Being such an instant fan of Tracey Garvis Graves, and having read both On the Island and Unchartered in two days, I found Covet and immediately downloaded it onto my Nook. Thank God for wireless internet when it's too late to get to a bookstore.
Covet is the story of Chris and Claire Canton. Married for many years and parents of two elementary aged children, they suddenly find themselves facing the loss of Chris' job and a downward spiral of life as they know it. Chris is depressed, trying desperately to find work, and Claire is trying to juggle virtually every aspect of family life, plus her own work. Claire realizes that her family and her marriage are falling apart, while Chris is so focused on trying to find work that he can't see what's really going on at home. When you throw in a hunky police officer that shows interest in Claire, wants to spend time with her, and wants to be her friend, suddenly you have a very interesting love triangle.
This is not a new story by any means, but what was fresh and new for me, and what set Covet out from the rest of similarly plotted books, is that Graves alternated the chapters between Claire and Chris, resulting in the reader really hearing and seeing for the first time how vastly different men and women think about things. While Claire goes on an one about how distant Chris is and how he never shows affection and how she hates him being away from home while he doesn't even seem to care, Chris's chapters are about how much he hates being away from home and how much we wishes he could sleep next to Claire each night and how he has to put in time with work or he may lose his job again. You read these chapters and realize that if these two just talked for 5 seconds, they'd realize they were on the same page with life. But instead, they just keep drifting farther and farther away. Until they reach a breaking point, but I won't spoil that surprise here. You'll have to read it for yourself.
I left this book feeling fairly crummy about the way I act towards Rob, his traveling, and the amount of time that he puts into work. I assume it's because he loves work more than his family. The truth is, he probably does love it to a certain degree, but he also feels a responsibility to us, as well as to the people who employee him, and he doesn't want to let any of us down. Couple that with success at work ultimately making him feel really good about himself and what you've got is that work is very important to him. I don't think I realize sometimes how hard it is for him to juggle it all and to make everyone happy. It's hard finding a balance. I guess as with everything else in life, it will come when it's time for it to come.
So, I am off to download whatever else I can find that Graves has written before we leave for the beach on Saturday. I can't wait to read more!
Happy reading, everyone!
:) Dodie
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