Heart of the Matter

By: Emily Giffin

Narrated by: Cynthia Nixon

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life.

Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie - a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance - and even, to some degree, friendships - believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.

Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.

In alternating, pitch-perfect points of view, Emily Giffin creates a moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.

©2010 Emily Giffin (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Giffin excels at creating complex characters and stories that ask us to explore what we really want from our lives." ( Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"Giffin’s talent lies in making her characters believable and relatable, and readers will be enthralled by this layered, absorbing novel." ( Booklist)

average book, stellar narration

Everything you want in a light Chick-Lit read, plus Cynthia Nixon, the voice of an old friend - well done! Giffin does not play favourites or try to escape cliche - everyone hurts and grows from the personal dramas that unfold. It's unapologetic and I liked it.

Cute book nice story

I really like Emily Giffin as an author. I also enjoyed this book. It was a nice happy ending. I would recommend this book for a nice easy read/listen.

I won't be finishing this

I am not enjoying this. It is just a romance novel. Nothing interesting going on here. Nothing thought provoking or compelling. I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy it but its just not for me.

Fascinating points of view

This was my first book by Emily Giffin and I really enjoyed. I would consider her writing style perhaps the happier, less depressing version of Jodi Picoult. I compare her to Picoult because like Picoult Giffin manages to let the reader see a difficult situation from multiple sides. In the case of this book, a devoted family man and loving husband suddenly begins an unhealthy friendship with a patient's mother. Giffin will help you to see the point of view of the doctor's wife, how the doctor feels, and the thoughts of the "other woman" as well. This book did require a considerable amount of brain power to get through but it was a very enjoyable accent to my summer reading list.

Great book with phenomenal insight

I was totally amazed with the insight into infidelity in this book. The author does a superb job in portraying both the "other" woman and the wife perspectives. Although I am more familiar with being the wife, I thought that the author provided a comprehensive and realistic portrayal of both roles. A great listen. Well done!

I was surprised how much I liked this

I am not familiar with this author, and bought this book mainly based on it's good reviews. I don't read alot of "chick lit"; I'm more into mysteries and modern fiction. I don't know what genre this book is actually considered to be in, but I would call it smart chick lit. I thought all the characters were well written and explored, and all were likeable. It was interesting to hear the chapters presented first from the wife's viewpoint, then the Other Women's viewpoint. I listen to books while I walk, and this one made me want to walk farther, just for more of a listen. The plot is pretty simple. It is just the author's skill at telling the story that makes it such a great listen. And let me add to the accolades given to narration by Cynthia Nixon. I think I expected her to be a bit whiney, like the character she is most famous for playing. Instead, I found her voice to be melodious and with excellent enunciation that made it easy to understand (I can be a bit deaf to some tones!). She brought out nuances in the characters through her reading of the story, and I think made it even better. I highly recommend this book.

Heart of the Matter

real life view into out perceiption of a perfect marriage, What we learn is that this union is far from perfect and i fact there is not true dialogue going on between our heroimes of the story

Very anticlimatic

Never mind the fact I couldn't feel the attraction between Nick & Valerie the story just dragged on and was very anticlimatic.

Best book I’ve listened to in a long time!

Excellent narrator. Gripping. Loved the story. Couldn’t stop listening. Great characters. So glad I listened to it.

The slippery slope of affairs

This was the first time I’ve listened to Emily Giffin, and I can see why so many readers and listeners love her books. Heart of the Matter is a bit more dismal than Something Borrowed (which I’ve seen in theaters), but draws on the same type of what-would-you-do-if-you-were-in-this-relationship situation.

That is, what would you do if you loved your husband but discovered he was cheating? Or on the flip side, if you were in love with a married man…who was having trouble with his wife? In true Emily Giffin fashion, the answers aren’t always clear as she presents the viewpoints from both sides. Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon expertly captures both women’s voices and emotional confusion in this unsettling – yet unstoppable – listen. I had a hard time looking at my husband in the same way after finishing the novel (for awhile, at least).