State of the Union (Paperback)

As with 'A Special Relationship' he writes from the female perspective, this time starting off with a much gentler pace in Part One of the book describing life for a young couple in a eight year period (1996-1973). The heroine, does not seem very 'heroine' like' initially, the ordinariness of the life she chooses to live in comparison to the changing times in the US make a riveting contrast.

It makes delightful reading to see Hannah's attempts to live a life different from her parent's, particularly her mother, but in the end she can not stop history repeating itself, while she goes about her life avoiding it. I had to stop myself and figure had Douglas Kennedy lived my life, but can only believe that we all at some level rebel against our parent's beliefs and perceived wrongdoings to find ourselves following their well worn footsteps. Hannah's relationship with her father was just as fascinating as that with her mother, and not as perfect as wanted to fool herself into believing. The Oedipus complex is in full swing here with the dawning awareness as she becomes a mother herself that life is not always black and white.

Her marriage she feels will provide a safe harbour from the complexities of her relationship with her parents, provides too safe a port, you can almost sense her need to get out, and those standing on the sidelines of her life knowing it was not the place to be. As a reader you want to shake her, make her listen to her mother's wisdom, knowing full well you did not listen to your own mother's wisdom when you were that age.

The affair that takes Hannah off the path of least resistance for a short time is well written, like a moth to a light on a dark night she is compelled to rebel. I almost felt proud she had stood up to life, knowing that there would be a price to pay.

At 12:30am I promised I would put the book down and leave Part Two for another night, 12:34am I had the light back, I just had to finish it!

Part Two brings to 2003, and it seems that the sins of the past come back to haunt Hannah. Initially it is easy to think she has got away with her affair of thirty years earlier, but there is just enough penance in being married to her staid and steady husband for us to feel that she has more than paid. But life is never that fair and is starts to fall apart. The tempo speeds up with the compulsive style that Douglas Kennedy whips up book after book.

Kennedy has us on his rollercoaster of complex and often polar emotions bring us closer to Hannah but further away from her husband. Different characters stand either side of this emotional like/dislike dividing line. That is apart from her daughter Lizzie. It is interesting to feel that Hannah has a better relationship with her daughter, than she did with her own mother. Despite this Lizzie's behaviour and subsequent disappearance create a lot of the suspense. The affair comes to light after the disappearance, is not just played out in private but in full view of the American public. The furore it creates and Hannah's handling of the situation brings sympathy and fear. The downfall of Hannah's marriage was very well crafted. I felt a sense of triumph as Hannah recovered slowly but gracefully from the onslaught, and I was overjoyed she appeared to came out a better and stronger person.

I guess it is another wait of two years before we have another book, having read all Kennedy's works of fiction and desperate for the next fix I had to turn to non-fiction, and even in these books he crafts a great human story!