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318th out of 323 books
—
398 voters
The Woman Next Door
by
Barbara Delinsky (Goodreads Author)
"New York Times" bestselling author Barbara Delinsky paints an ingenious portrait of the secrets inside every marriage in a sharp-eyed novel filled with suspense and surprise. Three married couples in peaceful suburban Connecticut are challenged and forever changed by the presence of the woman next door...Along with their husbands, Amanda, Karen, and Georgia are a close-kn...more
Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages
Published
July 1st 2002
by Pocket Books
(first published January 28th 2001)
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I really enjoyed this book - it was a refreshing read. The subject wasn't too hard-going, the characters were all "real people" but there were enough twists and sub-plots in the story to make me want to sit and read this all in one go!
I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I did 'The Family Tree,' and I think maybe this is because 'The Woman Next Door' was published at least five years prior to 'The Family Tree,' so Delinsky's writing had matured. I was completely gripped by this story, but I fel...more
I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I did 'The Family Tree,' and I think maybe this is because 'The Woman Next Door' was published at least five years prior to 'The Family Tree,' so Delinsky's writing had matured. I was completely gripped by this story, but I fel...more
This was an older book I received from my mother. She seems to be the donation location for books from her elderly friends.
I may have read some Barbara Delinsky in the past, but not certain.
I enjoyed this book. The characters seemed so real, and the story was active. I mostly read at night, and many times I would read for a long time without realizing it was getting very late. It was definitely one I didn't want to put down.
I felt this was a book about trust. It made me realize how easy it would...more
I may have read some Barbara Delinsky in the past, but not certain.
I enjoyed this book. The characters seemed so real, and the story was active. I mostly read at night, and many times I would read for a long time without realizing it was getting very late. It was definitely one I didn't want to put down.
I felt this was a book about trust. It made me realize how easy it would...more
The Woman Next Door reminds me of the saying "all that glitters is not gold", meaning everything is not really as it appears to be. The story opens up with the O'Learys, a newlywed couple who is struggling with infertility issues, year after year sfter year. There's pressure coming from all sides, especially Graham 'Gray' O'Leary's family,who have had no trouble procreating through the generations, and whose mother Dorothy never misses an opportunity to remind her daughter-in-law Amanda of that...more
Feb 12, 2012
Mary
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction
Recommended to Mary by:
Library Book Sale
In Barbara Delinsky's The Woman Next Door, three women who live next door to a lovely, pregnant and reclusive widow have their lives turned upside down by their husbands' interest in her. These three wives are friends, but each can't help but wonder if her husband is the father of the baby. As a result, each woman reevaluates her life and finds out what's truly important to herself.
Amanda and Graham O'Leary have an ostensibly happy life, but infertility treatments have put a strain on their marr...more
Amanda and Graham O'Leary have an ostensibly happy life, but infertility treatments have put a strain on their marr...more
This is yet another highly recommended Barbara Delinsky book! I was still out on maternity leave and made a second trip with my son to the library as our "field trip". (We were not getting out that much a few months back. I was still getting use to motherhood, scared of everything, stressed, and the H1N1 was at an all time high!)
So I blindly grabbed TWO Delinsky reads and waited with great anticipation to dig in to them. It took me a while longer to read this book because my son decided to becom...more
So I blindly grabbed TWO Delinsky reads and waited with great anticipation to dig in to them. It took me a while longer to read this book because my son decided to becom...more
Jul 15, 2010
Sarah
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2010-read,
2010-july-read
Barbara Delinsky's books are the kind of books that I pick up when I don't want to think too much, just some light reading to keep me entertained.
There are three married couples, living in the suburbs. Amanda, Karen and Georgia are all friends. Although they seem to be leading happy lives, each of them has their own sets of problems. Their happiness becomes under threat, when their younger neighbor, who has been widowed for over a year, is discovered to be pregnant.
Each of the women wonder secre...more
There are three married couples, living in the suburbs. Amanda, Karen and Georgia are all friends. Although they seem to be leading happy lives, each of them has their own sets of problems. Their happiness becomes under threat, when their younger neighbor, who has been widowed for over a year, is discovered to be pregnant.
