Outtakes from a Marriage

A Novel

By: Ann Leary

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Julia and Joe Ferraro are living the good life in Manhattan now that Joe's finally made it; he's the star of a hit TV show and has just been nominated for a Golden Globe award. After many lean years, they've got a grand Upper West Side apartment and an Amagansett beach house, and their two kids go to elite private schools. Even better, Julia and Joe are still madly in love.

Or so Julia thinks, until the fateful evening when she accidentally hears a voice mail on Joe's phone - a message left by a sultry-sounding woman who clearly isn't just a friend.

Suddenly, Julia is in a tailspin, compulsively checking Joe's messages, stalking him in cyberspace, and showing up unannounced on his sets, wondering all along if she should confront him. Julia's search forces her to consider the possibility that in the long process of helping Joe become something, she has become a bit of a "nothing", as her daughter once described her to her class on career day. A big husband-stalking nothing.

When Julia and Joe first met, she was an edgy East Village girl who wrote music reviews for the Village Voice and threw famed parties in a gritty downtown loft with her friends. Joe was a shy, awkward drama student who followed her around like a lovesick spaniel. After he won her heart, Julia helped Joe evolve into a roguishly handsome charmer who became increasingly obsessed with his looks and his career. Julia, meanwhile, settled into doting motherhood and a new life of comfy clothes and parenting associations.

Now, faced with the looming awards show and the possibility of a destroyed marriage, Julia embarks on an accelerated self-improvement routine.

A unique take on the perennially popular issue of women trying not to lose themselves in matrimony and motherhood, Outtakes from a Marriage is expertly and humorously set against the Manhattan preschool mafia, the Hollywood machine, and the ticking clock of a waiting red carpet.

©2008 Ann Leary (P)2008 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"The prose is sprightly ... you'll keep reading." ( Entertainment Weekly)

an easy listen

Would you listen to Outtakes from a Marriage again? Why?

Well, no. I feel once was enough.

What did you like best about this story?

It's somewhat sad, but I must say if she thought her husband was cheating why didn't she check the phone records???? I'm not giving anything away here. She checks his messages but never calls the number or thinks to check the bill and call log???? That's the only thing I thought was kind of dumb.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't really have a favorite scene.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

If I reveal what really got to me, I'll give something away. I'd rather not do that.

Pretty Good Listen

I loved The Good House & this wasn't as good as her previous book, but it was a fairly good story. No one knows what really goes on inside a marriage.

NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I DOUBT IT. IT WAS ENTERTAINING TO A POINT BUT NOTHING REALLY HAPPENED. I FELT CHEATED.

Has Outtakes from a Marriage turned you off from other books in this genre?

I THINK THAT I DON'T LIKE BOOKS LIKE THIS ANYWAY SO IT MAY SLANT MY OPINION UNFAIRLY. BUT I DID NOT CARE MUCH FOR IT.

What about Cassandra Campbell’s performance did you like?

SHE WAS FINE. CLEAR CRISP VOICE. EASY TO LISTEN TO.

Could you see Outtakes from a Marriage being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

NO JUST THERE IS NOTHING GOING ON HERE.

not "The Good House", but still good...

After I listened to "The Good House" (which is so so good!) I wanted to hear more from Ann Leary so I listened to "Outtakes from a Marriage: A Novel". It was good.

I actually got a bit stressed out with it and didn't finish it as quickly as I could have, but came back to it. Marriage on the rocks in the celebrity world, but in a very real way that made me a bit sad. It's not really a sad story, but has moments of sadness and regret along with moments of joy and pride and youthful love that most of us can relate to.

The reader was really really good- I'll look for more of her!

Abrupt Ending!

I really enjoyed this book, until its abrupt ending. It was very well written and completely relateable, with well drawn characters and amusing dialogue. I was looking forward to hearing how the main character was going to resolve her dilemma, when the book unexpectedly drew to a close. I guess that's why the book is called "out-takes" - I get it now. Very disappointing!

I kept waiting for the storyline

I loved The Good House so much but this book just never took off for me. Even the ending was lacking.

5 star all the way

Ann Leary is a very unappreciated writer and I only wish she were more productive because I gobble (or the auditory equivalent) all she puts out there. I intend to go right back and listen to this story once again. Cassandra Campbell is a flawless narrator who reads as if she were herself the author. I never give raves like this except for Alice Munro or Philip Roth.

Fun and enjoyable listen

If you could sum up Outtakes from a Marriage in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, literate and wry.

What about Cassandra Campbell’s performance did you like?

The narrator was very natural and made the content even more engaging.

Any additional comments?

The book is a lighthearted romp through the lives of Julia and her tv star husband Joe. He is nominated for a Golden Globe and Julia is ecstatic until she starts to believe that Joe is having an affair. Is he or isn't he, and what exactly is the price of fame on home and hearth? No pretensions here; this is light reading. But the author writes so well, she makes the content infectious.

Excellent author!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved Ann Leary’s Book (The Good House) and reading her earlier books. Joe is a TV star and living in Manhattan and he has been nominated for a Golden Globe award. All is well with their marriage, financial, and two kids in private school. Until she listens to his voice mail one night by accident and hears some southern belle leaving some pretty up close and personal sexy messages.

Julia does not confront him in the beginning and continues to listen to his messages. She immediately starts going to a shrink, gets hair extensions, Botox, sunless tanning spray, and begins shopping to ensure she looks great for the Golden Globe awards ceremony.

She feels useless as she has given up on her writing to be a wife and mother. Julie becomes obsessed with finding out the person behind the voice. Prior to her marriage she was a wild child and has changed so much. To try and keep an affair from coming out she writes all this bogus stuff on cyberspace about Joe being gay and keeping all the other mom’s at her son’s preschool at bay.

She confronts Joe and he makes up an excuse, but is her really telling her the truth? A humorous read about marriage, family and how women sometimes get lost in their duties of being a perfect wife and mother. The audio was excellent and Cassandra Campbell did an excellent job as always of the performer – look forward to reading more from this author!

Different from Good House –that's not a Bad Thing!

If you could sum up Outtakes from a Marriage in three words, what would they be?

Will Not Disappoint

What was one of the most memorable moments of Outtakes from a Marriage?

I loved her clueless innocence in the hands of hairdressers, dermatologists, her crush on her therapist and her inability to give up on a marriage even when she wants to choke her husband.

What does Cassandra Campbell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The feel of New York, Long Island accent made me laugh and the west coast accents were so familiar.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

when the character defended her son's development to the pre-school teacher -he was only four LOL

Any additional comments?

I absolutely loved Good House and while Outtakes was completely different, I enjoyed it also. I am getting ready to download her third book and am eager to hear what she's written. She is becoming a very good storyteller and I hope she has a long and productive career!