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Contagem Decrescente
Mattie Hart passou os últimos anos da sua vida destruindo as provas de um marido infiel: pôs de lado os incontáveis pedaços de papel com números de telefone rascunhados, deitou para o lixo facturas de hotéis que lhe encontrou nos bolsos e rasgou recados amorosos.
Finalmente, com a recente descoberta de mais uma indiscrição, apercebe-se de que eliminar provas físicas de nada lhe serviu para evitar o desgaste emocional. Porém, antes de Mattie poder confrontar Jake, um advogado de sucesso e de aceitar o facto de ele nunca a ter amado, o marido muda-se da sua bela casa nos arrredores de Chicago para o apartamento da sua mais recente apaixonada. Logo a seguir, Mattie recebe notícias arrasadoras.
Enquanto o romance ser vai transformando em tragédia, Joy Fielding consegue levar às últimas consequências uma heroína aparentemente frágil, para a obrigar a lutar com unhas e dentes...
Finalmente, com a recente descoberta de mais uma indiscrição, apercebe-se de que eliminar provas físicas de nada lhe serviu para evitar o desgaste emocional. Porém, antes de Mattie poder confrontar Jake, um advogado de sucesso e de aceitar o facto de ele nunca a ter amado, o marido muda-se da sua bela casa nos arrredores de Chicago para o apartamento da sua mais recente apaixonada. Logo a seguir, Mattie recebe notícias arrasadoras.
Enquanto o romance ser vai transformando em tragédia, Joy Fielding consegue levar às últimas consequências uma heroína aparentemente frágil, para a obrigar a lutar com unhas e dentes...
352 pages
First published January 1, 2000
33 people are currently reading
1867 people want to read
About the author
Joy Fielding
119 books2,155 followersJoy Fielding (née Tepperman; born March 18, 1945) is a Canadian novelist and actress. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding) and began writing novels.
Fielding is also the screenwriter of the television film Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.
At the age of 8, Joy Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972. She has published to date 22 novels, two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months. Joy Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity. Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband's name is Warren, and they have two daughters, Annie and Shannon. They have property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.
Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that "[it] isn't what her fiction is about", but rather more about the development of her characters. Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."
Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany. In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, she graduated from the University of Toronto in 1966, with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As Joy Tepperman, she had a brief acting career, appearing in the film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) and in an episode of Gunsmoke. She later changed her last name to Fielding (after Henry Fielding) and began writing novels.
Fielding is also the screenwriter of the television film Golden Will: The Silken Laumann Story.
At the age of 8, Joy Tepperman wrote her first story and sent it into a local magazine, and at age 12 sent in her first TV script, however both were rejected. She had a brief acting career, eventually giving it up to write full-time in 1972. She has published to date 22 novels, two of which were converted into film. Fielding's process of having an idea to the point the novel is finished generally takes a year, the writing itself taking four to eight months. Joy Fielding sets most of her novels in American cities such as Boston and Chicago. She has said that she prefers to set her novels in "big American cities, [as the] landscape seems best for [her] themes of urban alienation and loss of identity. Fielding is a Canadian citizen. Her husband's name is Warren, and they have two daughters, Annie and Shannon. They have property in Toronto, Ontario, as well as Palm Beach, Florida.
Fielding had an interview with the Vancouver Sun in 2007, just after her publication of Heartstopper. She enjoys catching readers off guard with the endings of her stories, but insists that "[it] isn't what her fiction is about", but rather more about the development of her characters. Discussing her novels with the Toronto Star in 2008, she said "I might not write fiction in the literary sense. But I write very well. My characters are good. My dialog is good. And my stories are really involving. I'm writing exactly the kind of books I like to write. And they're the kind of books I like to read. They're popular commercial fiction. That's what they are."
Fielding has been noted as a novelist who is more popular in the United States and foreign countries, rather than in her native Canada. For example, the novel Kiss Mommy Goodbye was more popular in the States, and See Jane Run in Germany. In addition, she had an American agent and publisher, although she has now switched to a Canadian publisher.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 292 reviews
January 17, 2020
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Liked it!
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SPOILERS!
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I remembered reading this book and doing a detailed review at the time. But it disappeared completely or the author changed her name and I didn't find the old review.
You follow the story of a successful couple with a teenage daughter. They married because of her unwanted pregnancy. They stayed together for their daughter, but he betrayed her from the beginning and multiple times.
Our heroine is depressed because she has once again found proof of his new infidelity.
She is really upset about it. He is in love with his mistress and determined to divorce and leave home immediately.
He opens the game with her and says he will leave. She returns from the hospital after a car accident and finds his closets already empty. He went to live with his mistress.
Our heroine after a series of exams finds that the cause of the accident is a degenerative disease and that she will soon die.
Our Zero is not at all pleased, because his wife's illness ends up disrupting his plans with the new mistress.
Our heroine is obliged to accept his help because she has no other option. Their teenage daughter is very shaken and angry at her father's betrayal.
As the story unfolds, we learn details of their family life and what their childhood was like. Both have very serious childhood traumas, but they have never talked about it.
His relationship with mistress is very detailed. She is neither prettier nor smarter than our heroine, and I think he felt inferior to our heroine.
