Leave Me by Gayle Forman; Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; © 2016; ISBN 9781616-206178; 343 pages; $26.95.
By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO –Maribeth Klein seemingly does it all. She has a prestigious job at a magazine. She has two preschool twins, and a husband who loves her. But when she has a heart attack, her world is turned upside down. Her husband, claiming the press of his music cataloguing business, fails to give her sufficient time to recuperate. Her mother, imported to help during her rehabilitation, adds to Maribeth’s worries rather than giving her respite. And the twins, perhaps resenting their mother’s inability to give them the attention they crave, become ever more demanding.
So Maribeth writes her a husband a note and then leaves.
In another city, she tries to rebuild her life. She befriends a young couple who live in an apartment near the one she rents from month to month. She finds a new cardiologist, who turns out to be a widower. She learns to swim. And she tries to find the mother who put her up for adoption.
So we have here a novel about a person who was abandoned by her mother many years ago now abandoning her own children and husband. But the theme of abandonment runs through this book – a boyfriend who suddenly pulls out of a relationship; a best-friends-forever girlfriend who became more distant as she achieved a level of success Maribeth was unable to attain.
We watch Maribeth in her new surroundings. Will their lure keep her away from her family forever, or will Maribeth, after some period of adjustment and self-reflection, decide to return? You’ll keep turning the pages to find out.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)