To My Ex-Husband [Hardcover]

Susan Dundon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994

Forty-two-year old Emily Moore is devastated, hurt, and angry when her husband of twenty years abandons her and sends him a series of brutally frank, uncensored letters about her life since he left. A first novel. 25,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Designed as a series of letters that a woman writes but never sends to her ex-husband, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Dundon's debut novel is initially intriguing but ultimately wearisome. Narrator Emily Moore introduces herself in a letter dated August 24, 1989. She's just been remarried and is bidding a bittersweet farewell to Nick, the man she separated from in September 1984 (and eventually divorced). "It wasn't that long ago," she writes, "that I couldn't imagine living with anyone but you, couldn't imagine establishing that kind of intimacy all over again." Following a litany of such greeting-card observations, Emily rereads her entire cache of post-separation jottings. At first she attributes her marital breakup to a simple divergence of interests, then learns that Nick had been having an affair. The epistles potently, if repetitiously, communicate Emily's reactions to Nick's new lovers, her own struggles to begin dating again and an abortion. Unfortunately, the cumulative effect here is of reading back-to-back advice columns--though some may be relevant and therapeutic, they're lethal in massive doses.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

First novelist Dundon, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a contributor to Redbook, McCall's, and other women's magazines, has written a realistic (and probably autobiographical) epistolary novel chronicling the lingering end of a 20-year marriage. Over a period of five years, Emily Moore composes letters to Nick, discussing money problems, family holidays, their children, friendship, and dating. She uses these letters to explore her feelings about their separation, attempts at reconciliation, and ultimate divorce. This is an intelligent, nicely written novel that successfully portrays an interesting and sympathetic middle-aged woman handling all the upheavals in her life with honesty and a wry sense of humor. Only Emily emerges from these pages as a three-dimensional character, but this doesn't necessarily detract from the book's appeal. A good choice for public libraries.
Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow and Company, Inc.; 1st edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688124593
• ISBN-13: 978-0688124595
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,832,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pure and simple, July 31, 2004

By 

M. Preyer (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To My Ex-husband (Paperback)

I read this book years ago, but it still stands out as one of my favorites. Susan Dundon writes in a straightforward and thoughtful manner. She shows a side of divorce not often depicted in literature, the media, or popular culture -- the sadness and loss that often accompanies the breakup of a marriage. Rather than conveying only the vengeful, bitter side of divorce, she shows the complexities and contradictions typically inherent in the ongoing process of disolving a marriage.