A psychiatrist would write a huge book just about their issues.
I cried in some scenes and in others I was very angry with Zero, because if he had commit in their relationship, everything would have been better, because deep down they loved each other. But he never accepted it and entered the marriage out of obligation. He never fully committed himself. Our heroine only reacted to the pain he caused.
Our heroin's disease has no cure and unfortunately we have seen her death and her family's mourning period.
I hoped he and his mistress got totally screwed up in the end. But that's not what happened.
There was no HEA. But it was a good read.
===================
SPOILERS!
.
.
.
.
.
I remembered reading this book and doing a detailed review at the time. But it disappeared completely or the author changed her name and I didn't find the old review.
You follow the story of a successful couple with a teenage daughter. They married because of her unwanted pregnancy. They stayed together for their daughter, but he betrayed her from the beginning and multiple times.
Our heroine is depressed because she has once again found proof of his new infidelity.
She is really upset about it. He is in love with his mistress and determined to divorce and leave home immediately.
He opens the game with her and says he will leave. She returns from the hospital after a car accident and finds his closets already empty. He went to live with his mistress.
Our heroine after a series of exams finds that the cause of the accident is a degenerative disease and that she will soon die.
Our Zero is not at all pleased, because his wife's illness ends up disrupting his plans with the new mistress.
Our heroine is obliged to accept his help because she has no other option. Their teenage daughter is very shaken and angry at her father's betrayal.
As the story unfolds, we learn details of their family life and what their childhood was like. Both have very serious childhood traumas, but they have never talked about it.
His relationship with mistress is very detailed. She is neither prettier nor smarter than our heroine, and I think he felt inferior to our heroine.
A psychiatrist would write a huge book just about their issues.
I cried in some scenes and in others I was very angry with Zero, because if he had commit in their relationship, everything would have been better, because deep down they loved each other. But he never accepted it and entered the marriage out of obligation. He never fully committed himself. Our heroine only reacted to the pain he caused.
Our heroin's disease has no cure and unfortunately we have seen her death and her family's mourning period.
I hoped he and his mistress got totally screwed up in the end. But that's not what happened.
There was no HEA. But it was a good read.
she’d found the hotel receipt in his jacket pocket—the jacket he’d asked her to send to the cleaners—that announced his latest infidelity as boldly as a headline in a supermarket tabloid.
Except that he didn’t love her. Not then. Not now.
Anything for Kim. The reason he’d married her in the first place.
The first time he’d been unfaithful was just after their second wedding anniversary.
a receipt for a room at the Ritz-Carlton, dated several months ago, around the time she was suggesting the...
You’re fucking other women! she screamed underneath her rants about wanting to renovate the kitchen. I don’t want to be here! he shouted beneath his protests that she was spending too much money, that she had to cut back.
“Damn you, Jake,” she said finally, choking down unwanted tears. “Why couldn’t you have just loved me? Would it have been so hard?”
Sometimes he wished she would just disappear.
Her fault for getting pregnant in the first place, for insisting on having the baby, for pouncing on his reluctant offer of marriage, even though she knew it wasn’t what he wanted, that they weren’t right for one another, that it was a mistake, that he would always resent her.
“I love you, Jason Hart,” Honey told him. Jake smiled. Honey was the only person in the world he allowed to call him Jason, the name his mother had given him,
Or the reason Kim had seen her father kissing on a street corner, full on the lips in the middle of a sunny afternoon around the time they’d moved to Evanston, a reason who was plump and dark-haired and looked nothing like her mother at all.
He’d already taken most of his clothes over to Honey’s, transferred his toiletries to the bathroom downstairs.
He wondered what Honey was doing, whether she was wondering the same thing about him. “Do you think she knows?” Honey had asked him again the other night. “About me,” she added, unnecessarily, when he failed to respond. “Do you think that’s why she did it? Out of spite?”
Mattie walked to the fireplace, leaned against it, her back to him. “Are you moving in with your little friend?” Jake felt his body turn to ice. “What?” “I think you heard me.”
“Oh, please,” she said. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You think I don’t know about your latest girlfriend?”
“Not personal? You’re leaving me for another woman, and you don’t think it’s personal?”
“By the way, how was your room at the Ritz-Carlton? It’s always been one of my favorite hotels.” “You had me followed?”
She’d known of his plans the second she opened the bedroom closet and found most of his clothes gone.
They didn’t need Jake. What did they want with a man who’d made it clear he’d rather be with another woman?
As Kim grew into her teens, she saw even less of him, their busy schedules at constant odds. Since moving to Evanston, she’d hardly seen her father at all.
Bullshit, Kim thought. Her father didn’t love her. He’d never wanted her. She didn’t want him now.
“The mother of your child,” Mattie repeated. Of course. That’s all she’d ever been to him. The mother of his child. She was pathetic, she thought, straightening up, pushing her shoulders back and her chin out.
You bailed just in time. Now nobody can accuse you of being a no-good, miserable son-of-a-bitch for walking out on your wife when you found out she was dying.
