Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer

The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer
288 pages
Published April 2011 by Penguin Group
Source: the publisher and TLC Book Tours

In a small town in New Jersey, new drama teacher at the high school has announced that this year's play will be "Lysistrata*," a play in which one Greek woman incites the rest to withhold sex from their husbands and lovers until the end the Pelopponesian War. Almost immediately a spell begins to settle over the women of Stellar Plains. Young and old, they begin to lose all interest in intimacy. The slightest touch has them pulling away.

It happens to Robby and Dory Lang, admired and beloved English teachers at the high school. Married for fifteen years, everyone assumes that Dory and Robby have the perfect marriage.
"It might have gone on like this for a long, long time. It might never have changed. They might have remained one of those miracle couples who never stop, never quit, and whom everyone regards in head-shaking awe. They might have stayed at an impressive pitch, sexually, even after so much time had gone by."
Then one night, Robby put a hand on Dory's shoulder and she felt a blast of cold air, a blast that was the spell, a spell that left her feeling disgusted by Robby's touch. And so it went throughout the town.
"Starting that night, and continuing for quite a while afterward, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped and the windows shook like crazy in their frames, and all over that town, you could hear the word "no."
The spell came over Bev Cutler, a woman who's been pulling back from her husband for some time but is still surprised to be so repulsed by him. It settles on Ruth Winik, the girls' P.E. teacher who previously had been so attracted to her husband that she had given up a period of lesbianism to be with him. It even comes over Leanne Bannerjee who pulls away from not one but three lovers and Willa Lang who has only recently fallen in love for the first time and begun discovering sex. The more the women pull away, the more frustrated and distant the men become.

I went into this book completely unaware of what it was about; I knew Wolitzer's name and that the book was about relationships. I wasn't sure where the book was going for a while, if it was just going to be a book about Robby and Dory or something more. But as the spell spread and Wolitzer explored how such a thing might effect society, the story definitely picked up for me. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, perhaps because there were so many of them, although there were things about many of the couples that struck home. The idea of magical realism in a story doesn't always well for me and this book was no exception; I might have enjoyed the book more if Wolitzer had found a different way to make her point. Despite the fact that the major theme of the book is intimacy, there is nothing particularly graphic in the novel and this one might make an interesting book club selection.


Thanks to TLC Book Tours for including me in this tour. For more reviews, check out these blogs. To learn more about Wolitzer and her books, check out her website. To read an excerpt of the book, follow this link.

* "Lysistrata": a play by Aristophanes in which Lysistrata persuades the women of Greece to withhold sexual favors from their husbands to force them to negotiate peace after the Pelopponisian War has dragged on for over twenty years. The women's actions start a new war...the battle between the sexes. The play, a comedy, helped usher in a new era for the comedic theater and includes explicit obscenities and double entendre.

12 comments:

  1. I have heard a lot of good things about this book, and frankly, the plot sounds really intriguing to me for some reason. I am adding this to my list, and I really want to take the time to check it out. Thanks for the great review, as usual:)

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  2. I got this one from Library Thing but haven't cracked it open yet. It sounds interesting in theory and it's short! I plan to read it next. Right now I am finishing up The Raising.

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  3. This seems to be the reaction. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. I'm glad to hear you think it'll make a good book club discussion...I want to propose it to my book group, but I'm waiting for it to come out in paperback. Of course, that's a long ways away and I might forget.

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  5. I would read this one for a book club but not sure if I would pick it up otherwise. Loved your take on the story.

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  6. Hmm...this sounds interesting, but magical realism has to be done just right for me to enjoy it.

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  7. I remember seeing Lysistrata when I was in college and thinking it was quite scandalous and I was quite the woman about town for seeing it. I'd really like to read this book!

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  8. I'm finally sitting, ah.

    I have had this on my list for a while but I might hold off reading it (or might not read it). I'm not seeing great reviews...

    I did read her last novel which was interesting and slow, if this makes sense.

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  9. No wonder I've seen this book everywhere this week! Didn't realize it was a TLC tour book. I like going into a book knowing very little (actually skipped everything except your last paragraph because of it), but too bad that you couldn't quite connect with this one. I do like magic realism but the author has to be pretty crafty to pull it off.

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  10. I just finished this one last night. I really enjoyed the writing of Meg Wolitzer. I didn't much connect with the magical realism, esp what happens in the end on the stage, but otherwise, it was quite entertaining!

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  11. I'm interested in reading this book because of its unique premise but I'm also wary. I'm not a fan of magical themes and fantasy so I'm not sure how I'll find the "spell" that takes over women in this book. But I hope for some interesting "discussion" and ideas.
    I enjoyed your review!

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  12. Hello, it's the author here... I am naturally glad you've read the book, and I appreciate the commentary, even when it's mixed. Thanks very much for writing (and reading)--

    All best,

    Meg

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