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Summary
Summary
From the author of the critically acclaimed The Murderer's Daughters, a compelling novel about three women caught in the aftermath of infidelity.
"Happiness at someone else's expense came at a price. Tia had imagined judgment from the first kiss that she and Nathan shared. All year, she'd waited to be punished for being in love, and in truth, she believed that whatever consequences came her way would be deserved."
Five years ago , Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.
Five years ago , Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she's questioning whether she's cut out for the role of wife and mother.
Five years ago , Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan's affair. He promised he'd never stray again, and she trusted him.
But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he's kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.
Riveting and arresting, The Comfort of Lies explores the collateral damage of infidelity and the dark, private struggles many of us experience but rarely reveal.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
An affair between bright young student Tia and Nathan, a charismatic married sociology professor, ends when Tia becomes pregnant. After urging her to get rid of the baby, Nathan tells his wife, Juliette, about the affair and never sees Tia again. Tia has a daughter and then gives her up for adoption to workaholic pathologist Caroline and her husband, Peter, who dotes on the child. Five years later, Juliette intercepts a letter from Tia that starts, "Dear Nathan, This is our daughter." Inside is a photo of the girl, Savannah, and a promise to "help her get in touch" with Nathan in the future. Her trust in Nathan strained once more, Juliette goes in search of Caroline, who regrets neglecting Savannah. There's a lot of regret here: Nathan regrets the affair; Tia regrets giving up her baby. And in the middle of all the regret, there's a convoluted power struggle over little Savannah. Meyers (The Murderer's Daughter) alternates between the perspectives of the three sympathetic women, giving access to their thoughts but short shrift to Nathan, the focal point of at least two of them. There's much quiet family turmoil on display but not enough drama. Agent: Stephanie Abou, Foundry Literary + Media. (Feb. 12) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Meyers follows up her successful debut novel with this tale of three women and the little girl who ties them all together. Tia's married lover, Nathan, dumps her after she reveals that she is pregnant with his child. A happily married college professor who lives in the suburbs, Nathan wants nothing to do with her or the child she carries and urges her to have an abortion. Instead, Tia has a little girl and gives it to an upscale couple, Peter and Caroline, who can't have children of their own. Every year, Caroline sends photos and a brief update on the child's progress, but this year when Savannah turns 5, Tia decides to contact Nathan. She sends him a letter with the photos in it, which Nathan's wife, Juliette, intercepts. Although Nathan confessed the affair, Juliette, who is mother to Nathan's two sons, didn't know about the baby. Meyers tells the story of Nathan and Tia's love child and the three women who cross paths in their quest to become more involved in her life. The narrative also includes chapters told from Nathan's point of view. The stories of the lovelorn Tia, who spends her days working with elderly people who have lost hope, Juliette, the cosmetics mogul, and Caroline, the doctor who is desperately unsuited to be a mother, are chronicled with warmth and depth. Although the reader may find some of the choices made by the characters hard to understand, this is still a believable tale, and the characters crackle with both intelligence and wit. Meyers' women resonate as strong, complicated and conflicted, and the writing flows effortlessly in this sweet yet sassy novel about love, women and motherhood.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
An affair changes the lives of three women in the second novel by the author of The Murderer's Daughters (2010). When Tia gets pregnant at 24, she hopes her married lover, Nathan, will leave his wife, Juliette. When he refuses to break up his family, Tia decides to give her child up for adoption. She chooses Caroline and Peter, a pathologist and a businessman, who name the little girl Savannah. Though Peter embraces fatherhood, Caroline's passion is for her career, leading her to question her skills as a mother. When Savannah turns five, Tia sends Nathan a letter, along with pictures of the child, which is intercepted by Juliette. The missive not only causes Juliette's anger over the affair to resurface, but it also makes her curious about her husband's child, leading her to seek out Caroline. Tia, still carrying a torch for Nathan, contemplates the possibility of getting her daughter back. Meyers has crafted an absorbing and layered drama that explores the complexities of infidelity, forgiveness, and family.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
One child given up for adoption ultimately brings together not only the birth mother, Tia, and the adoptive mother, Caroline, but also Juliette, the wife of the man who walked away from his affair upon learning of the pregnancy. For five years, Juliette struggled to forgive and forget her husband Nathan's affair, not realizing a child was born of it. Then one day she opens a letter full of photos of the child, Savannah, and instantly sees the resemblance to her husband. Meanwhile Tia has begun spying on the family who adopted Savannah. The domestic drama escalates as all involved cross paths, testing their values, relationships, and sanity. VERDICT In her successful sophomore outing after The Murderer's Daughters, Meyers enriches her character development with class and career differences, as well as by settings involving far differing neighborhoods of Boston. Readers who enjoyed Kim Edwards's The Memory Keeper's Daughter or Jeanette Halen's Matters of Chance will feel right at home in the anxious pages of Meyers' captivating novel. [See Prepub Alert, 8/16/12.]-Keddy Ann Outlaw, formerly with Harris Co. P.L., Houston (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.