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Denting the Bosch: A Novel of Marriage, Friendship, and Expensive Household Appliances
by
Teresa Link
A gorgeously written, sharp debut novel about three middle-aged couples who find themselves unmoored in the prime of their lives, in the vein of Sue Miller, Anne Tyler and Meg Wolitzer
Three couples in San Diego—best friends, empty nesters living the California dream—have reached a tipping point. With the blurry years of child rearing and corporate ladder-climbing over, eac...more
Three couples in San Diego—best friends, empty nesters living the California dream—have reached a tipping point. With the blurry years of child rearing and corporate ladder-climbing over, eac...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
August 7th 2012
by Thomas Dunne Books
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It is the rare person theses days who is born, lives their entire life and dies within a small geographical radius. We are a society on the move, and most of us will feel the psychological and emotional challenges of moving to a new city or town far from home at least once in their life. Denting The Bosch weaves the story of Adele's move with her husband and children from her comfortable life in suburban New York to North County, San Diego with the lives of her new best friends Sylvia and Maggi...more
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Book club selection so I didn't know what to expect. I almost gave it one star, but felt that was a bit too harsh (I guess I'll reserve that for books I can't finish since life is too short to finish a bad book). Overall impression: the book was ok, nothing extraordinary (compared to more recent reads: Wild, A Visit from the Goon Squad, The Imperfectionists).
I found it difficult to get into the story at the start, I didn't connect with any of the characters or care where the story was headed. It...more
I found it difficult to get into the story at the start, I didn't connect with any of the characters or care where the story was headed. It...more
I was oh so pleased to have read Denting the Bosch as part of the Goodreads Advance Reader program and appreciate receiving a complementary book from the publisher.
Free book or not, Denting the Bosch shocked me with the wonderful literary quality of the storytelling. It is easily a five star novel. Not an "almost" or deserving of extra credit for one thing or another as I sometimes think. Teresa Link needs no extra credit or leaning on the scale to tip this into the category of something I'd giv...more
Free book or not, Denting the Bosch shocked me with the wonderful literary quality of the storytelling. It is easily a five star novel. Not an "almost" or deserving of extra credit for one thing or another as I sometimes think. Teresa Link needs no extra credit or leaning on the scale to tip this into the category of something I'd giv...more
I won this book in the drawing from Good Reads. I was delighted because of all the books listed this was the book I was most interested in.
Although there was duplicated words in one sentence and a mispelled word in another (Shame on the editor!), I couldn't put the book down. I did get confused with the characters at times and sometimes the backflashes were confusing. And some of those "big" words that the author threw in, like "uxorious", took my attention away from the story to look up. But I...more
Although there was duplicated words in one sentence and a mispelled word in another (Shame on the editor!), I couldn't put the book down. I did get confused with the characters at times and sometimes the backflashes were confusing. And some of those "big" words that the author threw in, like "uxorious", took my attention away from the story to look up. But I...more
This novel revolves around three couples living in San Diego, California. The wives have been close friends for years and are rocked by the sudden announcement that one of their husbands wants a divorce. Soon the other marriages face their own crises and the pleasant, predictable lives they all had counted on begin unraveling. In trying to minimize the damage and reassemble their lives, they find that the people they thought they knew best are often strangers under the thin veneers of assumption...more
Perhaps the theme of this book is "selfishness". Unfortunately it is a novel for which there is ample evidence in this new age of indulgence in denial of consequence--the yuppies (of whom I am one) grown older. When a man or woman fills their life with "self", is it any wonder that he/she ends up with nothing? Nothing, even amidst plenty? This book is bent. No one wins in the end--except maybe Maggie and Paul, and they go by the literary wayside before the end. I can't imagine a woman suffering...more
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This book was received for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Denting the Bosch was a surprisingly fantastic novel. I am 20-something and unmarried so I wasn't sure whether I would be able to relate to this book's boomer characters. I am happy to report that the main female characters all truly resonated with me - I saw myself in one or two of them, and many friends in others. The issues surrounding relationship dynamics and infidelity were well explored.
I also enjoyed the different characters’...more
Denting the Bosch was a surprisingly fantastic novel. I am 20-something and unmarried so I wasn't sure whether I would be able to relate to this book's boomer characters. I am happy to report that the main female characters all truly resonated with me - I saw myself in one or two of them, and many friends in others. The issues surrounding relationship dynamics and infidelity were well explored.
