Bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Finnamore writes a story of divorce that is brilliant (Augusten Burroughs) and sure to become a clas...
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Jun 14, 2008
Holly
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I was really over this woman by the end of this book. Actually, I was pretty much over her a few pages in. Which is a shame, really, because I very much enjoyed her other two books: The Zygote Chronicles and Otherwise Engaged. But this one? It just seemed so disjointed and piecemeal and (yes, I'll say it) just a little bit self-serving and whiny. Also, the changing of tenses within a single paragraph (and sometimes even a single sentence) DROVE ME CRAZY. If you're writing about a single event, C
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May 12, 2008
Ugh, this was horrible. I couldn't even make it halfway through. I'm all for reading about depressing topics, so that's not what turned me off. There was just nothing redeeming about it - it wasn't funny, I didn't learn anything, none of the characters were likable, sympathetic or real (even though they're real people!). Maybe it's just me, but I did not get this book.
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Jun 30, 2011
I think I may have a new favorite author. If there can be a funny memoir about an unwanted divorce, thenSplit is it. Author Suzanne Finnamore, dressed in black cigarette pants and her lips painted a perfect shade of red (Putting On Your Face is what her mother calls it, War Paint is how Finnamore sees it) waits eagerly in her kitchen for her husband N. to arrive home from work. After handing him a martini with two garlic stuffed olives, he tells her simply “I DESERVE HAPPINESS.”
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With More...
Jul 27, 2010
Sara
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After reading Happens Every Day, I was recommended this book on Amazon from another reviewer and decided to check our library website. Sure enough, they had it and it was in my hands days later. I've enjoyed reading this book, thus far, but it will not leave a mark as other books have so easily done. While the author is honest, is obviously intelligent and has a good sense of humor, the book is just sort of ... lacking.
This is petty, but one of the things that put me off immediat More...
This is petty, but one of the things that put me off immediat More...
Nov 16, 2009
Lauren
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Marking this as "read" is a bit of cheating, since I put it down on a plane ride and never picked it back up (sorry, the Daily Show rerun on the in-flight TV was more interesting). But I know it's going back to the library for good. As many other people have said about this book: yes, divorce is a terrible experience. Yes, we're sorry she went through this. Yes, we understand you are trying to make every single word convey your tortured anguish. But it just doesn't work. The writing st
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Feb 04, 2011
Maggie
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It's a little unfair for me to put this on the "read" shelf, since I only skimmed it, reading a few pages per chapter. I quickly got tired of the way the book jumped around between events, the pseudo-poetic style of writing (that was really just overblown), and the constant "I didn't see it coming" refrain -- really? Really? The husband comes off as a jerk, even when they were supposedly happy. He was showing extremely suspicious behavior for years. I wanted to hear more abou
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Dec 28, 2011
Katie
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Intense and engaging. I am psychologically minded, so I found the book gripping. The writing is good (although the author changes tenses mid-sentence, which is not so good), and the emotional ride is exciting, in that I felt drawn in to everything the author confronted. This made me think a lot about divorce and its aftermath - in all circumstances, but especially in those where one spouse realizes she was married to a stranger, and that the person she thought she'd married did not really exist.
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Oct 10, 2010
Julie
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Several years ago, I read Suzanne Finnamore's novel about getting married, Otherwise Engaged, and kind of assumed it was autobiographical. We got the beginning of the story with that book, and now, with this memoir, we get the end of the story.
To be honest, in this book Finnamore seems rather pathetic and certainly petty, but I suppose we all would if placed in a similar situation. She somehow does manage to describe and give voice to a lot of emotions that seem as if they'd be hard More...
To be honest, in this book Finnamore seems rather pathetic and certainly petty, but I suppose we all would if placed in a similar situation. She somehow does manage to describe and give voice to a lot of emotions that seem as if they'd be hard More...
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Aug 25, 2011
Kyla
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I liked that she tried to be zippy about her own heartbreaking event but it put a distance to the whole thing - not that I necessarily want the author to wallow or anything, but little touches like using the initials of her ex and her son just kept me at a remove.
On the other hand, I give kudos to anyone who admits that they still love someone who doesn't love them and details the messy back and forth of the end of a relationship - it's never a clean break. And my library copy was heavily, More...
