Review: Cars from a Marriage by Debra Galant

 
Cars from a Marriage by Debra Galant
Genre:  Women’s Fiction
Publication Date:  April 27, 2010 (TODAY!)
St. Martin’s Press
ISBN:  978-0-312-36727-5
276 pages

An “auto-biography” of a marriage from the highly acclaimed author who deftly navigates the lives of one suburban couple with humor and insight

From a ’74 Mustang to a Chevy Suburban, Debra Galant’s Cars from A Marriage charts the important events—big and small—in one couple’s relationship by way of the automobiles that drive them throughout the course of their lives. Ivy is a transplanted Southern belle—the daughter of a car salesman— who continually wonders how she has ended up a New Jersey stay-at-home mom with a not-so-secret fear of driving. Her husband Ellis was a stand up comedian when they met, and the owner of that ’74 Mustang, but his ambitions were overshadowed by the responsibilities of a family. In the blink of an eye he became a PR executive with a mortgage, two kids, and a Buick LeSabre.

The cars steer us from their first meeting, to their first fight, and down the line to a family funeral. Finally, it’s on a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway that Ivy and Ellis come to some serious and illuminating realizations about their lives. With insights that alternate between hilarious and profound, Galant provides a unique, unforgettable portrait of a marriage.

This book deserves a full 4 star CRAZY FABULOUS rating!

“Cars from a Marriage” is a delightfully honest portrayal of a 20+ year marriage, told from the perspective of the cars that the couple drove during their life together.  I found this premise intriguing and highly enjoyable.  We don’t really think about how our cars have been with us through the ups and downs of our lives, and telling the story of a marriage in this manner is refreshing and quite unique!

Ivy Honeycutt and Ellis Halpern meet and fall in love in NYC in 1981.   Ivy is a southern transplant with an intense fear of driving, although her father owns the local Buick dealership in her hometown.  Ellis is a wannabe stand-up comedian who rescues Ivy from a mean waitress in a nightclub he is performing at.  He whisks her away in his 1974 Burgundy Mustang Hatchback and they fall in love.

Where most stories end, “Cars from a Marriage” is just beginning.  From the 1982 Light Green Buick LeSabre, to the 1987 Buick Century Wagon (white with wood trim), to the 1992 Silver Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, to the 1995 Red Audi Cabriolet Convertible (rental), and finally to the Red Chrysler Sebring Convertible (rental), the reader is taken on a journey of the highs and lows of a 20 year marriage.  What I found interesting about this book is what each car signifies – that the car is a metaphor for the characters lives at that time.  From just starting out, to having children, to figuring out life, to death, and to infidelities.  You can picture the family in each of these cars during these times, feel the joy and feel the pain that they are experiencing.

The story is told in alternating chapters between Ivy and Ellis.  I really felt for both of these characters.  I could understand their frustrations and their angst and you can’t help but be drawn into their story, wanting to help them and hoping that they will figure it all out.  This story is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, and at times very, very sad.  Just like a marriage.

I would absolutely recommend this book to my readers!  I loved it!

Would you like to win a copy of this book?  Check back later this week for a fabulous contest!!

If you are reading this anywhere other than a feed reader, then this is not original content and was taken without permission from Crazy-for-Books.

Be Crazy - Share This!