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)

Could be anyone

Tessa's and Nick’s story could happen to anyone. I was drawn into the story immediately.

Listened to the end

it took me almost 6 months to finish. Didn't keep my interest but I finished.

Great story & loved the narration

Great story and cynthia Nixon was awesome as the narrator. I hope she does more books bc i really enjoyed listening to her. Another great story by Emily Giffin.

The worst

I like Emily Giffin's books. They are fun and the characters are people we remember from her other books. But this one falls short. There was nothing enjoyable here. The author does a good job at explaining the cattiness of suburbia - but I didn't buy the story line.

Meh

cheating, which is an old story + weak, boring characters = BORING story. Love every other Emily Giffin I have listened to. But not this one. Bought it to keep me awake on a long drive and all it did was put me to sleep. Flat could not care for any of the characters.

Fan of Giffin but not this one

I loved Giffin's first two books. I bought this as an audio book and couldn't finish - I didn't really care what happened in the end. I found the characters stilted and the writing filled with cliches. I really wanted to like the book but just didn't. I'd highly recommend her first two books.

Lightweight but enjoyable

Cynthia Nixon's voice was the best part of listening to this story. Because it was fairly lightweight in terms of story line, her reading of it made it go pretty quickly. Not sure it was worth my total monthly credit, but it wasn't the worst thing I've listened to!

Predictable

This book is was very predictable. I wish that there was more to it. Meh.

Heart of the Matter

I found this book to be boring. The plot was simple, the writing too "fluffy" and just a snooze.

Loved this book!

Completley addicted to this book!