In this delightful novel, Abigail Thomas takes readers back to the summer of 1960 and into the heart of a young woman embarking on a marriage not exactly made in heaven.
"It is too bad marriage doesn't come with attachments like a vacuum cleaner. You can't do anything with ours. Ours just sits there and blows hot air," says Virginia, the 19-year-old narrator of An Actual Life. Having gotten pregnant in the late 1950s after a single night of not so blissful sex, she is now mired in a joyless marriage. Her young husband Buddy works, goes to school, and ignores her, preferring to spend free time with his high school girlfriend Irene, whose marriage to Buddy's best friend Chick seems just as much of a sham. In the meantime, Virginia plays with their daughter Madeline, repeats every superstition she's ever heard--passing on the stairs is bad luck, a dropped knife heralds a man's arrival--and obsessively charts Buddy's comings and goings. Quirky humor makes the reader laugh and wince, while adept characterization and flowing prose add up to a wonderful, featherweight novel.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Great:
I found this book to be wonderful! Yes, it was sad, but it felt very real to me. I found it easy to connect with the main character and understand her actions. It is a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
read it twice:
This was one of the only books I've ever read twice. I found the character Virginia to be hilarious and found myself laughing out-loud more than once. I was also excited to find out that this book was based on a short story in a previous book, that I now plan to read. I would highly recommend this to anyone, especially a young wife (which I was the first time I read it).
A fresh voice to an old subject...:
At 19, Virginia's just learned the hard way that getting pregnant doesn't always equal love and happiness. She had the misfortune of conceiving her daughter Madeleine the night she lost her virginity to Buddy, a young man she barely knew. Now, it's 1960, and Virginia's shotgun wedding has led to a stay-at-home mom existence, where she realizes just how little she actually knows -- and has in common -- with Buddy. The one thing Virginia does know, however, is that Buddy isn't over his high school... more info
I don't understand the positive reviews this book received:
This was a very difficult book to read, because it seemed so sad and hopeless to be trapped in a such a loveless marriage that was doomed from the start. I disagree with the product description above which states that Virginia and Buddy tried hard - I didn't think they tried at all, and just resigned themselves to a dismal life together. I realize this was the 1960's when marriage counseling and other current ways to cope with these situations weren't as common and available as they are now, but still, I... more info
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