Marcia Willett, The Way We Were

The Way We Were

Marcia Willett

St. Martin's, Apr 2009, $25.95

ISBN: 9780312382889

In the late 1970s in Cornwall, England, pregnant Tiggy, still grieving the loss of the father of her unborn, arrives at the home of her best friend Julia. Kindhearted naval wife, Julia takes her pal into her home where she already raises three children while her spouse is mostly at sea as a naval officer. After Tiggy gives birth, she and her son Zack remain in Julia's home as part of the extended family.

In 2004, as Zack waits for the birth of his first offspring, Julia looks back on her life. She still is irate with her husband for his affair with her enemy Angela while Tiggy tries to help her move on. Meanwhile Julia worries about her daughter Liv pining and whining how she left the love of her life marry someone else.

This epic family drama looks deep into the friendship between two women who are always there but especially help each other through traumatic situations; of which there is a ton. The story line gracefully moves through the three decades highlighting major events and enabling the reader to understand the prime players. However, the women are female Jobs suffering from so many traumas that none of the cast members come across as fully real.

Harriet Klausner