The Husband’s Secret
by Liane Moriarty has been billed as a great beach read or one you want to curl
up with for the whole day beside a cozy fireplace. Since we have no beach in Phoenix, it’s too early for a cozy
fire, and even poolside season is over, what’s one to do?
My suggestion is read it anyway, but don’t start it if you
have a LOT of things to do because I don’t think you’ll want to put this book
down. Perhaps an exaggeration on
my part, but the author does keep the action and suspense moving from page one
until the very last page. It
centers on the lives of three women—Cecilia, the driven and successful
Tupperware specialist and mother of three; Tess, a career woman and mother
whose husband falls in love with her cousin; Rachel, a widow and school
secretary in her 70’s who is still grieving the premature death of her daughter
twenty years ago and is now in a panic because her only grandson, who she
adores, is moving to New York. (The story takes place in Sydney, Australia).
Although this description makes it sound like “chick lit”, trust me-- there is enough
suspense, mystery and male perspective to keep the male audience riveted too.
On a side note, because I read this as an “audio” book, I
must say the narrator was a wonderful actor who was able to portray all the
voices brilliantly in beautiful Australian accents, from the 2- year old
grandson to the 70-year old and everyone in-between. And there are a lot of in-betweens who captivated me as well
as the three main characters—Rachel’s son and daughter-in-law; Cecilia’s
husband, John-Paul; and Tess’ husband Will and cousin, Felicity. Within a seven-day period, culminating
on Easter Sunday, the lives of these eight people will interact in a way none
of them could ever have imagined.
In fact, it seems to me that they are all main characters because they
reveal so much of their thoughts as the plot moves forward.
At the heart of the story is a letter that is not meant to
be read. Cecelia stumbles upon a
faded, yellowed, sealed envelope from her husband that reads, “To be opened upon my death,” but her
husband, John-Paul is very much alive.
John-Paul is out of town when she finds the letter. She does not open it
and discusses the finding of it in a phone conversation with him. He begs her not to open and Cecelia
agrees to honor his wish. But when he returns home, his suspicious actions
cause her to renege on her promise.
And thus, Pandora’s box is opened.
The story is told from the three women’s perspectives during
the seven-day period, but includes many flashbacks which explain their
motivations and make them credible and sympathetic. Their brutally honest thought processes as they deal with
their particular circumstances also make this multi-layered story rich and very
relatable.
Cecilia, Tess and Rachel are three very good women. They have lived blameless lives until
two husbands’ secrets are revealed.
Then they have to re-asses their relationships with those closest to
them
There are many themes to explore: grief, love, guilt, fate, obligation to one’s loved ones and
society as a whole. I believe it
is no accident that the story culminates on Easter Sunday, a day of
resurrection and redemption because none of these characters can go back and
undo the damage, but must now decide how to forgive and move forward in their
lives with courage and hope.
Neurotic insecurity is also another issue explored as it
affects the decisions these characters have made in their lives. I think causes
the reader to examine how their own insecurities may have altered the paths of
their life. This would be a great
book discussion choice for all the above reasons. There is so much depth yet the fast pace of it leaves one
not time to dwell or ponder on these issues—we have to keep reading to see how
it all turns out for these people.
Only when we are finished with the story can we appreciate how much
there is to discuss—including ethics and morals—what happens when we find that
we are capable of doing something which seems entirely out of character?
And one final theme to emerge is exploration of the “What could have been?”
The epilogue tells us what might
have been for these characters, but also cautions us, “Perhaps some secrets are meant to stay
secret forever. Just ask Pandora.”
Author Liane Moriarty has written four previous novels for
adults as well as a series of books for children. Born in Sydney, Australia, she earned a Masters degree at
Macquire University in Sydney. She
was sitting in a suburban café with her toddler when she got the news every
author wants to hear: Husband’s Secret had just raced to the
top of the NY Times bestseller list shortly after its release. Movie rights for the book have been
snapped up by CBS Films.
