67. Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart

I picked up Husband and Wife at my library while browsing the newest releases. It sounded interesting, and while a quick enjoyable read, I was a bit disappointed. I give Husband and Wife a B.

From Amazon:
Sarah Price is thirty-five years old. She doesn't feel as though she's getting older, but there are some noticeable changes: a hangover after two beers, the stray gray hair, and, most of all, she's called “Mom” by two small children. Always responsible, Sarah traded her MFA for a steady job, which allows her husband, Nathan, to write fiction. But Sarah is happy and she believes Nathan is too, until a truth is revealed: Nathan's upcoming novel, Infidelity, is based in fact.
Suddenly Sarah's world is turned upside down. Adding to her confusion, Nathan abdicates responsibility for the fate of their relationship and of his novel's publication—a financial lifesaver they have been depending upon—leaving both in Sarah's hands. Reeling from his betrayal, she is plagued by dark questions. How well does she really know Nathan? And, more important, how well does she know herself?
For answers, Sarah looks back to her artistic twenty-something self to try to understand what happened to her dreams. When did it all seem to change? Pushed from her complacent plateau, Sarah begins to act—for the first time not so responsibly—on all the things she has let go of for so long: her blank computer screen; her best friend, Helen; the volumes of Proust on her bookshelf. And then there is that e-mail in her inbox: a note from Rajiv, a beautiful man from her past who once tempted her to stray. The struggle to find which version of herself is the essential one—artist, wife, or mother—takes Sarah hundreds of miles away from her marriage on a surprising journey.
Wise, funny, and sharply drawn, Leah Stewart's Husband and Wife probes our deepest relationships, the promises we make and break, and the consequences they hold for our lives, revealing that it's never too late to step back and start over.

The first sentence of the book's description is what drew me in to the book... I recgonized myself in the gray hairs and the hangover after one class of wine. I often think to myself when did this all change so soon? Ms. Stewart has a wonderful voice and told a great story, but I thought it was a bit wordy. Since both of the characters are writers, I thought some of the prose was a bit over the top and thought the story could have been shown to me more than just told to me. I definitely enjoyed the book, and could relate with both characters, but in the end I wish I had the style of writing had been done a bit differently.