Book Review: Indiscretion by Charles Dubow

WOW! Really. This book draws you in with the first page and doesn’t let up until the very last. It is such a captivating story, told amazingly well by a “narrator.” The narrator has been a friend of the family that is within this story for all of his life, childhood included.

This book is definitely about the journey within themselves and the choices that were made. The narrator, Walter, is a well-heeled lawyer, and best friends to the wife in this novel-Maddy Winslow, and godparent to her young son, Johnny.

Harry (Maddy’s husband) is an admired and successful writer who is working on his third novel, having some slight issues getting started. Harry is one of those “loved by everyone” characters. Athlete and writer in school, charismatic, and captures the attention of everyone by his ability to make them laugh.

Enters Claire- who is young, radiant, and fun-loving. She meets them when her so-called boyfriend takes her to a party at the Winslow’s house. She is immediately drawn to them and their way of life.

Walter is the longtime admirer of Maddy. He has wanted to be with her since they were very young, but she NEVER looked at him like that. So, the best thing in his mind was to be the best friend. At least he’d still get to be a part of her life that way.

Maddy is the stunning beauty who captures everyone’s eye even in her youth, although doesn’t realize her beauty. She isn’t mean spirited when she declines boy’s/mens offers of dates, just simply says no. Walter has always admired her beauty, kindness, and brains.

When Maddy marries Harry, she becomes a great entertainer, amazing cook, loving wife, and devoted mother. She wraps her world around the two guys in her life that mean the most to her.

Claire ends up falling for Harry’s charm. She ends up telling him about her love, but he brushes her off. They end up running into each other at a party in the future and somehow a relationship blossomed from it.

She had absolutely no regrets when it came to the affair and the despair that it caused Maddy. She even goes up to her and admits the fact that it was HER that was the “mistress”. Maddy withdraws into herself, not knowing what to do or which road to turn down.

The timeframe within the novel shifts from childhood to present with extreme ease. The telling of the history of Maddy, Harry, and both of them together really create the realness of the relationship and how much time they had spent very happy before Claire.

I don’t really want to give away the plot of the story, but this is one book that WILL stay on my shelf. Most books come and flow throughout my life.. but I loved the pace, the plot, and you can’t help but to fall in love with the characters in this book. It has happy, sad, anger, and everything in between. Dubow is very GREAT at showing emotion and detailing everything so that it’s like we are RIGHT there.. walking down this journey with them.

is a story of love, lust, greed, power, and, ultimately, betrayal.  Told through the eyes of an outsider, this unconventional, sexy thriller will have you on the edge of your seat. Questions will run through your head, and the twists and turns will always keep you guessing as to what will happen next. Dubow is not afraid to make his readers uncomfortable as they question their own understandings of loyalty, faithfulness, deception, infidelity,  and what it takes to get what you want. This book does not play it safe, and that’s what makes it an irresistible read.

Young, spirited Claire finds herself amongst the most glamorous when she arrives at a high-society party and is introduced to the hosts, Harry and Madeleine Winslow.  Instantly, Claire recognizes Harry as the National Book Award-winning author who is on the cusp of greatness.  She is immediately taken by the couple and their charm and wisdom, and they quickly take her in as one of their inner-sanctum.  Walter, one of Madeleine’s oldest friends and our narrator, remembers vividly the day Claire sauntered into all three of their lives, but never could have predicted how it unfolded.  What starts as glamorous summer fun swiftly devolves into something dangerous as Claire becomes increasingly envious of Harry and Madeleine’s  lifestyle of love and wealth.  By Labor Day, she is no longer content with simply being a hanger-on, and destructive desire takes over.

If you want something fresh and engaging to read this weekend, then this is your book! You absolutely do not want to miss the chance to check out INDISCRETION!

Release Date: February 5, 2013

Book Jacket:

We’ve all been around a couple who can engulf the attention of an entire room merely by occupying it. Harry and Madeleine Winslow are that set; the natural ease between them is palpable and their chemistry is almost tangible. He is a recent National Book Award winner with a promising career ahead of him, and she is blessed with family money, but radiates beauty, elegance, and humility. Whether they are abroad in Italy after he receives the Rome Prize, in their ambrosial East Hampton home, or in gritty Manhattan, they are always surrounded by close friends and those who wish to penetrate their inner circle. During a summer spent at the beach, they meet 26 year-old Claire and, as the summer blazes on, she is slowly inducted into their world. Claire can’t help but fall in love with Harry and Maddy and at the end of the summer, it is no longer enough to just be one of their hangers-on. Told through the omniscient eyes of Maddy’s childhood friend Walter, Indiscretion is a juicy, page turning novel with writing that is sophisticated and lyrical. Deeply textured, full of light and darkness, and overwhelmingly sensual, this book will be the sexiest, most intimate story you read all year.

You can pre-order Indiscretion: A Novel for 14.60

 

Jessica Renee