On the other hand, I give kudos to anyone who admits that they still love someone who doesn't love them and details the messy back and forth of the end of a relationship - it's never a clean break. And my library copy was heavily, More...
Nov 02, 2008
Jessica
rated it:
There is no denying that getting divorced is no fun, and in her recent novel, Split, Suzanne Finnamore reminds us just how not fun it is.
In an entirely candid portrayal of her struggle with divorce, Finnamore reveals a journey wholly undesirable. Relying on the support from relationships with her mother and close friends, Finnamore depicts a journey through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, grief and acceptance. We follow her path in coping with the various setbacks with her More...
In an entirely candid portrayal of her struggle with divorce, Finnamore reveals a journey wholly undesirable. Relying on the support from relationships with her mother and close friends, Finnamore depicts a journey through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, grief and acceptance. We follow her path in coping with the various setbacks with her More...
Sep 23, 2008
David
rated it:
Very disappointing book. Divorce is an interesting topic, and a firsthand account of going through it could be fascinating. My American U. colleague Wendy Swallow wrote an excellent book on this very subject a few years back. Split was hard to finish, however. The author has funny moments, and I can see why she's a popular magazine contributor, but her perspective was too narrow to carry a book.
The other "characters" [her son "A" and her ex "N" -- wh More...
The other "characters" [her son "A" and her ex "N" -- wh More...
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Jul 30, 2008
Marissa
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Although the writing here is not astounding in a literary sense (not like Lorrie Moore's Birds in America), she does have a quick wit, some dark humor, and a good story line.
The book, to put it simply, is about a woman who is going through a divorce. It begins simply, does not do much woe is me stuff, and gets right into the meat of things. The characters are good, some surprising which is nice, and she is honest.
I gave it a 4 because I'm thinking that perhaps I am jaded More...
The book, to put it simply, is about a woman who is going through a divorce. It begins simply, does not do much woe is me stuff, and gets right into the meat of things. The characters are good, some surprising which is nice, and she is honest.
I gave it a 4 because I'm thinking that perhaps I am jaded More...
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Nov 08, 2008
Annie
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I have a Psychology of Love class this semester and I thought this book would be an interesting perspective to get while taking this course. The book is about a woman’s journey of divorce (my worst nightmare). I realized that while divorce is a relatively frequency occurrence in our country, it seems little is known about what a person may be going through. This book did a good job of conveying the process and difficulty inherent in a divorce. The author’s husband, who was the one who left/d
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Jun 18, 2008
Tiffany
rated it:
Kind of depressing so far, but that's expected since the book is about divorce..
Just finished this one and I liked, definitely not loved it. Aside from the fact that I'm happily married, I couldn't relate to the author; she is well off, lives in a house she owns, is able to work from home as a writer, and able to jaunt off to Paris at a moment's notice.
I probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone going through a divorce, as it can obviously get a little ugly and probably wouldn't More...
Just finished this one and I liked, definitely not loved it. Aside from the fact that I'm happily married, I couldn't relate to the author; she is well off, lives in a house she owns, is able to work from home as a writer, and able to jaunt off to Paris at a moment's notice.
I probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone going through a divorce, as it can obviously get a little ugly and probably wouldn't More...
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Jun 05, 2008
Laura
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I had to get used to her style, but I enjoyed it once I did. I just kept thinking while reading, "I'm never getting married."
One thing that bugged me: she replaces the names of her ex-husband and her son with the initials N and A, respectively, which is a bit annoying in and of itself, but I could get over it. The A kept tripping me up, though - so many times I started reading a sentence that started with A and got half-way through before I realized that she was referring More...
One thing that bugged me: she replaces the names of her ex-husband and her son with the initials N and A, respectively, which is a bit annoying in and of itself, but I could get over it. The A kept tripping me up, though - so many times I started reading a sentence that started with A and got half-way through before I realized that she was referring More...
