About this title: These two unique novels tell the stories of Jack and Brenda Bowman during a rare weekend apart in their many years of marriage. Jack is at home coping with domestic crises and two uncouth adolescents, while immobilized by self-doubt and questioning his worth as a historian. Brenda, travelling alone for the first time, is in a strange city ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Random House of Canada, Limited
ISBN-13:9780394223599ISBN:0394223594
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House of Canada, Limited
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9780394223599ISBN:0394223594
Description: Very Good. Size: 0 x 0 x 0 in; Binding tight. Pages clean. Some shelf wear. These two unique novels tell the stories of Jack and Brenda Bowman during a rare weekend apart in their many years of marriage. Jack is at home coping with domestic crises and two uncouth adolescents, while immobilized by self-doubt and questioning his worth as a historian. Brenda, travelling alone for the first time, is in a strange city grappling with an array of emotions and toying with the idea of an affair. ... read more
Edition: First Paperback Edition
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Penguin, Markham, Ontario
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780140058918ISBN:0140058915
Description: Near Fine Plus. Short soft corner crease on front cover and slight tanning of page margins. Rear cover priced for sale in UK, Australia and Canada. read more
Edition: NEW ED
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781841154688ISBN:1841154687
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 400 pages. (400 pages) a week spent apart for a long-time married couple brings new and frightening experiences for each. bewildered in a new city, brenda struggles to cope. meanwhile, at home, jack's world falls apart; but while dealing with the crises around him, he learns something about himself. edition new ed (Paperback) read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781841154688ISBN:1841154687
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Fourth Estate
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9781841154688ISBN:1841154687
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., Toronto
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780070923775ISBN:0070923779
Description: First edition hardcover in dust jacket. Tiny bumps to bottom corners otherwise fine. Jacket has a moisture stain at the bottom of the rear panel and flap. It is only lightly visible on the outside at the bottom of the flap and has caused some minor rippling to the bottom of the rear panel. There is also two tiny tears and some very minor edgecreasing. Near Fine/Very Good. read more
Description: Dust Jacket Included. First edition. Hardcover in dustjacket. Text is very tight and fresh with just a trace of bumping to the tips, feels unread. No names, no wear. Dj is very fresh, price-clipped with light wear to extremities, tiny loss to foot of spine. One very short edge-tear to rear foldover. A very nice copy of this early Shields novel. NF/VG+. read more
Description: Fine. Dust Jacket Included. First edition. 8vo, hardcover, dustjacket. NF/NF (very bright fresh text with 2 corners a little bumped/dj is very fresh with no tears, minimal wear). A superior example of this fragile dustjacket, one of the nicest we've seen. read more
Edition: F
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Ryerson
Date Published: 1980
ISBN-13:9780070923775ISBN:0070923779
Description: Fine in Fine jacket. First Canadian (and true first) Edition. The third novel by the author of THE STONE DIARIES, two stories in one about a marriage in transition. Fine/Fine. read more
Description: Fine. Dust Jacket Included. Signed by Author(s) First edition. Hardcover in dustjacket. Text is very tight and fresh with just a trace of bumping to the boards and two tiny staple holes on the ffep. Dj is very fresh, not price-clipped, no tears, no chips, just very light wear to tips. A very attractive copy of this early Shields book, much better than most. NF/NF. SIGNED by the author on title page. read more
Description: Fine. Dust Jacket Included. Signed by Author First edition. 8vo, hardcover, dustjacket. NF/NF (very bright fresh text with 2 corners a little bumped/dj is very fresh with no tears, no wear, tape shadow inside). A very superior example of this fragile dustjacket, the nicest we've seen. SIGNED by the author on title page. read more
Description: Good. Minimal damage to cover and binding. Pages show light use. With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best Prices. read more
"I love Carol Shields. So, when I saw this at the used bookstore, I snapped it up. As always, Carol touches on relationships with finesse and subtlety. There's a bit of a gimmick in that the book is told from two points of view of a marriage: one half is the wife's, the other her husband's. Both are of the same period of time when Brenda, the wife, travels to Philadelphia for a conference, leaving Jack at home with the kids. I think you can pick which you read first, although the true cover is Brenda's, Jack's has the UPC code and price on it. Both halves of the novel had been previously published.
Long marriages chronicle familiarity and it was refreshing to read of two characters for whom that didn't translate into contempt. Also interesting was the examination of a marriage over a time period when the two people weren't interacting with each other. I didn't bother to plot point events in each story on a timeline, but am willing to bet there is another story there.
A good, smart read, and if you haven't read The Stone Diaries, that's a 5 star-er."
"Interesting premise...essentially two books in one, where you learn what happens during five days that a married couple spends away from each other, from each of their perspectives. The focus on domestic minutiae irritated me occasionally, and I didn't really love either character.
I recommend reading The Husband's Story first, though you could go either way."
"Carol Shields (along with fellow female Canadian writers Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro) is one of my favorite novelists. This book was written more than a decade before her acclaimed "The Stone Diaries" but has similar literary writing style and insightful descriptions of characters. She also wickedly skewers social mores of the 1970s. The book is comprised of 2 novellas that look at a marriage from different angles, one told by the wife and one by the husband."
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