Each of the women wonder secre...more
Wow, Barbara does it again. This book is about 3 women with questions about their husbands fidelity. A woman next door is pregnant with no known father - each woman must look at her own marriage and work out their problems. One woman feels separate from her husband over many failed attempts at getting pregnant. Another already has caught her husband in more than one infidelity. The other travels for work and leaves her husband home with the kids for a week at a time. Barbara delves into each mar...more
Dec 23, 2012
Sophie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-books,
audio-book
This is my first Barbara Delinsky novel and I enjoyed listening to it. I thought the author created believable characters and made me care about what happened to them. If I occasionally thought the story was a little too formulaic or too focused on the difficulties of women trying to have it all, it was easy to overlook it and get caught up in the storyline again. The ending for some of the characters was a little too neatly tied up, and it's hard not to laugh when characters say things like "yo...more
I thought this was a good read. A little slower than what I'm used to. Also, I like books in the first person and this one might have been better written from Amanda's point-of-view, but it was still good. The title is a little misleading since the story is more about Graham & Amanda's relationship than the Woman Next Door. Also, it turns out that the problems the Woman Next Door has aren't really related to anyone in the story's relationship directly. That, to me, was a little disappointing...more
Another book to listen to while working in the yard. Amanda and her hubby of six years are fighting infertility. When the young widow on their circle is found to be 7 months pregnant Amanda and her friends all wonder who the father is and could it be one of their spouses. Again Delinsky has written compelling characters facing real problems of trust and communication in marriage and with teens. I found I would stay weeding longer just to listen a bit more. That being said, this isn't literature...more
Amanda, a school counselor, and her husband Graham are having difficulty conceiving a child, and are feeling pressure from his large family. The couple is close with two other neighborhood couples (Lee and Karen, and Georgia and Russ) and their families. Another neighbor, Gretchen, is a widow (and quite attractive). When it becomes apparent that she is pregnant, the three "happily" married women each suspect their own husbands of fathering the child. Meanwhile, one of Amanda's students has a cri...more
The premise of "The Woman Next Door" is relatively simple. A lovely widow turns out to be pregnant. Only problem is, her husband has been dead at least a year. She lives in a cul de sac with three other couples. The three couples are all experiencing some manner of strain in their marriages. Once the pregnancy of the widow becomes apparent, each of the wives silently wonder if her husband is the father.
The main couple of the story, Amanda and Graham, is the most intriguing. They are struggling w...more
The main couple of the story, Amanda and Graham, is the most intriguing. They are struggling w...more
An intriguing story about a quaint neighborhood in New England where a widower becomes pregnant. Many questions arise as her husband has been dead for over a year. The book alternates between the point of view of all characters and shows how three of her neighbors wonder if their husband is the father. It delves into how this suspicion pulls some couples together and tears some apart. I liked how it delved deeply into one couple's intense stress and pain over infertility.
I wanted an easy summer read and for that reason this book was okay. However the novel reminded me too much of Desperate Housewives and/or Knots Landing. The only thing that salvaged the book was the teen suicide sideline, but wait, no, not even that did. Characters were just too shallow, too predictable. I don't usually read authors who churn out book after book and this book was a good reminder why I prefer quality over quantiity and popularity.
I've come to really enjoy Delinsky as an author and I'm purchasing more and more of her books.
"Along with their husbands, Amanda, Karen, and Georgia are a close-knit circle of friends enjoying seemingly ideal lives in an upscale neighborhood. But when they learn that their lovely younger neighbor, widowed for a year and presumably still unattached, is pregnant, the strains and imperfections of their lives come into full focus. As they ponder who the father might be, each of the women harbors sus...more
"Along with their husbands, Amanda, Karen, and Georgia are a close-knit circle of friends enjoying seemingly ideal lives in an upscale neighborhood. But when they learn that their lovely younger neighbor, widowed for a year and presumably still unattached, is pregnant, the strains and imperfections of their lives come into full focus. As they ponder who the father might be, each of the women harbors sus...more
This was just an OK book but the story line did keep me to the end. If you like to read about dysfunctional people and dysfunctional relationships, you will like this book. I must admit that I have never walked in the shoes of women who are struggling with infertility and/or infidelity on the part of their husbands. However, I still found the amount of distrust, over-the-top stress and unfriendliness to be a bit much.
My second time reading this book. Long time ago, prior to Goodreads. I had forgotton a lot about the story. So good. This story is about a woman and her husband who have all kinds of problems conceiving a child. when the widow next door turns up pregnant, every woman in the neighborhood suspects her own husband to be the baby daddy. this book brings a lot of heartfelt emotion to it. All about families and their pains.
