From Publishers Weekly
Campbell (
Slave to Fashion;
Slave to Love) blends strained fidelity, the perils of parenting and a heaping dose of bodily-function jokes with a scathing British wit in her third romp. Fashionista Celeste and her writer husband, Sean, have a reliable if staid life: "two and a bit"-year-old child Henry and enough money to live comfortably in one of the world's most expensive cities. But when Celeste reads Sean's journal and learns that he's becoming friendly with "yummy mummy" Uma Thursday from Henry's playgroup, the cradle gets rocked. In chapters that alternate between Sean's journal entries and Celeste's quest for revenge, Uma turns up the heat on Sean and Celeste has her seven-year-itch scratched. Campbell's insights into the tedium of settled relationships are spot-on: "Is this the way a marriage ends, like the bathwater going slowly cold? Or does something dramatic have to happen, a big bang, some shock and awe, a 9/11?" Its stylish prose and gravity of plot make this weightier than a beach read, though the characters' psychology has its phoned-in moments. By using characters from her previous novels and leaving several loose ends untied, Campbell has crafted a steamy springboard to what could be a fiery sequel.
(On sale Sept. 26) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Praise for Rebecca Campbell’s THE MARRIAGE DIARIES
“Hilarious…deep in the jungle of featherweight romantic intrigue…Campbell upped the ante.” —
People (three out of four stars)
“Utterly contemporary. . .
The Marriage Diaries is witty, saucy, vulgar, sexually explicit, scatological, insightful, and a lot of fun. Rebeccca Campbell brings a transforming burst of energy to the well-worn subjects of maritial ennui and infidelity. Her main characters could be cliches . . .but in Campbell’s hands they’re fresh, funny, real.”
—
The Boston Sunday Globe “…Enjoy the neat trick Campbell has pulled off: a really funny book about a realistically troubled relationship. Campbell paints a rich and multi-layered portrait of a loving, if slightly imperfect, marriage.” —
Chicago Sunday Sun-Times“[Campbell] offers a convincing depiction of marital ennui, infidelity, and reconciliation. Smart, emotionally honest entertainment. “
— Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
“Campbell blends strained fidelity, the perils of parenting and a heaping dose of bodily-function jokes with a scathing British wit. . . Campbell has crafted a steamy springboard to what could be a fiery sequel.” —
Publishers Weekly “Brutally honest and wonderfully witty,
The Marriage Diaries had me laughing and crying, often at the same time.” — Gemma Townley, author of
Little White Lies
“As in all the best love stories, Campbell’s protagonists meet the challenges of intimacy with their wills as much as their hearts.” —
Contra Costa Times
“…a witty examination of modern marriage and gender roles…” —
Romantic Times Book Reviews
