun and interesting. However I could not find one reason to want Joss to ever appear on any page. She's as pleasant as poison ivy and just as much an itch. She lives to argue and argues to live. Her films are seen by very few and understood by even fewer. She seems to believe that Mike is just as much at fault for her relationship with Bonnie. Yeah, right.
I do think the book is enjoyable and recommend it. I just wish I could have offered four stars. Oh, Joss.
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