“Why do men cheat on their wives?” Roy Crawford shrugged, laughed, looked the other way. “You know the old joke, Why does a dog lick its privates?” “No,” Mattie said, wondering at the connection. “Because he can,” Roy answered, and laughed again.
She’d exchanged one loveless home for another, devoted sixteen years to a man who’d left her for a whore of his own.
A father without a face. A daughter without a body. A mother without a clue. Some family.
“Jason,” Mattie repeated out loud. Hadn’t he always hated that name? Mattie threw her head back against the top of her spine, trying to regain control of her breathing, folding one shaking hand inside the other. “That was a very stupid thing to do,”
Maybe if you’d taken the time to get to know me, she thought, the same kind of time you’ve squandered over the years on women like Honey Novak, then you wouldn’t have to ask.
They were lying in her bed, wrapped in newly purchased pink-and-white gingham sheets. “Special for the occasion,” Honey had quipped as they tore off each other’s clothes and jumped into bed, only seconds after Jake’s arrival.
He’d made small talk with Mattie over breakfast, all the while imagining Honey’s body and elaborately plotting in his mind the various things he was planning to do to her as soon as he got to her apartment.
How many women would have put their lives on hold for him the way she had? The way Mattie had, he realized with a shudder, for almost sixteen years.
Jake felt a welcome stirring in his groin and quickly pulled Honey into position, pushing his way roughly inside her. Honey gasped, her nails digging into his shoulders.
No, this time, she was going to savor every second. She was going into this affair with her eyes wide open. Roy Crawford was in great shape for a man his age, Mattie thought, running her fingers across his smooth chest.
On the phone, you said I had to get home right away. You made it sound pretty urgent. Is something wrong?” “You mean besides the fact I’m dying and you’re fucking other women?”
“What’s the point of an apology if you’re not really sorry?”
“Does she want to get AIDS? Does she want to get pregnant? Does she want to—” He stopped abruptly. “End up like us?” Mattie asked, finishing his sentence for him.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Mattie insisted. “What I need is to be with someone who loves me. What I don’t need is to be with someone who loves someone else.”
“I don’t give a shit about your intentions!” Mattie cried. “What I want is your passion. What I want is your loyalty. What I want is your love. And if I can’t have those things, if you can’t at least pretend to love me,” she said, that word again, “for a year or two or however long I have left, then I don’t want you here.”
And Jake had only married her because she was pregnant.
He’d promised to call Honey before three o’clock.
Honey, he thought, closing his eyes in consternation, remembering he hadn’t called her all day, knowing how disappointed she’d be—with the situation, with the way things were going, with him.
“I am excited,” Jake said, realizing this was true. He’d been pretending to be looking forward to this trip for so long, it had become a reality.
He was just trying to make a dying woman’s last months as pleasant as possible. He didn’t really love her, for God’s sake.
“Honey, what the hell is going on? What are you doing here?” Honey’s face flashed
Honey tried to laugh, but the weak sound slid into more of a cry. “I’ve missed you so much, Jason.” “I’ve missed you too.” “Have you?”
“I love you,” Honey said again. Jake knew she was waiting for him to say the same thing, that her declaration of love was really a request to hear it from him.
She’d been so patient, so understanding. And she felt so good, he thought, kissing her firmly on the lips, his hands grasping her buttocks, as he imagined the pliant flesh beneath the harsh denim of her jeans. “Oh, Jason. Jason,” she was moaning, her hands reaching under his jacket, tugging at his shirt. “Lock the door,” she said, pulling her own blouse free of her blue jeans, planting his hands on her breasts, kissing him again and again, her hungry mouth threatening to swallow him whole. “Lock the door, Jason,” she urged, guiding him toward the sofa at the end of the room. It would be so easy, Jake thought. Lock the door, tell his secretary he wasn’t to be disturbed for anyone. Not his partners, not his clients, not his wife. His wife, Jake thought as Honey’s tongue slid between his open lips. Could he really do this to Mattie? Wasn’t it enough he was about to break his promise regarding their trip to Paris?
Jake smiled. It was good to see her. He really had missed her. “Speaking of the dead, how’s Mattie doing?”
“You’re not a monster.” “No? What am I? I’m spending all my time waiting for someone to die, praying for someone to die.”
“Are you sleeping with your wife?” Jake looked helplessly around the room, a sudden headache gathering force behind his temples. This was worse than the altercation in the restaurant, worse than his meeting with Frank. “I can’t abandon her, Honey. You know that.”
“I believe we have another guest from Chicago staying with us,” the woman said. “Chicago is a big city.”
She wondered where Jake had gone with Cynthia. No, not Cynthia. Honey. Honey Novak. Honey with an e-y, she thought bitterly, dragging herself toward the elevator, realizing she’d forgotten her cane, and pushing the button repeatedly with the back of her right hand.
What the hell was she doing in Paris? In this hotel? What had she been doing with Mattie? What had she said to her?
“Mattie knows.” “I don’t understand. How could she—?” “You called me Jason.” “What?” “Downstairs. When you were about to leave, you said, ‘Goodbye, Jason.’ ”
September 18, 2014
Woman diagnosed with ALS. Husband had many affairs, they were never in love but got married because she was pregnant. They learn to fall in love for the first time. Kind of dry and emotionless, I didn't really care about the characters.
