The Odds: A Love Story

It's painful to watch a couple who have lost their connection attempt to interact.

That's the focus of this new Stewart O'Nan book.

You may or may not know that I have loved Stewart O'Nan's books, Emily, Alone, and Last Night at the Red Lobster.

This book shares some of the qualities of his earlier works. The couple that is at the heart of this story are just working people, barely able to keep going in this crazy world. The world is seemingly spinning too fast, suddenly, so fast that it just might careen off its axis, so fast that we working people are not doing so well these days, and there is no cure in sight.

It's a painful story. The two are angry at the world that threatens their home and their financial stability, and they are angry at each other for various transgressions, violations of trust. They do not talk so much as hurl words at each other.

It won't be for long, though. They have a plan.

They are headed to Niagara Falls, the spot they spent their honeymoon oh-so-long ago, and the two fully intend to blow what remains of their cash in the biggest way possible.

It's a plan. A desperate plan for desperate people living desperate lives.

Which makes for a painful book. A painful, yet thoughtful book.