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There are currently 22 member reviews
for The Stuff That Never Happened
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Joan V. (miller place, ny)
The Stuff That Never Happened
At first I feared this book would be a trite story about a woman having a mid-life crisis. This book is so well written it rises above that. Annabelle is going through the 'empty nest syndrome' with a husband who shuts her out physically, emotionally, and hardly speaks a word to her. They are total opposites and now they are growing further apart. She feels after 20 years of marriage there is nothing between them and begins to reminisce about her past and a man named Jeremiah.
The book goes back and forth between the present (’05) and the past (1977-80) when she first meets and marries Grant.
Jeremiah does not appear until almost half way through the book and it’s easy to see why Annabelle falls in love with him. He is everything her husband is not – handsome, a man who shows his feelings; successful; established in his career, and totally engaged when he is with her.
The scenes between Annabelle, her mother, and her pregnant daughter, Sophie, are very touching. The book discusses the roles of women and how some things change and some remain the same between the three generations.
Because you care about these people, you become totally hooked on their lives and want to keep reading to find out what happened in the past and how the problems in the present will be resolved.
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Lisa G. (Riverwoods, IL)
The Stuff That Never Happens
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Love, lust and adoration are very different things with relationships being built or falling apart based on perceptions, not truth. I am of similar age as present-day Annabelle and know people in relationships like those depicted in the book. I liked the first person narration alternating between the 1970's and the present. Younger readers may not "get" the decisions Annabelle made but those of us who have been around a while know that relationships are ever-evolving.
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Carol N. (San Jose, CA)
The Stuff . . .
I can’t say I loved every minute of Maddie Dawson’s “The Stuff That Never Happened.” At times it made this reviewer step back, much like the author’s middle-aged heroine, Annabelle. I, too, can identify with the longing for yesterday’s romance. This slow moving character drama flits back and forth between the present and the past, answering the questions. ... Will she leave her husband? Will he leave his wife?
I didn’t have an easy time getting into it, until I finished the first 100 or more pages, then I was hooked and needed to know how it would end. Longing for the one that got away is a common theme in literature, but Maddie Dawson writes with a particular honesty that makes her characters very real and convincing.
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Dotty G. (Roswell, GA)
The Stuff That Never Happened
This book is a fun, engaging read. The main character, Annabelle, is witty, complex, and at times, naive. Annabelle's relationships with her mother and daughter add another interesting dimension to the plot. This book should be of particular interest to women like me who grew up during the seventies. Although somewhat predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.
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Tricia L. (Auburn, WA)
Well-written, but we've seen this before
This is one of the better books about choices and waking up to find ourselves in a position we now are not sure we want to be in. I love the author's writing and the voice is strongly compelling. I don't tend to want to read yet another book about this subject, but this one kept me reading.
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Rosario D. (South El Monte, CA)
Interestingly Real
A great look at how the choices we make today will affect the outcome of tomorrow. I loved reading this book. I found it easy to connect with Annabelle and found that many of her emotions have mirrored mine in the past year. A Great Read.
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Nancy F. (Carmel, IN)
Trite maybe, but life often resembles fiction...
I love to read about people and relationships ... all life is, is a tangled web which never ceases to amaze me.
I liked "Stuff.." even though the plot line was at time a bit shallow. I must admit that my personal past experiences during that period of my life made this book come alive for me! I think the author has selected an interesting way for Annabelle to view her life in perspective and with some level of self acceptance and forgiveness which often is missing. It is a surprisingly good read that draws you in, even when you can guess where the story is headed ... read it anyway.
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