February 21, 2009
My GR friend Brandie was so kind to send me this book! I liked it a lot, and I thought the author did a wonderful job of describing someone with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. I guess it wasn't AS much of a shot between the eyes as her other books, so for me it was a little lacking - but still really, really good.
April 3, 2012
The First Time was such an emotional story. Just emotionally addicting. I can't count how many times I cried and the moments when I needed to step back and collect myself.
The characters came to life and moved me. Their imperfections are not just in the past but in the present, with every action and decision making them real. It's a story about a couple trapped in a loveless marriage and instead of finding personal and marital fulfillment, Jake and Mattie Hart are strangers to one another. They spend year after year clouded by their damaged pasts, not confiding in each other, not being able to come to terms with it and not breaking free either. Jake is not an easy character to like but he has his own side of the story. He's more than an adulterer husband and distant father. More than a man who ultimately did the right thing and married out of obligation. There are shades of grey to Jake's life. He has a painful past that not even his wife is privy to.
It takes Mattie's devastating discovery about her health that brings them together, reluctantly at first. The one thing they needed most in in their marriage and need now is love. It's a discovery that comes in such tender ways, showing how love heals and reveals a person's true character. I gained a lot of insight into Mattie's disease and not just how she deals with it but how it impacts the people in her life, including her only daughter and a mother she was never close to. I wish the turning point for Jake and Mattie came earlier in the story, instead of past the halfway point. I loved seeing Jake and Mattie get to know each other in ways they never did. I loved seeing them come to terms with their pasts. Most of all I love seeing Jake and Mattie find love for the first time.
If you like this story I recommend Souvenir by Therese Fowler, which is similar in many ways.
The characters came to life and moved me. Their imperfections are not just in the past but in the present, with every action and decision making them real. It's a story about a couple trapped in a loveless marriage and instead of finding personal and marital fulfillment, Jake and Mattie Hart are strangers to one another. They spend year after year clouded by their damaged pasts, not confiding in each other, not being able to come to terms with it and not breaking free either. Jake is not an easy character to like but he has his own side of the story. He's more than an adulterer husband and distant father. More than a man who ultimately did the right thing and married out of obligation. There are shades of grey to Jake's life. He has a painful past that not even his wife is privy to.
It takes Mattie's devastating discovery about her health that brings them together, reluctantly at first. The one thing they needed most in in their marriage and need now is love. It's a discovery that comes in such tender ways, showing how love heals and reveals a person's true character. I gained a lot of insight into Mattie's disease and not just how she deals with it but how it impacts the people in her life, including her only daughter and a mother she was never close to. I wish the turning point for Jake and Mattie came earlier in the story, instead of past the halfway point. I loved seeing Jake and Mattie get to know each other in ways they never did. I loved seeing them come to terms with their pasts. Most of all I love seeing Jake and Mattie find love for the first time.
If you like this story I recommend Souvenir by Therese Fowler, which is similar in many ways.
March 13, 2017
Различна и неочаквана Джой Филдинг.
И много добра в тази история.
Успя да ме натъжи и разплаче.
Колко малко му трябва на човек - едно простичко "Обичам те".
И много добра в тази история.
Успя да ме натъжи и разплаче.
Колко малко му трябва на човек - едно простичко "Обичам те".
July 27, 2011
What a sad sad story. I've never read this author before, but have one other book of hers to read. This one had a little too much detail and inner dialogue for my taste but the story itself was good but made me cry like a baby.
January 8, 2013
Very emotionally charged. Loved it. Would love to read more.
August 17, 2009
Emotionally charged novel...loved it!
There were so many things that I related to and the characters were true to life...(-:
I couldn't believe all the things happening in this story and as things moved along it was harder and harder to put the book down. So not to spoil the story, I won't tell you what happens but if you've struggled in marriage and wonder if there is any chance of healing...you'll be inspired by this one. It simply had my heart pumping faster and faster!
An easy read but complicated in family situations, one that will have you laughing, shouting, rooting, getting angry, and crying...wow, what a roller-coaster but well worth the ride!
Joy Fielding has a talent of bring her novels right up in your face. Makes you think of choices and reactions along the way that we make every day.
I will be picking up more from this author!
There were so many things that I related to and the characters were true to life...(-:
I couldn't believe all the things happening in this story and as things moved along it was harder and harder to put the book down. So not to spoil the story, I won't tell you what happens but if you've struggled in marriage and wonder if there is any chance of healing...you'll be inspired by this one. It simply had my heart pumping faster and faster!
An easy read but complicated in family situations, one that will have you laughing, shouting, rooting, getting angry, and crying...wow, what a roller-coaster but well worth the ride!
Joy Fielding has a talent of bring her novels right up in your face. Makes you think of choices and reactions along the way that we make every day.
I will be picking up more from this author!
August 14, 2007
I didn't know this book existed until I came across it in my local library. A very touching love story about a married couple who, after some devastating news, fall in love for the first time. Dealing with some very sensitive issues, J.F. takes a good look at what makes relationships work and what makes them fall apart.
