While I enjoyed the book, i found it very dated. If I would have read it when I came out, just a few years after the book, I probably would have loved it. ( )

Synopsis: Carolyn was the perfect wife. She took care of the house, cooked meals, and attended to her husband's business needs as well as his personal needs. Their first real conflict came when Carolyn chose to keep a job that prevented her from preparing his breakfast. Leaving for work early meant that she returned early. One day she realized that someone was using the swimming pool. Val, the next door neighbor and artist, loved to swim. Carolyn and Val became fast friends, but the husband was jealous and did all he could to keep them apart. It wasn't until his meddling threw them together that they both realized that they preferred the company of women to that of men.
Review: This was a well written story that explored the depths of relationships among men and women. It also looks at the violence that can result from 'a man scorned'. ( )

I'm not sure exactly what I think about this novel, even after reading it. The basic story isn't all that new or different. Carolyn Blake is a married housewife (mostly) type. She meets Val Hunter, who's renting the house next door. Val is an artist and has a son named Neal. They become friends and as Carolyn's marriage slowly falls apart they start the 'how do I really like/love you' dance.

An interesting part of the book was that, yeah, on the surface it's about both women coming to grips with their sexuality. But it also touches on the themes of conformity and control.

Forrest writes the the male protagonist , Paul Blake, amazingly. He seemed to me to be the best written character of the novel and more than once I wanted to strangle the guy.

I also liked how Forrest paralleled the Reagan/Mondale election a bit. It wasn't a big part of the story, but it anchored the story in time.

The only big problem I had with the book was that the end seemed rushed. There's this big event and then the rest of the book seems like everyone has somewhere else to be and so it just ends with a sort of 'and everyone lives happily ever after'. The end just seemed rushed compared to the great building of the rest of the story. ( )