Separation

by Dan Franck

Book Overview

His first clue comes when his wife stops holding his hand in public. The second comes when she starts avoiding him at home. After the clues comes the certainty: his wife is in love with another man. After that, the only question is when she will leave him -- and whether he will drive her to it. A bestseller in France, this cruel, tender, and emotionally explosive novel reimagines the breakup of a marriage with a compassion that is all the more piercing...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679424539
• ISBN13: 9780679424536
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 227 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.9" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

You always more desperately need the loved one who rejects you

This is the story of the breakup of a marriage from the point- of - view of the rejected husband .It is a painfully true stage- by- stage description of the process of breakdown. And if it is at times possible to be impatient with the narrator for his clinging to his obsession, for his continuing to love and need to love the one who no longer needs him it nonetheless hangs together to the end as powerfully convincing. The work is written with great skill and insight. However I believe it does not really make the rejecting wife into a convincing character, in that we do not really see her from inside or grasp what she is truly looking for. In contrast the narrator is most effective when he describes his own feeling. A more powerful conclusion from my point- of- view would have involved a more elaborate meditation on the effects upon the children of their parents' break-up. It is the children who after all are the unwitting victims of their own parents , and in this case especially their mother's terrible selfishness.

A Harrowing Encounter

This novel written in the style of a memoir is one of the most painful books I have ever read. There are no proper names used in it. This contributes further to its realistic depiction of a rapidly desintergrating marriage. The narrator is a writer living in Paris who begins to notice that his wife of seven years has begun to lose interest in him. The first sign is rather simple. He tries to hold her hand and gets no response. Her coldness increases and finally she tells him that she is in love with another man. The action of the novel is really never seen through the eyes of the wife. We only have the husbands view of what is going on in the marriage. And what a view it is, starting with worry, then to accomodation, then jealousy, anger and the blacker emotions. For most of the book, it seems like nothing really happens. Both of them seem to flounder finding courage to end the lie of their marriage. They use the kids as an excuse to stay together but this is just a ruse to hide their fear of losing each other. Sometimes I became disgusted with the characters, simply because they did not have the guts to just walk away. But just like in real life, people find it hard to walk away from situations even if they are unhealthy, whether it is due to love, insecurity, or loneliness. This is a powerful novel whose story has been repeated through the ages and will probably continue to do so in the future.

An incredibly touching and perceptive view of separation

Franck's writing style is unique and refreshing. His perception into the emotional devastation and fluidity is touching and painful. This is the best book I've read in years.

Passionate and Moving. A reminder of what to try to avoid.

After the break up of my own relationship I was searching for something that I could relate to. This novel allows you to view the rollercoaster ride of the human spirit. It's a heartbreaking commentary on love, fear and the twentieth century relationship

Finally, Divorce from the sensitive man's perspective!

I picked this book up at Goodwill knowing nothing about the author, and I am glad I did. This author tells his pain of emotionally separating from his wife who is still living with him. He lives from moment to moment, sign to sign to see what will happen next, hoping she will return some show of affection. Rarely is it the wife who is at fault for breaking up a marriage. The setting is Paris and gives this book a sad romantiqe quality. I started reading Separation and did not want to put it down. Any one who has someone fall out of love with them will identify with the story told