June 24, 2008
This was the first time I read a Joy Fielding book. Having an uncle with Lou Gherig's, I was crying through half the book realizing all he would have to endure with this terrible disease.
The love story is beautiful and unique. It was a fast read and one that I thought about quite a bit after finishing.
The love story is beautiful and unique. It was a fast read and one that I thought about quite a bit after finishing.
January 1, 2016
Formula book. Very predictable. Couldn't bond with any of the characters.
September 27, 2024
Am Anfang bisschen gebraucht um rein zu kommen aber dann gut! Macht viele Themen zu zwischenmenschlichen Beziehungen und schwierigen Familienverhältnissen auf
April 18, 2019
This was the most wrenching story about love family, life. I was in tears, I laughter I loved the characters. I don't think I can take another story with such true to life issues and survive without a meltdown. To emotional for me. Loved it, loved Mattie, even loved Jake, it took awhile but I truly loved Jakes character, even Honey Novak aka. Cynthia Broome redeems herself for me in the end.
Second time around and I cried even harder, so emotional.
Second time around and I cried even harder, so emotional.
October 18, 2014
This is one of my favorite books, and I have read an innumerable amount of book, and have cried the majority of the way through each time. When the author introduces the characters, there are many you instantly scorn, however, she slowly draws you in to each of their personas and at the end you love them all. I felt like I was grieving for real people.
March 1, 2025
Bei Joy Fielding erwartet man einen Krimi. Was man hier bekommt, ist jedoch ein Familiendrama.
Ich war zunächst irritiert und entsprechend skeptisch. Nach und nach wurde ich aber in den Sog der Tragödie gezogen und habe begonnen Sympathien mit den Protagonist:innen aufzubauen.
Themenfelder, die bearbeitet werden:
Sterblichkeit, Krankheit, Kindheitstraumata, Familiendynamik. Emotionale Blockaden und ein neuer Zugang zu Gefühlen.
Obgleich das Ende klar war, habe ich gefesselt weiterlesen wollen und wurde von der Endgültigkeit dieses Schicksals sehr mitgenommen. Teilweise war die Charakterentwicklung ziemlich abrupt, allerdings wird hier auch eine Extremsituation dargestellt.
Unerwartet gutes Buch!
Ich war zunächst irritiert und entsprechend skeptisch. Nach und nach wurde ich aber in den Sog der Tragödie gezogen und habe begonnen Sympathien mit den Protagonist:innen aufzubauen.
Themenfelder, die bearbeitet werden:
Sterblichkeit, Krankheit, Kindheitstraumata, Familiendynamik. Emotionale Blockaden und ein neuer Zugang zu Gefühlen.
Obgleich das Ende klar war, habe ich gefesselt weiterlesen wollen und wurde von der Endgültigkeit dieses Schicksals sehr mitgenommen. Teilweise war die Charakterentwicklung ziemlich abrupt, allerdings wird hier auch eine Extremsituation dargestellt.
Unerwartet gutes Buch!
July 24, 2022
A fantastic book about a woman with ALS.
March 11, 2023
4,5⭐
Eigentlich dachte ich, dass es ein Thriller ist, da ist es durch Zufall gesehen und gekauft habe, ohne mich weiter damit zu beschäftigen.
"Leider" war es nur ein Roman und dennoch war er unglaublich spannend und sehr gut geschrieben.
Am Anfang hatte ich ein paar Probleme in das ganze Szenario hineinzukommen, aber nach und nach fühlte man die Protagonist und ihre sehr gut.
Eigentlich dachte ich, dass es ein Thriller ist, da ist es durch Zufall gesehen und gekauft habe, ohne mich weiter damit zu beschäftigen.
"Leider" war es nur ein Roman und dennoch war er unglaublich spannend und sehr gut geschrieben.
Am Anfang hatte ich ein paar Probleme in das ganze Szenario hineinzukommen, aber nach und nach fühlte man die Protagonist und ihre sehr gut.
January 21, 2025
Ich würde das Buch nicht als Thriller einstufen. Eher ein Roman, zwar nicht mit einem happy end, aber das ist nicht schlimm, da es so realistisch ist, wie das Leben selbst. Es rührt zu Tränen und erinnert einen daran, sich auf die kleinen Dinge des Lebens zu beschränken, auf die Menschen die man liebt und alles was man machen möchte, wo einem das Herz höher schlägt, nicht auf die lange Bank zuschieben.
May 10, 2025
HATE HER HUSBAND
September 25, 2024
Simply lovely!
December 8, 2012
Von außen betracht hat Mattie Hart alles: Den gut aussehenden Ehemann Jake (erfolgreicher Anwalt), die fast perfekte Tochter und das Haus mit Pool, in dem sie sich mit schönen Dingen umgibt.
Doch der Schein trügt: Die Ehepartner leiden beide unter traumatischen Kindheitserlebnissen und Jake betrügt Mattie. Als Mattie einen Neuanfang machen will, kommt die fürchterliche Diagnose einer Krankheit hinzu, die nach und nach ihre Muskeln unbrauchbar machen wird, so dass sie nur noch kurze Zeit zu leben hat.
