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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good story, good characters, August 23, 2001
The premise of "The Woman Next Door" is relatively simple. A lovely widow turns out to be pregnant. Only problem is, her husband has been dead at least a year. She lives in a cul de sac with three other couples. The three couples are all experiencing some manner of strain in their marriages. Once the pregnancy of the widow becomes apparent, each of the wives silently wonder if her husband is the father. The main couple of the story, Amanda and Graham, is the most intriguing. They are struggling with infertility. Married for five years they both desperately want a child but are turned off and wearied by years of fertility procedures. The interesting issue that Delinsky explores with this couple how the idea of conception can begin to overpower everything else in a marriage. Even a very strong and healthy love. The second couple, Karen and Lee Cotter are much more volatile. Lee has had infidelity issues in the past. They aren't as much a focus as Amanda and Graham but they do provide a stark contrast to Amanda and Graham. Karen and Lee have 4 children and many more problems. The third couple Georgia and Russ seem almost an afterthought. Georgia is the driven executive who travels four days out of five. Russ is the stay at home husband who watches the kids and writes freelance articles. It is a reversal of traditional gender roles. Comparatively speaking, Georgia and Russ have few problems except her absence. Delinsky gives each man a plausible motive for possibly having slept with the widow. And she even manages to throw suspicion on each one of them in various parts of the book. Although the identity of the father adds a nice little bit of suspense, the more engrossing part of the book is the makeup of each of the three marriages and the reasons why these women can find it so easy to suspect their husbands of infidelity. I always enjoy Barbara Delinsky's work. This book is no exception.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Barbara Delinsky Does It Again, August 13, 2001
This is just another in a long line of wonderful books by Barbara Delinsky.The book revolves around the occupants of four houses in a cul-de-sac,with Amanda and Graham O'Leary being the primary characters. Amanda is a school psychologist and Graham is a landscaper. They are trying desperately to have a child with no luck, and their marriage is suffering from their total focus on this. The other neighbors are Georgia and Russ Lange. She runs a large business, necessitating constant travel,and would like to sell it and remain at home. Russ stays at home with their two children, writing articles on the side.Karen and Lee Cotter come next;she busies herself with much volunteer work, and he owns a computer business,being frequently away from home and seeing other women.They have three young children and teen-age,Jordie who plays a vital role in the story. The fourth house harbors Gretchen,a young widow who married Ben after the death of his wife, and who has also now died. She is pregnant, long after Ben's death. Her pregnancy stirs many questions among the other three women, all wondering if perhaps one of their husbands fathered this child. Things in each household become unstable,with potential estrangements arising. A tragedy, followed by a major crisis, shakes up everyone and resolves many of the situations. Barbara Delinsky's characters are so believable. Her story flows smoothly from one event to the other and the people are like people we all know.Her characters have such substance,and, Amanda, the main character, is so lovable, you want to rush to her aid during her difficult times.Barbara Delinsky engenders such strong feelings for her characters in all of her books and she has done so again. This is a highly readable book.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Who is the Woman Next Door?, September 28, 2001
In The Woman Next Door Barbara Delinsky has written a simple character study of 4 totally different women and 3 spouses who live next door to each other on a cul-de-sac. The story is slow paced as she develops each one - the couple desperately trying to have a baby but work and family responsiblilities hindering their attempts; the stay at home Mr. Mom/Mom couple where the wife is the main breadwinner wrestling with guilt; the stay at home super mom with a philandering husband; and then the widowed, but pregnant Gretchen. How each react to Gretchen is the main plot but subplots of carefree romance, loving according to the clock, suicide, career first, concern and lack of concern for children, a runaway kid, breaking and entering and family interference show how ordinary people do live. There's trust and distrust, deception, love, faith, loyalty,courage and friendship at every turn. This is what many peoples' lives are all about today. Barbara took the ordinary and created a novel depicting many problems in real life. Not the best of Delinsky - my personal favorite being Coast Road - but a satisfying read nevertheless.
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