I also enjoyed the different characters’...more
4.5 stars
Very good debut novel about 3 long-time married couples at the turning point of their marriages with well drawn characters and real situations. This novel of marital and relationship angst is told from all viewpoints, which can sometimes be detrimental when trying to fully develop all of the personalities in the story but the author did a good job with a couple of minor exceptions. A couple—no,wait, almost all of the characters annoyed the heck out of me but I cared enough to find out w...more
Very good debut novel about 3 long-time married couples at the turning point of their marriages with well drawn characters and real situations. This novel of marital and relationship angst is told from all viewpoints, which can sometimes be detrimental when trying to fully develop all of the personalities in the story but the author did a good job with a couple of minor exceptions. A couple—no,wait, almost all of the characters annoyed the heck out of me but I cared enough to find out w...more
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I not only didn't like anyone in this book, I didn't understand them. These women seemed more suited to having been born in the 30's than the 50's or 60's like they must have been (they were 50+ after 2001..). They don't watch their own money, they're that clueless? Generationally that makes no sense for women of that age. Why were some of the men aging hippies but the women Donna Reed type characters?
Also, either the book was so confusing that I missed something or there is a huge continuity pr...more
Also, either the book was so confusing that I missed something or there is a huge continuity pr...more
Pretty good book. Easy to read and the story was interesting enough to keep me engaged. Scared me though--don't want to reach that stage of life. My major complaint is that sometimes Americans think/portray Canadians as a bunch of yahoos living in the middle of nowhere, saying "eh" all the time. If done correctly, I find it amusing. However, in this book it made me roll my eyes. It just feeds this ridiculous stereotype made about Canadians. Maybe some of you should actually visit Canada and find...more
I thought at first, that this was chic lit fluff... and there was some of that but it was a lot deeper. I liked the book enough to read the last half straight through. It explored the secrets in long-time marriages, women who have no idea what their finances are and suffer because of it, infidelity. The way the California life-style was presented makes me never want to live there! It explored the friendships and support that develop between women and that was the best part of the book. I look fo...more
This is a First Reads for me - I won this as a Giveaway.
This is the story of 2 couples living north of San Diego. They are all in their mid-fifties and all have grown children. They also all have troubled marriages. In Denting the Bosch we discover how each couple copes with their marriage difficulties. Throw in the great recession of 2008 and Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme and things get a bit hairy for everyone. The author also ends with an epilogue and I like epilogues. I like to know what happ...more
This is the story of 2 couples living north of San Diego. They are all in their mid-fifties and all have grown children. They also all have troubled marriages. In Denting the Bosch we discover how each couple copes with their marriage difficulties. Throw in the great recession of 2008 and Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme and things get a bit hairy for everyone. The author also ends with an epilogue and I like epilogues. I like to know what happ...more
*Check out http://www.infinitereads.com for other reviews and sundry thoughts!*
Reminiscent of Anne Tyler, Denting the Bosch, Teresa Link's incisive debut novel, examines the trials and tribulations of three middle-aged married couples in San Diego. When their friend Sylvia's husband announces he's leaving her for his secretary, Adele and Maggie feel stirrings of doubt about the solidity of their own marriages. Even after many happy years with Paul, Maggie still wonders what became of her first...more
Reminiscent of Anne Tyler, Denting the Bosch, Teresa Link's incisive debut novel, examines the trials and tribulations of three middle-aged married couples in San Diego. When their friend Sylvia's husband announces he's leaving her for his secretary, Adele and Maggie feel stirrings of doubt about the solidity of their own marriages. Even after many happy years with Paul, Maggie still wonders what became of her first...more
This was a very hard book for me to read & follow. The characters jumped around alot and so when I put the book down for the night, if I didn't get to it the next day I had to reread to get the drift again of what was going on. It was a really hard book for me to follow with so many characters with so much going on in each persons life & also intertwined.
I didn't finish the book as my frustration with trying to follow it over took me. If you really enjoy a detailed book that you really...more
I didn't finish the book as my frustration with trying to follow it over took me. If you really enjoy a detailed book that you really...more
I was nicely surprised by this book. Three ill fitted friends in three different types of marriages, each in the midst of the ebb and flow of change. It spoke volumes, in very subtle ways, and crept up on the reader in a quiet, unhurried way. Truly a delight, yet left a bittersweet taste in knowing that not all marriages end well, if they end at all. And not all dreams and wants and needs truly make us happy. A thought provoking book in the guise of chick lit. Nicely done.
Three couples living in San Diego on the verge of empty nests find that everything in their lives and marriages is not as solid as they once thought. When two of the three couples separate, everyone begins to examine their own lives. The women, best friends Adele, Maggie, and Sylvia, all have to try to figure out what to do - whether to fight for their marriages or move on.