Von diesem Punkt ausgehend, entwickelt Fielding die Geschichte um das Ehepaar, das es erst im Angesicht des Endes schafft, mit Liebe und Ehrlichkeit aufeinander zuzugehen.
Natürlich ist der Verlauf des Buches in gewisser Weise vorhersehbar, Spannung kam daher wenig auf, was man bei der Psychothriller-Autorin vielleicht anders erwarten würde. Einige Szenen sind ergreifend, aber dabei auch ein wenig gefühlsduselig - wie man dies empfindet, hängt wohl von der eigenen Stimmung ab.
Zwar rüttelt die Geschichte der schrecklichen Krankheit, die einen nach und nach lähmt und damit das Leben immer weiter einschränkt, wach, die eigene Gesundheit, das eigene Leben wertzuschätzen, andererseits bleiben Fragen. Der Ausweg aus dem nicht mehr lebenswerten Leben wird Mattie fast ein wenig zu leicht gemacht, die Bürde, die damit anderen auferlegt wird, wenig thematisiert.
Doch der Schein trügt: Die Ehepartner leiden beide unter traumatischen Kindheitserlebnissen und Jake betrügt Mattie. Als Mattie einen Neuanfang machen will, kommt die fürchterliche Diagnose einer Krankheit hinzu, die nach und nach ihre Muskeln unbrauchbar machen wird, so dass sie nur noch kurze Zeit zu leben hat.
Von diesem Punkt ausgehend, entwickelt Fielding die Geschichte um das Ehepaar, das es erst im Angesicht des Endes schafft, mit Liebe und Ehrlichkeit aufeinander zuzugehen.
Natürlich ist der Verlauf des Buches in gewisser Weise vorhersehbar, Spannung kam daher wenig auf, was man bei der Psychothriller-Autorin vielleicht anders erwarten würde. Einige Szenen sind ergreifend, aber dabei auch ein wenig gefühlsduselig - wie man dies empfindet, hängt wohl von der eigenen Stimmung ab.
Zwar rüttelt die Geschichte der schrecklichen Krankheit, die einen nach und nach lähmt und damit das Leben immer weiter einschränkt, wach, die eigene Gesundheit, das eigene Leben wertzuschätzen, andererseits bleiben Fragen. Der Ausweg aus dem nicht mehr lebenswerten Leben wird Mattie fast ein wenig zu leicht gemacht, die Bürde, die damit anderen auferlegt wird, wenig thematisiert.
July 14, 2021
I don't know why Ms.Fielding has pulled this beautiful and potentially life altering title from the Internet, but luckily I found it on open Library. I felt compelled to review it when upon reading a comprehensive spoiler ,I noted the most salient redemptive ,renewing and uplifting properties were somehow ignored.Both husband and wife suffered childhood trauma not dealt with, especially Jake .This is compounded by Jake's view of his marriage as a life sentence forced upon him by an unwanted pregnancy .Rather than communicating,he isolates himself by becoming a serial cheater throughout the marriage while Mattie suffers in silence and they both argue about the mundane rather than facing the true issues.
Mattie's diagnosis changes all of this.She asks that Jake actually be a husband, pretend if he has to,presumably fake it to make it.Forced into close quarters the resultant communication is quite healing and revelatory.Turns out once they opened their hearts to the other no masquerade was necessary . The scenario facilities previously hidden and untold depths of love,affection and the healing of long accrued wounds .The sequelae is as earth shattering and breathtakingly beautiful as that final devastating loss is agonizing.However, what is highlighted and ultimately remains paramount is the uplifting and transformative nature and value of the tale!
Mattie's diagnosis changes all of this.She asks that Jake actually be a husband, pretend if he has to,presumably fake it to make it.Forced into close quarters the resultant communication is quite healing and revelatory.Turns out once they opened their hearts to the other no masquerade was necessary . The scenario facilities previously hidden and untold depths of love,affection and the healing of long accrued wounds .The sequelae is as earth shattering and breathtakingly beautiful as that final devastating loss is agonizing.However, what is highlighted and ultimately remains paramount is the uplifting and transformative nature and value of the tale!
August 11, 2022
I just love this story. I felt sadness, love and the feeling to forgive.
August 31, 2014
Ini buku udah lama bacanya tp sebelum kenal GR jd baru sekarang di review.
Sebenernya ini novel bagus banget, cara membuat alurnya, konfliknya berasa banget sampe hari ini (bertahun2 kemudian) saya masih merasakan rasa sedih itu.
Bagi saya ttp tdk rela tokoh utamanya meninggal (walaupun dgn damai) & sdh ikhlas jika suaminya bakalan married dgn selingkuhannya. Sebaik2nya selingkuhan ttp aja dia selingkuh & itu tdk dpt dimaafkan secepat itu. Aplg si selingkuhan cewek itu bener2 ngejar2 Jake, heloooo tuh org masih married kaliiiiii, udah gtu Jake-nya jg gila, ditanggapin pula, walaupun pas taunya istrinya kena ALS, tobat juga, tetep sy sebel ama keduanya sampai tuh buku habis saya baca. Mknya ga rela bgt si Jake sepertinya akan balik ama tuh selingkuhan setelah istrinya meninggal. Bagusnya tuh Jake ttp duda, selibat ampe dia meninggal krn ternyata dia cinta bgt ama istrinya hahaha (mana mungkin yah).
