Sweet Ruin, Cathi Hanauer
Sweet Ruin, Cathi Hanauer
List: $20.99 | Sale: $14.70
Club: $10.49

Sweet Ruin

Author: Cathi Hanauer

Narrator: Ellen Archer

Unabridged: 11 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/30/2006

Categories: Fiction, Romance


Synopsis

Since editing the New York Times bestseller The Bitch in the House, Cathi Hanauer has become the unofficial spokeswoman for the contemporary married woman. Now, in Sweet Ruin, she gives us a story of marital crisis and sexual tension featuring a character close to her heart—and recognizable to us all.

Thirty-seven-year-old Elayna Leopold used to be a New York magazine editor, until she and her young family moved to suburban New Jersey. Two years ago, the death of an infant son sent her into a deep depression—a darkness that begins to lift in the company of a handsome, unattached neighbor. As she fights yearnings that could destroy everything that gives her life shape, a threat to her young daughter's welfare emerges from an unlikely source, throwing Elayna's questionable morality into stark relief—and forcing her to make choices she never dreamed she would have to make.

Smart and gripping, Elayna's story raises heartrendering questions about the challenges of ordinary life—marriage, career, independence, and sexuality—that have no easy answers. Sweet Ruin is a triumph of contemporary fiction from a writer known for her candor and wisdom.


About Cathi Hanauer

Cathi Hanauer is the bestselling author of The Bitch in the House and the author of the novel My Sister's Bones. She has written articles, essays, reviews, and fiction for Elle, Mirabella, Self, Glamour, Mademoiselle, and many other magazines. She has been the monthly books columnist for both Glamour and Mademoiselle and was the relationship advice columnist for Seventeen for seven years. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, writer Daniel Jones, and their daughter and son.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Lori

The absolute only reason I am giving this book 2 stars is because it is well written and makes me think. I abhor books about infidelity and this one is one long explanation to why she is going to do what she is going to do. I detest this woman. Not only does she betray her husband, she also places he......more

Cathi Hanauer’s book takes an age-old theme, adultery, and turns it into a gripping page-turner of a novel. Sweet Ruin introduces us to 35 year old Elayna, a work-at-home editor who is just crawling out of a two-year depression after the death of her infant son, Oliver. Her husband, Paul, is a benig......more

Goodreads review by Melissa

Yet another one I really wanted to like, but had a hard time getting into until the last 50 or so pages. Married couple with a young child loses their other child (which is really told as almost an after thought)and they grow apart. Man works a lot, woman spends lots of time daydreaming, drinking wi......more

Goodreads review by Tami

I absolutely loved the author's poetic language and imagery as she wrapped me up into this tale of filled with sympathetic and empathetic characters. Told for the character's Elayna's point a view you watch this character evolve, struggle, and finally find peace at the end. (I don't want to spoil an......more