Customer Reviews

Man and Wife.

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is about Harry Silver, who following the failure of his first marriage, is trying to build a new `blended' family for him and his son.

This situation is so common nowadays that it should make for pretty boring material... right?

Not so. Tony Parsons is so good at deconstructing feelings that this book is a joy to read.

Parsons' documentation of a Harry's love for his son and his indecision over a faltering relationship, is moving without being sentimental.

Harry Silver is no angel, but I found him to be immensely likeable none-the-less. Even when he's failing, the right intentions are there, and I couldn't help but sympathise.

- Harry only wants what's best for his son ... don't we all?

- Harry just wants the newness of falling in love to last forever ... wouldn't we all?

This book not only realistically tackles the dynamics of modern family relationships (children, parents, and spouses - current and ex), but is also surprisingly tender in addressing the unconditional and endless love one can only truly feel for their children.

This book really struck a chord with me -

Mr. Parsons, I can't thank you enough for writing it.

"Man and Wife" by Tony Parsons is a wonderful and enlightening look into the mind of married men everywhere. This sequel to the very well received "Man and Boy", is a tremendous picture into the lives of "the husband, the ex-wife, the new wife, the son and the new stepdaughter. "Man and Wife" explores the questions that face every blended family and really tackles the tough questions.

The most intriguing part of this book is the fact that it is told from the male perspective and that was really interesting. I loved this amazingly smart, thoughtful and heartfelt journey of a man and his new life.

Great book and would make an interesting book club selection. I bet there are tons of families out there with these same questions.

What is not to love about a Tony Parsons novel? (If there is something, I don't want to know.) The people that fill his pagers are practically as real as seeing someone face-to-face.

The relationship between his son and Cyd's daughter is so beautifully written - which can be said for all the character interaction.

Parsons writes flawlessly about imperfect people screwing up and learning from their screw-ups. This book is no exception.

First the bad: This book is a lot like 'Man and Boy' and it does have a lot of plot elements. It is not a long deep look at one day or one relationship.

Now the good: This book is a lot like 'Man and Boy.' It is the most riveting, yet real, book on relationships this 36-year-old divorced guy has ever read.

The relationships between me and my Dad, me and my Mum, and the new 'blended' families of ex- and step- fathers wives and girlfriends. There are some truly wonderful pages. It's a framework to measure yourself with, a metric to begin to ask questions about yourself with. I am never going to take 'The Grand Tour' of teenage lovers turning into newlyweds into babies and boys and retirement together and grand parenting. It is too late for me now. Instead it's Tony Parsons' world of wanting and understanding too late. Emotional guys trying to do right and somehow not getting there yet. The book aims deep inside and hits the target. Somewhere between the heart and the gut.

Man and Wife was a sequel to Man and Boy. It suffered the same sequel syndrome, telling a similar plot with different characters. In the first book, Harry's father died of cancer. In this book, his mother had breast cancer but survived. In the first book, Harry had a one-night stand that triggered his divorce. In this book, Harry was close to have an affair, in fact, it was as good as having an affair minus sex, and his second marriage was on the verge of collapse. In the first book, Harry got jealous with Gina's new boyfriend and subsequently her husband. In this book, Harry got jealous with Cyd's business partner.

If I had not read the first book, this book might be interesting. However, having read the first book, this sequel looked too suspiciously similar thus lost the originality. I was quite put off with the flip-flopping of Harry with his life. He was always on the verge of making the same mistake again. In the end, Harry exhausted our sympathy and became a jerk in our eyes. He appeared to be a whim, unlike Kazumi who took the break-off with such dignity, unlike Cyd who tried to build something of her own. These 2 ladies had the courage to look forward but Harry was always looking at the past, always so insecure. In the end, I felt that it would be just a matter of time before history repeated itself in Harry's life.

This sequel could be more promising if the author tried to have new angle for plot twists, instead of copying the old formula. I like the first book much more.

This is the second book I've read from Tony Parsons, and he is quickly becoming my favorite author. I have to say that I liked this one even more than the first, Man and Boy (as great as that was). I am a woman, and although I'm sure men can relate very closely to Harry, I loved this book. Harry Silver is a very human, likeable character and Tony writes in such a way that you feel you are right there with him and his characters. Without giving too much away, this book takes over from the first one and gives us insight into the "blended" families that are so common. I feel I know each of the characters so well, and was so sad to have finished the book so quickly. Tony, please give us more Harry Silver...

A lovely story that is so real and takes your heart, and makes you want to finish it

Say it as we feel it. Insecurities and all. A bird puller who suffers for his art.

No woman should be allowed to read this book or probably any other of Tony Parson's work. Every man should - in the privacy of one's den when the wife is out, the kids are with the grandparents and the doors are locked.

Fluent written so you don't have to worry about stupid long romantic sentences.

Once I started I could not put it down, I grew more and more enamored with the man character, read it in two days. I would certainly put this author in my list of authors to look forwward to reading from again. A great great book.

This was a very satisfying read. I felt myself rooting for Harry and hoping that he would not make yet another "wrong" decision. However, it could have been edited more tightly, and does bear too many plot parallels with Man and Boy, but perhaps that is the point. It's all deja vu and there is nothing new under the sun?

I bought Man and Boy and Man and Wife together as a travel read without reading the liner notes carefully and without knowing that they are sequel/prequel, and was happy to find out, after reading Man and Boy, that Man and Wife allowed me to read more about characters that I had invested a fair bit of time in, in reading Man and Boy. But having had a second go with them in Man and Wife, I'm rather willing to let them go. It's been fun, but its time to move on.