Saya kalau baca ttg perselingkuhan suka emosi sendiri apapun alasannya. Kalo memang sdh tdk cinta, tdk sejalan atau apapun bisa ga cerai/putus hubungan dulu dgn pasangan? Setelah itu terserahlah elo mau jungkir balik dgn cewek lain ga masalah.
So, krn alasan2 itu, tuh buku akhirnya saya jual & kapok membaca Joy Fielding
Sebenernya ini novel bagus banget, cara membuat alurnya, konfliknya berasa banget sampe hari ini (bertahun2 kemudian) saya masih merasakan rasa sedih itu.
Bagi saya ttp tdk rela tokoh utamanya meninggal (walaupun dgn damai) & sdh ikhlas jika suaminya bakalan married dgn selingkuhannya. Sebaik2nya selingkuhan ttp aja dia selingkuh & itu tdk dpt dimaafkan secepat itu. Aplg si selingkuhan cewek itu bener2 ngejar2 Jake, heloooo tuh org masih married kaliiiiii, udah gtu Jake-nya jg gila, ditanggapin pula, walaupun pas taunya istrinya kena ALS, tobat juga, tetep sy sebel ama keduanya sampai tuh buku habis saya baca. Mknya ga rela bgt si Jake sepertinya akan balik ama tuh selingkuhan setelah istrinya meninggal. Bagusnya tuh Jake ttp duda, selibat ampe dia meninggal krn ternyata dia cinta bgt ama istrinya hahaha (mana mungkin yah).
Saya kalau baca ttg perselingkuhan suka emosi sendiri apapun alasannya. Kalo memang sdh tdk cinta, tdk sejalan atau apapun bisa ga cerai/putus hubungan dulu dgn pasangan? Setelah itu terserahlah elo mau jungkir balik dgn cewek lain ga masalah.
So, krn alasan2 itu, tuh buku akhirnya saya jual & kapok membaca Joy Fielding
January 6, 2010
Buku percintaan lagi. Buku ini aku dapatkan dari diskon menarik di Gramedia Palembang pada November 2009. Aku kasih 4 bintang untuk karya Joy Fielding.
For The first time merupakan buku drama keluarga yang berjalan sangat membosankan apalagi bagian tengah, karena Joy Fielding menulisnya dengan monoton, tapi setelah disabarin untuk terus membaca ternyata buku ini sangat indah.
Sebenarnya aku tipikal cewek melankolis, yang akan termehek2 membaca kisah cinta yang menyentuh. Dan aku menangis sekali untuk buku ini.
Trus kenapa aku kasih bintang 4 untuk buku ini? Mmm. karena buku ini mengajarkan cinta. Cinta yang datang ketika waktu sudah mendesak. Jake yang terlambat mencintai istrinya Mattie karena Mattie akhirnya divonis terkena penyakit sklerosis lateral amiotropik (penyakit Lou Gehrig). Umur Mattie hanya 2-3 tahun lagi. Namun cinta yang datang ternyata bisa menjadi cinta yang sangat dalam. Minjam istilah Afgan, ini adalah 'Bukan Cinta Biasa'.
Aku penasaran dengan istilah 'For the First Time' yang menjadi judul buku ini. Ternyata kita bisa mendapatkan di bagian akhir dari buku ini. Sangat menyentuh..
For The first time merupakan buku drama keluarga yang berjalan sangat membosankan apalagi bagian tengah, karena Joy Fielding menulisnya dengan monoton, tapi setelah disabarin untuk terus membaca ternyata buku ini sangat indah.
Sebenarnya aku tipikal cewek melankolis, yang akan termehek2 membaca kisah cinta yang menyentuh. Dan aku menangis sekali untuk buku ini.
Trus kenapa aku kasih bintang 4 untuk buku ini? Mmm. karena buku ini mengajarkan cinta. Cinta yang datang ketika waktu sudah mendesak. Jake yang terlambat mencintai istrinya Mattie karena Mattie akhirnya divonis terkena penyakit sklerosis lateral amiotropik (penyakit Lou Gehrig). Umur Mattie hanya 2-3 tahun lagi. Namun cinta yang datang ternyata bisa menjadi cinta yang sangat dalam. Minjam istilah Afgan, ini adalah 'Bukan Cinta Biasa'.
Aku penasaran dengan istilah 'For the First Time' yang menjadi judul buku ini. Ternyata kita bisa mendapatkan di bagian akhir dari buku ini. Sangat menyentuh..
April 10, 2009
Another spellbinding stunner from Joy Fielding! I'm so glad I found this author.
"After sixteen years of marriage, Mattie Hart, discovers that her husband, Jake-a high profile Chicago attorney-is involved in yet another love affair. But a far greater crisis descends upon the Hart family after Jake leaves home. Mattie receives devastating news that will alter their lives. Wracked by guilt, Jake returns to the wife he has never really loved and the teenage daughter who wants nothing to do with him. Here, in these most unexpected of circumstances, Joy Fielding deftly ushers her characters through a poignant drama about love's astonishing power to heal the deepest wounds."
