Split: A Memoir of Divorce | 
 enlarge | Author: Suzanne Finnamore
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 31030
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2
ISBN: 052595046X
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.893092
EAN: 9780525950462
ASIN: 052595046X
Publication Date: April 17, 2008
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Product Description
Bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Finnamore writes a story of divorce that is brilliant (Augusten Burroughs) and sure to become a classic.
There are certain books that come to epitomize their painful subject matter, offering solace to those who share the same fate and pleasure to those who merely appreciate fine writing. What The Year of Magical Thinking did for grief, what Drinking: A Love Story did for alcoholism, now Split does for divorce. Prescriptive yet full of pragmatic advice, insight and black humor, Split is a finely wrought tourniquet for a broken union and its attendant trauma.
Suzanne Finnamore, author of the novel Otherwise Engaged, didnt see it coming. Well, perhaps she saw somethingfor example, a cocktail napkin on which her husband, N, had scribbled a Cole Porter love song and someone elses namebut she refused to acknowledge it. She was busy tending to their one-year-old son, then applying makeup, donning high heels, and mixing a martini to greet N with when he arrived home at night. Until the night N came home, told her she looked beautiful, changed his clothes, and announced that he was leaving.
In crystalline, riveting prose, Finnamore tells the story of her divorce, and her marriage, and how it all imploded and came back together, changed. At once quite funny, achingly sad, and unflinchingly fierce, Split will resonate with anyone whos endured the end of a relationship.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Raw and Honest July 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I loved this book. I am in the middle of a VERY similar situation in my own life, so this came at the perfect time. I felt validated in my feelings while I read. I want to thank the author personally for the friend she became as I read along. I will keep this book forever to show that we can all recover from a hard situation, regardless of what is thrown at us. And... so will our children. I say... buy this book, you will love it.
 3.5 Stars.... Painful memories makes for sometimes painful reading July 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
As a divorced parent myself, I was struck by the subtitle of this book ("A Memoir of Divorce"). Even though (or perhaps just because) the book is written from a woman's perspective, I decided to pick this up.
In "Split: A Memoir of Divorce" (255 pages), author Suzanne Finnamore gives us her perspectives on how her husband (who is named "N" in the book) leaves her and their small son (named "A" in the book), and leaves her blindsided. The book is divided in 5 parts that are supposed to reflect the grieving-and-healing process (Denial/Anger/Bargaining/Grief/Acceptance). I was surprised how long the author seemingly clung to the notion that somehow she'd gain N back, even though it is clear it will not happen. But when the realization comes, grief sets in. Writes Finnamore: "Much like trains in India, grief is a circular, irrational process with no discernible rhythm or timetable. Here it comes, there is goes." Towards the end of the 'bargaining" phase, when all that is left to do is to figure out go gets what, and other legalities are taken care of, Finnamore is better adjusted. She observes dryly: "'How could you ever forgive me?' N asks, plaintive. I have no answer. Pass. Then I don't hear from him for a week."
I enjoyed Finnamore's writing style. She has a sharp pen, and clear observations. Yet I had trouble connecting emotionally with the book, and with the story. Maybe it is because this is written from a female perspective. I realize that every divorce is unique in a sense, and the divorce described in "Split" certainly very different from what I went through. "Split" is not a bad book, but neither is it the memorable, once-in-a-lifetime read on what it's like going through a divorce.
Split is spot-on June 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Finnamore nails the emotional journey of a woman going through an unexpected divorce. I couldn't put the book down and read it in one night. So often, I felt as though I was reading my own diary. A poignant, clever, spot-on memoir of a young mother's strength and commitment to her child.
So smart, so funny, so well-written. Buy it immediately. June 15, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
It' s incredibly difficult to be funny while telling a heartbreaking story, but Finnamore absolutely pulls it off. Every page crackles with wit and intelligence. Anyone who is going through a divorce owes it to herself to read this book and discover how to come out the other side of the experience stronger and with her sense of humor completely intact. If you don't like this book, seek professional help. Every page is an undiluted joy.
Very true portrayal of women going through divorce May 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I could not put this book down. Finnamore brings the utter angst, grief and full gamut of emotions one experiences when getting divorced in this wonderful memoir. I look forward to reading her novels and wish her the best.
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