Customer Reviews

Special Relationship

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

 

 

This is an extraordinary novel. It is extraordinary because the author writes from the perspective of a woman. Writing in the first person as a woman, might not sound that unusual, however Kennedy expresses her most inner feeling and insanities as a woman experiencing Post Natal Depression. You might say that a `man' would not have the slightest clue about such things, but after reading the novel and giving it to family and friends (women) who have experienced post natal depression or even the less serious, post natal blues, after reading the text, have come back to me startled and amazed at how accurate and spot on the mark the author was in terms of his unusual depth of understanding.

A thirty something journalist, Sally Goodchild, meets a handsome Englishman in Cairo while on assignment. Tony Hobbs is a foreign correspondent for a major London newspaper and as one thing leads to another, Sally ends up pregnant and Tony offers to marry her though insists she must come back to England. This all sounds rather mundane, but as the narrative unfolds, we find that all is not as it seems in their relationship.

Sally experiences all the cultural differences as an American living in London. She experiences `cultural shock' to a minor degree, but while reading her observations and feelings, and having lived in different countries as well, could relate, however her husband Tony, strangely, never offered any support, leaving the poor (pregnant) woman to her own devices.

Sally finally has the baby and it is not a smooth delivery. She comes out of the experience a total wreck, emotionally and less so, physically. She finds the hospital staff without empathy and in some cases, sadistic. Sally has no support from family as she is all alone. Tony becomes a phantom, occasionally coming home and ignoring the baby. Sally attempts to describe her dilemma, her feelings, but her husband merely scoffs and arrogantly disapproves, giving her the impression that she's being a child and should "grow up!"

Needless to say, Sally comes close to ending it all, hitting rock bottom.

Douglas Kennedy is a master at taking a character to the heights to then drag them down further than the reader would think possible: The Big Picture and his first novel, The Job, are good examples.

We feel Sally's desperation, her insanities, her frustration as a new mother and her various reactions to her situation. Does this poor woman bounce back?

This is an excellent novel, the author doing his job, immersing us into the character, feeling her emotions and her desperation and finally, her choice to climb out of a terrible, hopeless situation...and she does it with flair and style.

A Special Relationship is entertaining and informative, revealing what good writing is all about...A firm 5 Stars.

Sally is a journalist for the Boston Post based in Cairo, when she meets Tony, an English foreign correspondent. Their relationship develops quickly and within months she is married, pregnant and living in the UK. But her pregnancy is anything but smooth and a complicated delivery is followed by an acute dose of post-natal depression. What happens next is even worse and she is forced on the defensive as both a wife and mother.

This is an unusual subject for a male author to tackle, especially written as it is in the first person. It takes a while for Kennedy to find his stride. Initially Sally failed to win my sympathy and I thought the description of her new days as a mother was less than convincing. But the book picks up momentum as it goes and before too long I was riveted - to the point where I would wake in the middle of the night and seriously consider getting out of bed to read more! Although the story is relatively simple, there are some nice little twists and Kennedy sets a good pace. I couldn't put the book down and finished it in two days.

I am a foreign personn and I was trying to find a book to read in English. I tried so many but I have never finished any. But this one is The Book. I love the story, I cannot stop reading. Last night at one am. I forced myself to leave the book and sleep. Don't hesitate, get it, you will love it.

I read all the reviews and they certainly caught my attention. The book sounded just like what I love to dig into; a perfect rainy day novel. I loved the story line, the charaters were well developed, the scenarios clear and I immediately bonded with Sally. It wasn't until she went to the hospital to deliver baby Jack that the author belabored (no pun intended here) all the boring details and strung out Sally's hourly symptoms and emotions ad naseum. I began skipping sentences and speeding ahead, hoping to get on with their lives at home, but the depressing writing just wouldn't stop. I found myself dreading picking up my Kindle because I knew my good mood would soon turn sour. I finally gave up and deleted the rest of the book as I no longer cared what happened to them. So disappointed................And surprised I am the first reviewer to give it less than multiple stars.

This was one of the most engaging books I have ever read. It is also the first Douglas Kennedy books I have read. It won't be the last. This was a story about Sally, a journalist who goes to Somalia to report on a major flood. There she meets Tony, he is also a reporter. He is attractive and very charming. So, Sally and Tony hook up. Soon after, Sally finds out she is pregnant. So, Tony offers to marry her if she would move to London with him. For most of the book, I did not care for Sally's character at all. You can't help but feel some compassion for her because of her difficult pregnancy and post-natal depression. However, I thought she was totally irresponsible with Tony in the first place and she never really took control of her life until it was too late. It is amazing to me that Kennedy did such a great job writing in the voice of a woman. Especially a pregnant woman. This was one of those books that kept me up late so I could finish it. I highly recommend it.

