The Uncoupling
Published by: Riverhead Books
Published on: April 5, 2011 (pre-order today or head to the bookstores Tuesday morning)
Page Count: 288
Genre: Fiction
My Reading Format: ARC provided to me by the publisher in order to participate in this book tour.
Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobok
Giveaway! I’m excited to be partnering with Audio Go for a very exciting giveaway in conjunction with my tour date. Five lucky readers will win an audiobook copy of The Uncoupling, which is narrated by Angela Brazil. To enter the giveaway, simply fill out an entry in the form. The contest will be open until April 16th. I’ll be shipping the prizes, so this giveaway is open to one and all. Good luck! This is a fantastic novel and I’m sure it will be a treat to read in audio. Thanks so much to AudioGo for partnering with me for this giveaway.
Today it is my great pleasure to be Meg Wolitzer’s host on her TLC Book Tour. This tour is to celebrate her new novel, The Uncoupling.
I have a lot of fun working as a tour host for TLC Book Tours. They always have great books and authors on tour. Check out their website for more information on this tour and the others that they are hosting.
My Review
What exactly causes human beings, and perhaps women in particular, to lose interest in sex as their bodies and their relationships mature? Meg Wolitzer opens The Uncoupling with Dory Lang pondering the near threats women from previous generations have made to her about sex, love and children. She has a wonderful and intimate relationship with her husband Robby. They both teach English at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Stellar Plains, New Jersey. They make the perfect team, trading off classes every other year and generally endearing themselves to their students. Their daughter Willa attends the same high school now, but she doesn’t believe life has to eventually become mundane and chaste. Then, not long after the new drama teacher, Fran Heller, arrives in town with her son Eli and announces that this year’s play will be Lysistrata, the wind of change came to the Lang house and it didn’t stop there.
This novel is fantastic. From the very beginning it held me captive by its spell. I was entranced by the way this classic Greek play was combined with the mystical elements of this cold wind that spread over the women of Stellar Plains like the foggy mist that came for the first born sons in The Ten Commandments. Only in this story, there was no way to mark your doorpost so that the spell could pass by your house. No one knew it was coming. Once people began talking about it, each and every woman had a reason why sex no longer appealed to them in the least. No one stopped to question why marriages were now on the rocks and teenagers all over Elro were breaking up left and right. Eventually and unavoidably, the whole town reaches quite an eruption.
There are so many things I could praise about this novel. I loved the characters and warmed to each of their various sex lives and lifestyles. I pumped my fist in the air especially for Bev Cutler, the school’s college guidance counselor, and for Ruth Winik, the gym teacher. At the same time, my heart went out for Robby Lang. As much as I liked Dory, I couldn’t bear to see Robby in so much anguish. In addition to the changes this cold wind made in the adult relationships in Stellar Plains, high school students were also impacted. It was here that Wolitzer’s story telling and writing had the greatest impact on me. She brought me back to high school and brought actual classmates to mind as she weaved the tales of sexual highs and lows among the students. Just as with the adults, there was no judgement placed on the teenagers for the choices they made. They were treated with dignity and respect. While the entire novel dripped in repressed, expressed, wanton, gentle, shy, memorized, boring, and magical sex, there wasn’t even a drop of sensationalism. It’s an open and honest discussion of female human sexuality.
I may have been in a reading slump through most of February, but March has been nothing short of a spectacular reading month. The Uncoupling served as the most delicious of icings on top of my reading cake. There was someone so perfect about the way that Wolitzer tied her story together, breathing life into the wind, the women, and the many different relationships of Stellar Plains. I wish I had a novel like this to read in conjunction with Lysistrata when I was in college. The two together are like a book club in a box. Just add good wine and good food and then prepare for some of the best discussions you’ve ever experienced.
Meg Wolitzer’s TLC Tour Dates
Monday, April 4th: In the Next Room
Tuesday, April 5th: I’m Booking It
Wednesday, April 6th: The 3 R’s Blog
Thursday, April 7th: A Musing Reviews
Friday, April 8th: Chick Lit Reviews
Monday, April 11th: Red Headed Book Child
Tuesday, April 12th: Regular Rumination
Wednesday, April 13th: Lit and Life
Thursday, April 14th: Bewitched Bookworms
Monday, April 18th: Rundpinne
Tuesdasy, April 19th: Nomad Reader
Wednesday, April 20th: Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, April 21st: Acting Balanced
Monday, April 25th: Everyday I Write the Book
Tuesday, April 26th: Book Vixen
Wednesday, April 27th: Debbie’s Book Bag
Thanks for the giveaway! I’m excited for this book.
You’ve made this book sound so good! I love that the characters made you think of people you’ve known and that you got so involved with them.
I really enjoyed your review. I’ve been curious about the book and your review has convinced me I want to read it – or listen if I’m lucky enough to win!
How can I resist now? Thanks for the contest.
I’ve got this one coming up so I didn’t want to read too much of your review. But I wanted to get the overall idea of how you felt about the book. Now I’m really looking forward to it!
This is one I’ve been looking forward to, so I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I have heard everyone raving about this one on Twitter. I can’t wait to read it. I read Lysistrata in World Lit as a college freshman and really enjoyed it and love seeing that the book references it.
Not time to read every book but THE UNCOUPLING came recommended from so many places hard to miss this one. Having an audiobook ensures that I jump in the car and not procrastinate.
Hoping I win this book, but if not, it’s a trip to the library for me. Thanks for sharing.
- Mel
Thanks for the giveaway – very exciting!
Fantastic! Thanks so much. I love Meg Wolitzer’s books and this is getting raved about all over book bloggy land. Can’t wait!
This sounds great!
Thanks for the giveaway too, giveaways are always fun. 
[...] later this month. As I got to know Tara, I found out that AudioGo was releasing the audiobook for The Uncoupling. Thus, my current giveaway was born. There’s still time to enter the contest to win one of [...]
I have seen this one a few times now and it sounds interesting. Thanks for hosting the giveaway – I love audiobooks!
[...] big day has arrived! Last night, my giveaway of The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer and sponsored by AudioGo came to an end at midnight. This morning I got ramp up the [...]
Have been hearing the nicest of things about this book, thanks for the recommendation, it’s going on the to-read list!
[...] (mostly good): The Book Lady’s Blog Boston Book Bums The Boston Globe — Laura Bennett The Literate Housewife Review The Washington Post — Ron [...]