La moglie vuole fare l'amore con lui (giustamente, essendo suo marito) e lui si sente in colpa di tradire Kate e pensa a lei durante l'amplesso.

Conosciamo la protagonista Kate, un’attrice di successo al vertice della sua carriera, un’amorevole moglie e madre, ma soprattutto una donna eccentrica e viziata e perfettamente caratterizzata. I am honestly struggling to remember if I've ever read another book in which I disliked the main character so much. In contrast, those weaker souls: the acquiescing Matt, the unsuspecting Belinda, the bumbling Hetty, they begin to shine. Enjoyed it overall, especially towards the end where it picked up a lot of pace and the ending was satisfying. If there’s one universally problematic ‘trope’ in books – particularly romance, women’s fiction, or “chick lit” generally – that is despised, it’s cheating.Voglio chiarire che nonostante i salti temporali e le varie storie che si intrecciano, l'autrice non ci permette di annoiarci. Belinda è la moglie tradita, che ha molto sofferto per il rifiuto del marito, ma l'ho apprezzata per le sue ferme decisioni e la forza mostrata. I liked the hetty character too but seriously the vegetarian trope was very boring, vegan wine tastes the same as normal wine! Non tutto gira intorno alla storia d'amore, ma su tutti i personaggi che toccano anche di sfuggita la vita di Kate. Which would have been fine if I could at least understand her behaviour and choices but I feel like I never really got to know her.

Frankly, the actress in that scenario is not interesting – the wronged wife is the more natural protagonist for women’s fiction narrative – and given Ruth Jones’s background with ‘Stella’, it’s who I think would have been the more natural conduit for this story from her. Seventeen years later, life has moved on – Kate, now a successful actress, is living in London, married to Matt and mother to little Tallulah.

I found some parts of it uncomfortable and felt it dragged slightly at times but overall it is a solid read. These are sad and messy lives and what redemption there is hard earned both by the reader and the characters. We’re introduced to the histories of their other halves and friends; the acquiescing Matt, husband to Kate. The bumbling friend Hetty, reminiscent of the tragic and eccentric sister characters in Richard Curtis films.