Love May Fail; Matthew Quick

Love May Fail; Matthew Quick

Harper - June 2015

Love May Fail is a quirky, yet at times, heartfelt story about finding yourself and person you were meant to be.

Portia Kane is the woman at the heart of the story. On the surface, she seems to live a pretty cushy life in Florida. The truth is she is married to a louse and she's put up with a lot from her husband,  who has earned his money as a porn producer, and is a big time womanizer. 

As the story opens Portia is hiding in her bedroom closet with a gun getting ready to catch her two-timing spouse h his latest fling, a girl half his age. She comes to her senses and spares his life, but leaves Florida and returns to her home town of New Jersey where her mother, a hoarder, still lives. Not much has changed since she left her home town, but after her experiences with her husband, Portia is on a quest to find the good in others.

After her old school friend Danielle tells her some disturbing news about her favorite former high school English teacher, Portia is determined to track him down and reconnect. She hopes to save Mr. Vernon, who has since retired after a traumatic event has left him depressed and suicidal.

There are several oddball characters that pop in and out of this story. Told through split narratives and flashbacks, the characters, much like Portia, are all in need of a new start in life. How that all shakes out is what makes this novel worth the reading.  I must admit this was a challenging read at times, I was not a fan of the writing style, but I was happy that I stuck it out, because there are not many books that can make me laugh and bring a tear to my eyes and this one did just that. If you love stories about second chances, this just may be the right book for you. (As with his, Silver Linings Playbook, this one, is likely to hit the big screen as well.)

4/5 stars

(review copy)