Another excellent book by Barbara Delinsky. She told the story of a very close group of neighbors - three married couples. They suddenly notice a young, very attractive widow is pregnant and since her late husband has been gone for a year - he cannot be the father. The other women then begin to take a closer look at their marriages, while each wondering if their husband is the father of the baby. Of course each couple has their own problems. Amanda and Graham have been married about 5 years and...more
Three married couples and a young widow live in a Connecticut cul-de-sac. Their lives are revealed to the reader as the $64,000 question becomes "How can Gretchen be pregnant?" The wives have moments of doubt about the possibility of their husbands' culpability, as each couple struggles with their own issues. I liked the development of the characters and the introspection of Amanda and Graham. A good read!
Loved it ... and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that it is not serious literature ... just a fun, fast, well written story - a little mystery, a little love story with no foul language etc with a happy ending for all ... well, almost. I will definitely pick up some of Delinsky's other books - especiall a non-fiction one called Upift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Cancer Survivors ...
I was surprised about this novel. Hadn't guess that I would enjoy it but the story was facinating and drew me in this little neighborhood. I'm impressed how BD can weave her characters so true to like that the reader feels like a part of what is going on. Can't tell you too much because it will give away the story, but I could understand where all these women were coming from and I felt sorry the The Woman Next Door. So misunderstood just because she was shy. The ending surprised me and I was th...more
This is one of Barbara's older books I believe. BUT WOW. This is a MUST read. The characters are so believable...as well as the story line. It really makes you stop and think, how secure is your own marriage REALLY? The book is never boring, it's always interesting. This is one of my favorites that she has written. Once again, Barbara does it again!!!!
This was my first book by Barbara Delinsky and it will not be my last. I found the writing easy to read and the characters believable and real. The subject matter dealt with difficult issues, such as infertility, adultery, friendships and teen struggles. I'm not sure what genre this is considered, perhaps women's fiction. I have several more books by Delinsky on my tbr list.
*I got this book from my local library
*I got this book from my local library
I really enjoyed this book. While it could be considered a romance novel there were many lessons to be learned from the characters. I loved how Delinsky developed most of the characters. Though I was able to predict the end of the book pretty soon into it, there were other twists and turns in the book. It was an easy quick read.
This is the 2nd book i have read by Barbara Delinsky and I will say I do enjoy her work. This book was really good. A neighbor is pregnant and the wives of the couples near by let their minds run away with them to let them think one of their husband's is the father. It is written well and all thru the book it makes you think - is one of them the father???
This wasn't one of her better books but was okay. It was about three married couples that live next door to each other and a lady moves in who is a widow and is pregnant. They are jealous of her because she is pretty and their husbands cater to her. They all suspect their husbands as being the father.....
Not my favorite of hers, but it did keep me up late to finish it. The arguements and tension between the main characters didn't feel real. It's hard to imagine these people saying or thinking the things they did. But aspects of the book were engrossing. I give it 2.5 stars.
On page 24
I just can't seem to get into this book. I pick it up to read, and only get a few pages into it. Which is normally not like me. I pick up a book and can hardly put it down.
Just finished the book.
After I finally talked myself into picking up the book again, I couldn't put it down, like most books. Ms Delinsky painted a perfict picture for the book. I can see the cul-de-sac, I can tell exactly where Lee and Karen's house are and what it looks like. I can picture the layout of Gretchen's...more
I just can't seem to get into this book. I pick it up to read, and only get a few pages into it. Which is normally not like me. I pick up a book and can hardly put it down.
Just finished the book.
After I finally talked myself into picking up the book again, I couldn't put it down, like most books. Ms Delinsky painted a perfict picture for the book. I can see the cul-de-sac, I can tell exactly where Lee and Karen's house are and what it looks like. I can picture the layout of Gretchen's...more
Delinksy has a way of capturing real life moments, thoughts and emotions with words. It is very easy to identify with all the characters in this book, as well as their insecurities, worries, happiness, hope and life moments. This was a very enjoyable story.
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I was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother’s death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two sk...more
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I agree with you. I thought it was a good book but slow. Maybe spice it up and make the problem related to the Woman Next Door????
Apr 24, 2010 07:49pm