Outtakes from a Marriage

A Novel

De: Ann Leary

Narrado por: Cassandra Campbell

"A sparkling debut novel...a bittersweet tale about love, marriage, and the perils of fame." —People

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. 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 woman who is clearly more than 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. 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. But after Joe won her heart, she 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 of Botox, hair extensions, and erotically charged shrink sessions while dodging the sancti-mommies who lie in wait for her at her son’s preschool each day.

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.

"How does a free spirit turned wife and mother cope with her actor husband's infidelity?...With tears, irreverent humor and, ultimately, a reaffirmed sense of self...A witty take on marital survival in Manhattan—with heart." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)©2008 Ann Leary; (P)2008 Random House Audio

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.

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.

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!