The Last Secret by Mary Mcgarry Morris. Some spoilers.
Posted: 13 Dec 2010, 19:03
Okay, here's the book I was talking about in the What are you Reading thread. I've got a confession: I like to read books about adultery(even though that is something I HATE the most. They are mostly about men. (Don't hit me! 
) I like to see what the wife does when she finds out about her husband's infidelity. Is she going going to go Rambo on his heiny or be soft? I prefer that she go hard and give him the tough treatment. You know what Nancy Sinatra said: One of these Days These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You.
Anyway, back on subject
It's a story about a woman whose husband admits that he's been having an affair with his childhood sweetheart for some time (and believe me, when you see how long, you'll feel like slapping him) not only that but a man from her past shows up and creeps her out There is a something that happened with her and guy like 20 years ago. Something horrible.
The main character( the wife) works at a newspaper company and helps get publicity for a certain shelter.
She has two kids. A girl and a boy. The daughter is a daddy's girl so whenever she gets into trouble or a fight with brother, the father is always quick to defend her and her actions while the mother is a more stern.He is more his daughter's friend than father. His relationship with his son is a bit sad, it's like he--the father-- doesn't even love his son.
His relationship with his wife is waning. Whenever she wants to touch him and...you know, have relations, he tenses up as if she makes him uncomfy or comes up with an excuse like, " I'm tired " and "It's been a long day" and she becomes disappointed. The wife also recognizess that he's been skittish lately: Yelling at the kids for no reason and stuff like that.
He finally says "We need to talk. Come to my office" So when she does, he tells her about the affair. Although he calls it a "relationship" for some reason. He says he never meant for it to happened but it did. It started out as a joke, he says. The woman he is having a relationship with is not only his childhood sweetheart, but his wife's friend and the wife of his best friend with whom the husband and the mistress had grown up with. Ouch.
She gets angry so she asks him where did he sleep with her. The husband says he doesn't want to talk about it and asks why is that important? But the wife persist. He says at the woman's house most of the time when the husband's either away or passed out on the couch from one of his drinking binges. The wife is appalled. Not only by that but by the fact that her son sometimes visits or spends the night there with his mistress's son.
She asks if the son knows but the husband says, "No, give me a little credit."
Now if that didn't deserve a punch in the face I don't know what did.
As the pages turn, you'll find out that most of their friends, family members or acquaintances knew about the affair but never told her. Some of them actually covered up for him. Some of the acquaintances pretended to sympathize with her saying, " I know how you feel."
But the wife's not having it. She feels hurt and betrayed by those around her. The husband says he never should have told her about the affair. She is livid and starts beating him but stops when she's had a flashback from that terrible night 20 years ago when she was with that guy.
She then realizes that how could she have been so blind to the affair, the signs. She looks back and remembers her husband always saying he has to work late or something went wrong with so and so, so he has to stay. And then there was also times when it came to dinners or whatever with couples (like going on a yacht), when the wife said she could not go for good reasons, so he can go on without her. She remembers that when she said those things, he had gotten a happy look in his eyes. Now she knows why. There even was a time when her family and her so-called friend's family were at the beach and mistress gave the husband a massage when he said his back or something her. She wonders how she could have been so stupid.
When she confronts the friend, the friend holds out her arms as if for a hug and starts to cry and says she just wants to die, she just wants to die.
But do you think any of that the stops affair? The wife sometimes looks out her window to find that he is--he gave the excuse that he wanted to smoke--on his cell talking to that woman. He's even still giving the excuse that so and so has a problem and that he wants to help or that he that he's driving his brother somewhere OR staying to work late.
She still loves him and wants to makes things work. That's why she isn't divorcing him and leaving him. She also says she love him and she is hoping he'll say it back....he never does. She even wants to have that intimacy, that connection they used, but again, whenever she touches him, he tenses up or turns away. He said that he even "trying" but we all know that's a bunch of hooey. He's not even making the effort.
He and his misstress(even the so-called friend is supposed to be a very caring and loving person and that she loves the main character), are so oblivious to her pain it makes you want to scream. They have no conscience whatsoever. When the mistress name comes up in a conversation, the husband is quick to defend her on anything or when the wife asks if there was anything that she could done differently to prevent the..."relationship", he said no and was a bit surprised by the question. Also when talking to a counselor about the problem he basically says in very vague terms that he still loves his mistress despite something that she did to him a long time ago. The wife can't believe it what she is hearing.
And the man from the wife's past is a psycho. He comes back into her life and freaks her out by being around her family or just being in the vicinity of them. She just wants him to go way so that her family won't be suspicious.
Her son is getting low grades, he's been acting strange, he is depressed about something but won't tell, he's starting fights with his father and he's no longer friends with his mistress's son. The wife says repeatedly that the father needs to talk to him needs to talk or let him see a counselor. The response is always, " He's a kid. He'll get over it" How can a father be that toward his son?
And as you read this you'll find that the father never tells his kids that he loves them or looks at him with love and affection like a father's supposed to. And what's so sickening is that he shows more affection for his mistresses young daughter than his own kids.
The psycho man is now stalkin her husband's mistress and becomes obsessed with her and...you'll find out the rest IF you should read this book
Anyway, I won't say the rest but when you come to toward the end and when you're AT the end...you'll be like "WTH! That's not right! Please tell me it's a joke."