While parts of this book were interesting, overall it was very depressing and shallow. Maybe that was on purpose to highlig...more
While parts of this book were interesting, overall it was very depressing and shallow. Maybe that was on purpose to highlig...more
Definitely a Chic Lit book, but one with character and twists. I enjoyed it and learned a few new words. Several are Jewish words and my favorite is dybbuk, how could you not love that word. It has to do with death as you may have guessed. Another one was palliation (palliate)...look it up, a good word to describe much of political rhetoric. If you like the occasional female oriented book this one at least has some interesting plot lines.
7/22/12 Looking forward to receiving and reading my Goodreads giveaways book!
7/25/12 Wow! Thank you UPS for the quick delivery! Received Advance Reading Copy with a different cover.
The story of Slyvia and Carl, Adele and Drew & Maggie and Paul. The 3 couples are in their mid-50's and have been married long term. As they face empty nests in glorious sunny California, Carl and Drew think maybe they don't want to be married anymore. They have destroyed their marriage with infidelity. As the co...more
7/25/12 Wow! Thank you UPS for the quick delivery! Received Advance Reading Copy with a different cover.
The story of Slyvia and Carl, Adele and Drew & Maggie and Paul. The 3 couples are in their mid-50's and have been married long term. As they face empty nests in glorious sunny California, Carl and Drew think maybe they don't want to be married anymore. They have destroyed their marriage with infidelity. As the co...more
After reading this book I thought about all the people in my life who are also middle aged and what their relationships are like at this point in their lives. The author takes some very real issues that occur in long term marriages and puts them under the microscope. She examines friendships among women and the secrets they share. The women in the book pretty much put their own wants and dreams aside to follow their husbands ideals. Later in life, they discover lies and for some, question the va...more
I would probably give 2.5 stars if possible. I didn't hate it and wanted to find out what happened but I didn't love it either. The characters felt 2 dimensional. I kept thinking the author was imagining how middle aged people would act and feel. The constant internal dialogues were way overdone, There were times the conversations struck me like Woody Allen dialogue and if the intent had been humor it might have worked.
I won this book as a First Reads prize, and started reading it right away... and then for some reason, it got put aside. I found it again recently (amazing what cleaning a room can turn up, eh?) and I'm so glad I did.
The writing is clear, evocative and very enjoyable. The characters are very well-drawn - we all know someone like each of the folks in this book. It was wonderful to follow along with their stories - to learn some of the hidden aspects of their lives, and how they contributed to th...more
The writing is clear, evocative and very enjoyable. The characters are very well-drawn - we all know someone like each of the folks in this book. It was wonderful to follow along with their stories - to learn some of the hidden aspects of their lives, and how they contributed to th...more
I got this book as a giveaway on Goodreads, which made me think, Meh, how good can it be? But I was surprised to find it was really good. It follows three middle-aged couples, two of which are headed for divorce, and has interesting characters along with a sense of humor mixed with pathos. It was the first time in a long time that I shut a book and kind of (dorky, I know) missed the characters.
I'm easy...I loved it. Once I established each character and kept them straight, I enjoyed the story. Moreso, the subject matter was of interest..what exactly does a woman do once she is perceivably "done" her job as homemaker..once her children have grown and moved on, and when her husband's eye wanders and his hands (and more) follow? I enjoyed following what these characters did to either reinvent themselves or find their truth in their later years. I also realized I probably would hate livin...more
Do you ever get inexplicably stubborn about a book and become determined to finish it, even though you don't like it very much? I didn't care for this book in the way I didn't care for Triburbia: I don't enjoy spending time in the heads of an endless parade of self-absorbed schmucks.
I had mixed emotions about this book. It was well written and I definitely wanted to find out what happened to everyone, however, I didn't care about any of the main characters. The book did cause me to do a some sould searching and reflection on my own life. It was a bit of a downer.
This book wasn't as good as I thought it would be, although there were some good moments. The book jumps around a lot between the characters. There were many times I was confused or bored with the book. This may be a book that you have to read more than once to understand it fully.
Three couples best friends Adele, Maggie and Sylvia find with the years of child rearing and helping husbands climb the corporate ladder over. Each pair is looking forward to enjoying the golden years together. Suddenly two of the husbands announce they want a divorce. As friendships and marriages unravel and the couples face some financial problems. As one of the couples lose almost all there money in a ponzi scheme. This is truly a heartfelt story about modern life, middle age, friendship and...more
Sylvia, Maggie and Adele are mature married women with empty nests, coping with the changes in their lives and in their husbands. Two of them manage to figure out how to deal with the changes; one does not.
I got this through First Reads. Although this book was about older couples in life, I was captivated by the emotions and the humor. I would definitely recommend this to any of my friends.
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