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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers

Morning, all! I'm a stop on the TLC tour for Randy Susan Meyers's The Comfort of Lies this morning.

Five years ago, Tia fell for the wrong guy. He was right in so many ways except for the fact that he already had a family. Tia became pregnant and felt she had no other choice but to give the baby up. 

But Tia did want to be prepared in the event that the child ever wanted to know where she came from. And the family has kept her abreast of the child's progress -- sending pictures every year on her birthday. When Tia sends a letter to the baby's father, his wife, Juliette, intercepts it. Juliette knew that her husband had cheated but was never made aware of the pregnancy. While she struggles with the news, she also feels drawn to the child and decides to track her down. Meanwhile, Caroline -- the child's adoptive mother -- has struggled with motherhood and what it means for her career and family. 

This review is a bit tough for me. In fact, this read was tough for me. As a whole I really didn't like it. I do like Randy Susan Meyers's writing - I enjoyed her debut, The Murderer's Daughters. In fact, in my review for Bookbitch.com, I stated that:

Randy Susan Meyers approaches her subject with grace and sensitivity. A thoughtful, if somewhat sad (but ultimately hopeful), story about family, sisters, and the tragic effects of domestic abuse and violence on children.

Meyers does approach her subject with that same grace and sensitivity here in The Comfort of Lies. I also applaud and appreciate Meyers for not shying away from difficult subjects. And adoption issues like those tackled here are very difficult subjects.

I did not like these characters. I could sympathize with most (but not all) of them at times but I could not ultimately abandon the feeling that all of them were extremely selfish and a bit self-centered.

I think -- and this should be taken as a testament to Meyers's talent as a writer -- this story was just a bit too real for me. I could too easily see a situation like this manifest and it's not something I wanted to necessarily face as a reader. I'm a bit ostrich like when it comes to certain tough subjects and this was one of those cases. The combination of the subject matter and the characters made this a book I had to force myself to finish.

Again, though, while I can't say that I enjoyed the book, Meyers obviously managed to pull some very strong emotions from me as a reader through her prose. The book is very well written and, again, very thoughtfully presented. I'd urge you, readers, to check out the other stops on the tour.

To see more stops on the tour, check out the official TLC tour page here. As you'll clearly see, other reviewers did not necessarily feel the same way I did. It'll give you a more full perspective on the title in question.

For more on Meyers and her work, visit her official website here. You can also like her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter and Pinterest, and check out her Huffington Post pieces.



1 comment:

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

I can certainly empathize with you ... there are lots of things that are simply "too real" for me to enjoy reading about them. Still, it is a testament to this author's ability that she was able to make it so real for you.

Thanks for being a part of the tour.