The Last Secret by Mary Mcgarry Morris. Some spoilers.
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CherokeeGoth
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The Last Secret by Mary Mcgarry Morris. Some spoilers.
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.
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GotThatSwing
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I haven't read the book. But after reading your post I still cannot understand what can be so disappointing in the book? I mean, it sound depressing, sure, but does that make a book bad? Life isn't perfect, parents are not all good, people stay with their partners for some reasons even if it's unreasonable and not everything ends with justice. Or is that the end of the book that is so disappointing? Because the rest (excluding psycho man circling around which sounds a bit too much for a story) sounds quite interesting and real.
Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.
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CherokeeGoth
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I know everything doesn't end in justice and life isn't perfect, I get that. But you have to read to see what I'm getting at. You actually want to throttle the husband and her so-called best for the pain they've caused her and like I said, they are oblivious to her pain. They are so caught up in themselves and being together that they don't care about either of their spouses. Ooh, and it's like I said, her husband continues the affair going back to his lies and deceit thinking he has her fooled, that he's actually trying to work the marriage out.GotThatSwing wrote:I haven't read the book. But after reading your post I still cannot understand what can be so disappointing in the book? I mean, it sound depressing, sure, but does that make a book bad? Life isn't perfect, parents are not all good, people stay with their partners for some reasons even if it's unreasonable and not everything ends with justice. Or is that the end of the book that is so disappointing? Because the rest (excluding psycho man circling around which sounds a bit too much for a story) sounds quite interesting and real.
And her "friend" and her husband act as if they were sorry about what happened when confronted when they actually weren't. And now that I think about it, the husband never said the affair would stop or that he WAS sorry. He was just acting like it was over and that he was TRYING to fix his marriage just appease his wife when she knew better. And about his kids, his daughter is daddy's girl and let's just say that instead of being a parent, he is more her friend. The mother practically does most of the disciplining. And the son, there are actually pages in there where the wife saw the hate in the father's eyes for their son and it frightened her.
Yes, the end is very,very disappointing to the point I felt very sad and hurt for the wife. But you have ot read it and once you do, you wouldn't like it either. Maybe I wrong. After I read the book I knew that not all books end happy and also that what's going inside the book also happens in real life, but this made my gut churn. The beginning, middle and end is just wrong. But there were parts in the book where I whooped for the wife and felt very proud of her and I said, "You go girl". And there were parts where I wanted to throttle her also but not like I do the husband and her"friend", totally different throttle, my friend. :p
Like when she felt as if felt his "relationship" was her fault.
All in all, the book was heartwrenching and almost disgusting. When I told my mom about it, she was like, " Why would you read something like that?" She said she would have stopped reading it after a while, not even getting close to the middle. But I had to finish it. And I did. And I'm sorry I ever read that book in the first place.
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Fran
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CherokeeGoth
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It is shallow and silly. Not to mention excluding the wife everyone around her that she knows is two-faced, liars, careless, secretive and brainless. No conscience whatsoever. Come to think of it, it is very ONE dimensional and unrealistic. The story is from the wife's point and the killer's point but like I said I just wanted to burn that book up. If you ask me, that was a total waste of paper and words.Fran wrote:Not my kind of book ... sounds rather silly & shallow IMO.
I don't necessarly have to like the characters I read about but I do like them to have 'character' not to be just one dimensional.
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GotThatSwing
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Give it for recycling, that's what I do with worthless books in hope they'll produce some better one of this paper And it's some kind of relieve of the anger that you had to read it. 
And it's some kind of relieve of the anger that you had to read it. Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.
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CherokeeGoth
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GotThatSwing
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Oh, then you cannot do that. At least you didn't pay for the book. I usually buy the books I read and if some of them turns impossible, I get angry I spent money and time for it, therefore it lands in paper bin, since it's not even worth giving away.CherokeeGoth wrote:What do you mean by that?GotThatSwing wrote:Give it for recycling, that's what I do with worthless books in hope they'll produce some better one of this paper
Oh and the book I had read was from the library.
Lolita. Light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.
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CherokeeGoth
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True true. I said if it wasn't mine I would have but unfortunaley...if did that I would have had to pay for damages.GotThatSwing wrote:Oh, then you cannot do that. At least you didn't pay for the book. I usually buy the books I read and if some of them turns impossible, I get angry I spent money and time for it, therefore it lands in paper bin, since it's not even worth giving away.CherokeeGoth wrote:What do you mean by that?GotThatSwing wrote:Give it for recycling, that's what I do with worthless books in hope they'll produce some better one of this paper
Oh and the book I had read was from the library.