Apr 20, 2008
Jonna
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I've been a fan of Finnamore since -- well, it feels like it's been since the day I started reading books, but we all know that makes no sense, as I'm not an infant. She is by far one of the most underrated writers of our time, and her background as an advertising copywriter is reflected in every page, every pithy sentence that is perfectly constructed to capture as much meaning as possible. Split is no exception, and brings the same concise brilliance that Otherwise Engaged and The Zygote Chron
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Oct 08, 2010
Erika
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I just liked it OK. Until the end, I didn't think the author was that honest about her feelings. She made a lot of jokes, some of which were funny, but I felt like she was an actor in her own dramatic divorce. Some of the scenes were even presented that way, as though the author were watching herself play a scene. For a topic so serious and heart-wrenching, especially when it involves children, I found the book somewhat glib.
Jan 26, 2010
Santica
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I added this book to my queue after reading a glowing review in EW earlier in the year. However, I'm finding it hard to slog through the final pages. Suzanne Finnamore uses an interesting format to detail the demise of her marriage - short, random chapters detailing her mental state in the months after her husband walked out on her for another woman. Unfortunately she does not draw enough of an emotional connection to herself or any of the other main characters, and everyone comes across as ra
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Jun 12, 2008
Brooke
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So, I was excited to read this book based on the reviews and that fact that, hey, can a story about divorce really be boring? This book wasn't boring, but overwritten. The author self-indulges in language and instead of being impressive it's plain distracting. This story about a woman's psychological struggle through a divorce is downright tiresome and self-eradicating. I do not want to think that if I should ever have to go through a divorce that I would still be focused on getting my ex back o
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Aug 05, 2009
Tennessee
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I though this had a real dose of honesty and I could relate to the author's situation and to the humour..especially when things get emotionally tough. Humour is what can help to get you through challenging times and to especially avoid growing bitter! life is to rich for that!
Mar 05, 2009
Meghan
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A well-off, attractive writer in an affluent California suburb gets divorced from her older husband, who has been cheating on her with another woman. Nicely written but I never felt that I connected to the author's experiences - or, maybe, it felt like she didn't have all that much insight into what she went through while getting divorced, or lacked enough distance to describe it in a way that had an overall structure or narrative that was going somewhere (despite the use of the stages of grief
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Jul 21, 2010
Marla
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I found this to be a true to life memoir of divorce. It's hard to understand unless you've been there. I'm a sucker for a good divorce memoir that involves an affair. However, her amount of money and seemingly easy work and glamorous friends made me feel jealous.
Nov 26, 2008
Dawn
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I enjoyed this book a lot. It's the author's memoir of her unexpected divorce; goes through all the stages of grieving, but it's funny at the same time. I think it's a good read for anyone (particularly if you're female) esecially if you've gone through a divorce yourself. It will validate the emotions you probably had during that time, you'll know all the crazy feelings you had/have are not unique, and most likely completely normal!
Dec 22, 2010
Laurie
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Easy read, sad at times and often self-indulgent. Tackles the myth that people love to get divorces and think little of the consequences. The non-linear style was often annoying but I enjoyed the sectional quality of following the five stages of grief.
Feb 14, 2009
Jennifer
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I read this for obvious reasons! I had already read her first two books: Otherwise Engaged (about getting married) and the Zygote Chronicles (about having a baby). Split is a memoir of her sudden divorce. She is a fabulous writer.
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Aug 06, 2011
Taken from the perspective of a woman who did not expect a divorce, forced on her by a cheating husband. Tells of the thoughts and feelings that she goes through as she comes to terms with the changes in her life.
Sep 07, 2010
Melissa
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I was excited to give this book a try, but ultimately I found it disappointing. It seemed really disjointed and I really did not know what was coming next. It was annoying to hear her refer to her ex and her son by letters. One minute she hates N, the next she is sleeping with him, then she hates him, then he is sleeping over platonically. I'm not saying those aren't all human emotions, because I bet they are. But the way it was broken into sections made it hard to relate to how everything jump
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Jul 23, 2008
Jessica
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I wanted to read this book because I like Suzanne Finnamore's fiction books, which seem to be loosely based on her own life, and so when I read a review of Split I wanted to see what happened. Finnamore's story is probably not that uncommon, unfortunately. She thought she had a wonderful family until the day her husband came home and announced that he wanted a divorce. In hindsight she starts to realize some of the red flags she missed, but still she got her son out of the marriage, so it was
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May 22, 2011
Absolute blast of book; I love her writing, wonderful writer, zippy, perceptive, contemporary, found myself cheering her on and wishing her the very best, but mostly thinking, "her writing is terrific."