I found A Special Relationship to be an astonishing book for many reasons. Author Douglas Kennedy has zeroed in on the feelings and emotions of a woman who becomes extremely desperate, in a way I've found in no other novel. It is as if he transferred his own male personality into the inner nature of his woman character who never once loses her femininity. In my opinion, this is the major positive factor in this very special story by a male author.

Sally Goodchild meets a handsome foreign correspondent while she is on assignment in Cairo. Both seem equally attracted to one another; both quickly end up in bed together; both quickly fall in love. Sally, of course, ends up pregnant, and what she thinks is her noble lover agrees to marry her provided she return to England with him to raise their son.

Sally's delivery is very troublesome. A Special Relationship reveals that an emergency Caesarean is performed to save her baby's life, but there is a constant nagging question in Sally's psyche after delivery. Since the infant's umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck, would her son be brain damaged in some way? In spite of tests and doctors' assurances, this question plagues her mind. Sleep deprived because of constant care for her son, Sally becomes increasingly depressed, so much so that she is persuaded to sign herself into a mental health unit where she can receive counseling while her son is cared for by hospital staff.

Sally's husband is mildly supportive. He visits her daily, but not for long periods of time, and always complains that he must quickly return to his job. He rarely visits his newborn son. Sally submerges into a very deep post natal depression which seems unshakable. Her world cannot stay afloat. She sinks so deeply into depression that she can no longer eat or talk. Her health becomes a serious concern.

Psychiatrists begin talking of shock treatments to try to give Sally back her life with her newborn if her despondency continues. But unwittingly, Sally's roommate becomes angry with her and slaps her violently across the face because Sally refuses to eat even after her roommate tells her about the horrors of shock treatments.

Her roommate's single painful backhand irrevocably slaps Sally back to reality. She begins to heal slowly, but nicely. Eventually, she is released from the hospital with her baby and resumes the tiring chore of taking care of her newborn at home. Sally receives almost no help from her husband who quits his job in order to write and publish his first novel.

In A Special Relationship, after a quick funeral trip to the United States to lay her sister's husband to rest, Sally returns to an empty house--completely empty--everything of any value is gone including her son. She discovers that her husband has run off with a wealthy woman; that her house will be sold out from under her; and that she will no longer be permitted to see her son due to Court Order. Her husband has usurped what she thought were mutually held back accounts.

What will happen to this woman who has already had one "dark night of the soul?" Will she be faced with renewed depression? Will she ever see her son again? And why? Why would her husband who has been mildly supportive--why would he so suddenly abandon her? Here is where I will leave the reader. Here is where the reader will walk through HELL with Sally as she desperately attempts to fight back knowing how deeply she fell into her last depression event.

Will her recent bout with depression submerge her into meaninglessness, darkness, and utter despair; or will it act as a goad to give her renewed strength to face overwhelming problems? As a reviewer, I would highly recommend this book to all readers who are interested in how the human mind deals with horrific situations. Author Douglas Kennedy has certainly done his homework in researching and then presenting a believable tale of depression, despair, caring, and redemption.

A reader will quickly get caught up in the arrogant, deceitful maliciousness of a lying man who at one and the same time claims to love his wife and son, but when given the chance for a life of ease where a rich woman can support him, he escapes into her world where he thinks he will become a renowned author.

A Special Relationship is a a very special novel you'll unlikely forget. Its well defined characters will surely grab your undivided attention and your heart.

Other good reads:
You Know When
Those Who Save Us
Dangerous Solution
The Target

Kennedy has an extraordinary ability to write believably from the female perspective. This book is hard going at times - all the internal conversations when Sally is clearly psychotic - but it is still, like so many of his books, totally gripping in the final third. This book compares to Leaving the World, but is not my favorite of his - that I think would be The Moment or State of the Union both of which I found to have more of a narrative.

I loved this book...it is really the kind of book that I love to read, about real people, real life stories.I am so glad that I came across this writer.I ordered 2 more of his books and I know they will be as good as this one (I cannot wait to start on the next one).I highly recommend it.And I love Amazon.com!

Having read absolutely all of Douglas Kennedy I found this one as good and as different as each of his books can be.
the only one that thoroughly dissapointed me was "the woman in the fifth" situated in Paris. A silly ghost story which unlike his other books is very unrealistic and rather thin.

I bought the book based on the good reviews. After about a fourth of the book I was quite bored with it and went online to see if it was worth continuing. It seemed so. After the long, long part about the depression ends, the book becomes a real page-turner with some great insights into English and America culture. Very hard to put down and a very satisfying read!