The Good Guy: A deeply compelling novel about love and marriage set in 1960s suburban America
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By Susan Beale
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1 review
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2016
‘I fell into The Good Guy hook, line and sinker . . . utterly captivating’ Last Word Review
A summer of love and deceit in 1960s New England.
Abigail has everything she’s meant to want: a handsome, successful husband, a beautiful baby daughter, and a house in the suburbs. Inside, however, she’s in turmoil: awkward with her neighbors, exhausted by the demands of motherhood, a failure at domesticity.
Her husband, Ted, doesn’t feel the same pressure. His professional life is on the up when a chance encounter with single-girl Penny offers a glimpse of the life he might have had, had he not blindly followed convention. Captivated, he tells a lie and then another. Lie by lie, he constructs a double life, convinced he can keep his two worlds separate, but can he?
Brilliantly observed and deeply moving, The Good Guy proves that the worst lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
‘A sparkling debut, with a lifelike depiction of a time and place, and piercing insights into the fabled, and often tarnished, American dream’ Lady
‘Extremely well-written, intelligent and perceptive, this also happens to be a novel that slips down like ice-cream on a hot day. I absolutely loved it’ Shiny New Books
‘A delicious, slightly gossipy summer read with a Mad Men feel to it. I’d especially recommend this to readers who enjoyed The Longest Night by Andria Williams and Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann’ Bookbag
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No-one really comes out of this being the 'good guy'. Yes, they may feel like they are doing their best but you find yourself shouting at the characters to talk to each other - in that sense, it is a good portrayal of what happens when communication is not working, but I didn't really care for any of the characters, except for feeling sorry for Penny, who is the only 'good guy' in the story, blithely planning life around a bunch of someone else's lies.
Our book group was given several advance copies of this book to review so thank you to The Reading Agency, and I look forward to our discussions of the book when we meet after the holidays!
