Wednesday, November 5, 2014

The Remedy for Love; Bill Roorbach

The Remedy for Love; Bill Roorbach
Algonquin - 2014

On the eve of major Maine snowstorm, Eric a small town lawyer is in the grocery store line behind a young woman who is shabbily dressed and appears homeless. Her hair is matted, she smells funny and she's also very thin.  As she counts her money, she’s short of cash and begins taking items off the belt so Eric offers to make up the difference.

Later after he’s left the store and is driving away, he sees the woman struggling to carry all of her plastic bags of groceries, so he stops to offer her a ride.  She accepts and he sees that she has been staying in a cabin meant for summer use down by the river. He feels bad for her and helps her get some wood to start a fire, and then goes on his way while the snow falls fast and furious. When Eric gets to his car he sees that it has been towed along with his cellphone which he left inside.

Not sure what to do, he returns to the cabin. Explains what has happened to the woman, who calls herself Danielle, and begs her to allow him to stay until the storm is over. She’s not too happy about it but allows him to stay.

Described as “intensely moving and frequently funny, The Remedy for Love is a harrowing story about the truths we reveal when there is no time or space for artifice.” Unfortunately, I felt none of this as I read.

Danielle and Eric are two characters who couldn’t be more different, and I can honestly say, I disliked each of them equally. Eric is still hung up on his wife who has left him and Danielle is possibly even more obsessed with her husband, Jimmy, who is serving in Afghanistan.   As the snow falls and the couple spends time together their stories evolve.

I loved the cover of this book and the overview sounded promising as well, but unfortunately I was disappointed. I felt the dialogue was rather boring, and, except for the setup, which was rolled out in the first few chapters, this was possibly one of the worst reading experiences for me in an awful long time.  I know a few other bloggers really enjoyed this one, but I must say....sorry, I just can’t recommend this one. 

1.5/5 stars (eGalley)

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for this review. I had put this on my wish list at Amazon because I was undecided and wanted to think about it. Your review helped me to decide to pass on it.

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    1. Victoria, you might be one who likes the sriting as some other bloggers:)

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  2. I did like the first couple chapters and then it went down hill for me.

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  3. Wow, I'm so surprised. Or maybe not; we usually have opposite reactions to books! :--)

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  4. Ouch. I usually manage to choose one or two stinkers a year too. Did you keep reading hoping it would get better?

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  5. I am sorry this one didn't work for you, Diane. The premise sounded interesting.

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  6. I've seen some good reviews for this one and was thinking about it even though I wasn't totally sold on the premise. Some of the things that I was worried would affect my enjoyment definitely looked like they bothered you as well. I think I'll hold off on this one. Sorry you didn't enjoy it and hope the next one is much better!

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