Excellent read!!
"After sixteen years of marriage, Mattie Hart, discovers that her husband, Jake-a high profile Chicago attorney-is involved in yet another love affair. But a far greater crisis descends upon the Hart family after Jake leaves home. Mattie receives devastating news that will alter their lives. Wracked by guilt, Jake returns to the wife he has never really loved and the teenage daughter who wants nothing to do with him. Here, in these most unexpected of circumstances, Joy Fielding deftly ushers her characters through a poignant drama about love's astonishing power to heal the deepest wounds."
Excellent read!!
March 10, 2023
Leider bleiben die Charaktere eher flach und verliefen sich ständig in langen Monologen über sich selbst.
Der Klappentext bei der Hörbuchedition lässt zudem aus, dass es auch um Krankheit (ALS) geht, was für mich gar nicht geht, da viele Menschen von solchen Büchern getriggert werden können. Mattie kämpft auch, anders als behauptet überhaupt nicht gegen die Diagnose, holt sich keine Zweitmeinung und lehnt ein Medikament, das den Krankheitsverlauf verlangsamen kann ab. Eine Reise, auf die die Handlung lange hinarbeitet fällt im Roman dermaßen knapp aus, dass man sie eigentlich auch weglassen hätte können. Aber das Buch war wohl schon dick genug mit den ständigen Sex Szenen und Affairen die ALLE ständig hatten.
Der Klappentext bei der Hörbuchedition lässt zudem aus, dass es auch um Krankheit (ALS) geht, was für mich gar nicht geht, da viele Menschen von solchen Büchern getriggert werden können. Mattie kämpft auch, anders als behauptet überhaupt nicht gegen die Diagnose, holt sich keine Zweitmeinung und lehnt ein Medikament, das den Krankheitsverlauf verlangsamen kann ab. Eine Reise, auf die die Handlung lange hinarbeitet fällt im Roman dermaßen knapp aus, dass man sie eigentlich auch weglassen hätte können. Aber das Buch war wohl schon dick genug mit den ständigen Sex Szenen und Affairen die ALLE ständig hatten.
August 24, 2011
Baca buku ini jd tertekan sndri.Si suami selingkuh,si istri selingkuh (mgkin buat balas dendam),si anak cwek mnyelundupkn cwok k rmh utk mlepas v-nya.Ketiganya tjd dlm 1 malam.
Memang mengharu biru sih,sm spt Rainwater-nya Sandra Brown d mana salah 1 tokoh utamanya sekarat krn penyakit dan mati.Sayangnya unsur selingkuh d buku ini bkin eneg banget!!!Aplg dbikin selingkuhan si Jake (si suami) smp nyusul pasutri ini k Perancis.Hiiiiii...pengin mencincang si jalang ini deh!Jg pengin nyunat si Jake!!Bener2 gak bs mnjaga celananya tetap trkancing (meski d blkg2 crita akhirnya tobat)!!!!
2 buku Joy Fielding yg sdh kubaca smp saat ini gak lepas dr selingkuh2an.Hmmm...coba lg nnti buku k-3.
Memang mengharu biru sih,sm spt Rainwater-nya Sandra Brown d mana salah 1 tokoh utamanya sekarat krn penyakit dan mati.Sayangnya unsur selingkuh d buku ini bkin eneg banget!!!Aplg dbikin selingkuhan si Jake (si suami) smp nyusul pasutri ini k Perancis.Hiiiiii...pengin mencincang si jalang ini deh!Jg pengin nyunat si Jake!!Bener2 gak bs mnjaga celananya tetap trkancing (meski d blkg2 crita akhirnya tobat)!!!!
2 buku Joy Fielding yg sdh kubaca smp saat ini gak lepas dr selingkuh2an.Hmmm...coba lg nnti buku k-3.
February 14, 2016
A box of tissues is a must if reading this book! What a wonderful story, normally lovey dovey stories just don't do it for me add in a dying wife and I'm just about gagging! But this story was touching in it's own way. I loved how Mattie wasn't one to whinge constantly about the fact she was gong to die, she just got straight to the point she didn't have long and all she wanted was someone to love her before she died and that's exactly what she got! And Jake, pretending to love her and discovering he actually truely did love her. It's just so aww!! It's a lovely story that makes you hug the ones you love a little longer. Right, now back to my murder mysteries before I go to mush!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2016
I picked up this book as I enjoy reading Joy Fielding's thrillers. This book however, is not a thriller but a work of fiction. It's a love story that deals with a terminal illness and at times was quite depressing.
Mattie and her unfaithful husband Jake come to a crossroads in their marriage. Mattie is diagnosed with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. As Mattie slowly dies, we follow the emotions of her dealing with her illness, her daughter's rebellion and how Jake finally discovers the true meaning of love. It is a sad story that has strong characters and a credible storyline.
Mattie and her unfaithful husband Jake come to a crossroads in their marriage. Mattie is diagnosed with ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. As Mattie slowly dies, we follow the emotions of her dealing with her illness, her daughter's rebellion and how Jake finally discovers the true meaning of love. It is a sad story that has strong characters and a credible storyline.
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