It's not even toward the end or at it that makes this book crazy but the beginning and the middle. It makes you angry, sad, disappointed and depressed. I don't recommend this book but if you want to read to see it in its entirety then go ahead but remember, I warned you. If you have already I would like your opinion.
) I like to see what the wife does when she finds out about her husband's infidelity. Is she going going to go Rambo on his heiny or be soft? I prefer that she go hard and give him the tough treatment. You know what Nancy Sinatra said: One of these Days These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You. Anyway, back on subject
It's a story about a woman whose husband admits that he's been having an affair with his childhood sweetheart for some time (and believe me, when you see how long, you'll feel like slapping him) not only that but a man from her past shows up and creeps her out There is a something that happened with her and guy like 20 years ago. Something horrible.
The main character( the wife) works at a newspaper company and helps get publicity for a certain shelter.
She has two kids. A girl and a boy. The daughter is a daddy's girl so whenever she gets into trouble or a fight with brother, the father is always quick to defend her and her actions while the mother is a more stern.He is more his daughter's friend than father. His relationship with his son is a bit sad, it's like he--the father-- doesn't even love his son.
His relationship with his wife is waning. Whenever she wants to touch him and...you know, have relations, he tenses up as if she makes him uncomfy or comes up with an excuse like, " I'm tired " and "It's been a long day" and she becomes disappointed. The wife also recognizess that he's been skittish lately: Yelling at the kids for no reason and stuff like that.
He finally says "We need to talk. Come to my office" So when she does, he tells her about the affair. Although he calls it a "relationship" for some reason. He says he never meant for it to happened but it did. It started out as a joke, he says. The woman he is having a relationship with is not only his childhood sweetheart, but his wife's friend and the wife of his best friend with whom the husband and the mistress had grown up with. Ouch.
She gets angry so she asks him where did he sleep with her. The husband says he doesn't want to talk about it and asks why is that important? But the wife persist. He says at the woman's house most of the time when the husband's either away or passed out on the couch from one of his drinking binges. The wife is appalled. Not only by that but by the fact that her son sometimes visits or spends the night there with his mistress's son.
She asks if the son knows but the husband says, "No, give me a little credit."
Now if that didn't deserve a punch in the face I don't know what did.
As the pages turn, you'll find out that most of their friends, family members or acquaintances knew about the affair but never told her. Some of them actually covered up for him. Some of the acquaintances pretended to sympathize with her saying, " I know how you feel."
But the wife's not having it. She feels hurt and betrayed by those around her. The husband says he never should have told her about the affair. She is livid and starts beating him but stops when she's had a flashback from that terrible night 20 years ago when she was with that guy.
She then realizes that how could she have been so blind to the affair, the signs. She looks back and remembers her husband always saying he has to work late or something went wrong with so and so, so he has to stay. And then there was also times when it came to dinners or whatever with couples (like going on a yacht), when the wife said she could not go for good reasons, so he can go on without her. She remembers that when she said those things, he had gotten a happy look in his eyes. Now she knows why. There even was a time when her family and her so-called friend's family were at the beach and mistress gave the husband a massage when he said his back or something her. She wonders how she could have been so stupid.
When she confronts the friend, the friend holds out her arms as if for a hug and starts to cry and says she just wants to die, she just wants to die.
But do you think any of that the stops affair? The wife sometimes looks out her window to find that he is--he gave the excuse that he wanted to smoke--on his cell talking to that woman. He's even still giving the excuse that so and so has a problem and that he wants to help or that he that he's driving his brother somewhere OR staying to work late.
She still loves him and wants to makes things work. That's why she isn't divorcing him and leaving him. She also says she love him and she is hoping he'll say it back....he never does. She even wants to have that intimacy, that connection they used, but again, whenever she touches him, he tenses up or turns away. He said that he even "trying" but we all know that's a bunch of hooey. He's not even making the effort.
He and his misstress(even the so-called friend is supposed to be a very caring and loving person and that she loves the main character), are so oblivious to her pain it makes you want to scream. They have no conscience whatsoever. When the mistress name comes up in a conversation, the husband is quick to defend her on anything or when the wife asks if there was anything that she could done differently to prevent the..."relationship", he said no and was a bit surprised by the question. Also when talking to a counselor about the problem he basically says in very vague terms that he still loves his mistress despite something that she did to him a long time ago. The wife can't believe it what she is hearing.
And the man from the wife's past is a psycho. He comes back into her life and freaks her out by being around her family or just being in the vicinity of them. She just wants him to go way so that her family won't be suspicious.
Her son is getting low grades, he's been acting strange, he is depressed about something but won't tell, he's starting fights with his father and he's no longer friends with his mistress's son. The wife says repeatedly that the father needs to talk to him needs to talk or let him see a counselor. The response is always, " He's a kid. He'll get over it" How can a father be that toward his son?
And as you read this you'll find that the father never tells his kids that he loves them or looks at him with love and affection like a father's supposed to. And what's so sickening is that he shows more affection for his mistresses young daughter than his own kids.
The psycho man is now stalkin her husband's mistress and becomes obsessed with her and...you'll find out the rest IF you should read this book
Anyway, I won't say the rest but when you come to toward the end and when you're AT the end...you'll be like "WTH! That's not right! Please tell me it's a joke."
It's not even toward the end or at it that makes this book crazy but the beginning and the middle. It makes you angry, sad, disappointed and depressed. I don't recommend this book but if you want to read to see it in its entirety then go ahead but remember, I warned you. If you have already I would like your opinion.
