Book review II

Title: The two Mrs. Robinsons
Author: Donna Hay

About the book:
Like what the title says, this book is about two Mrs. Robinson. Twenty-something Anna lives with Oliver Robinson and their young son Charlie. However, Oliver is still married to his first wife, Eve, mother to his two teenage children Matt and Georgia. Though Anna and Oliver are not married yet, they are living together so it is quite understandable that Anna is known as Mrs. Robinson too…

Although Oliver and Eve were separated, Eve still had a crush on her almost-ex-husband. Eve and Anna tried to keep out of each other’s lives as far as possible. However when Oliver met with an accident and died, they had to put aside their differences and work together to pull through everything, including managing the restaurant Oliver left behind.

Running the restaurant became a larger challenge to Eve and Anna as they found out secrets that Oliver had behind their backs and the decreasing number of customers to the restaurant. Eve neglected her children while under the stress of working at the restaurant. This resulted in Georgia mixing with bad company to get her mother’s attention and Matt refusal to go on to university as he do not want to leave his mother on her own.

While looking for a solicitor, Anna met up with Danny Lynch who had almost broken her heart back in college. Both of them soon got back together. Lynch tried to change his old ways and learn to love Charlie too. However, Anna was unsure if she should hand over her life to Lynch. Fortunately, she had her colleagues at work to confide in and ask for advice.

With the help of each other, the two Mrs. Robinson managed to pull through everything and find success in their lives.

Thoughts:
I thought that this was a good book to read. It was well written and everything adds up together. All the characters in the books were well developed, not just the main characters only. Even characters with smaller parts in the book such as Anna’s colleagues and the cook had a definite place in the story. It makes the story very real.

It is amazing how the author can bring you into the world of the characters and feel what they are going through. I felt angry when Eve is oblivious to what is happening to her children. I felt sorry for Anna that she had to deal with so many problems at such a young age. I was glad when Anna and Eve each found a partner to live the rest of their lives together in the end.

This book touches your heart with a bit of humour here and there. After reading this book, I feel that we should cherish and appreciate before something happen and leave us only to regret. It is necessary to learn to let go. It may be tough but it is important to move on with life.

Jolene Chia.