Happiness Sold Separately

July 10, 2006
The marriage of Ted and Elinor Mackey, a yuppie podiatrist-lawyer couple in their early-40s living in Northern California, is pushed to the brink when Elinor learns that Ted is having an affair with his trainer, Gina Ellison. Elinor's reaction—pity—surprises her. Winston (Good Grief
) adroitly makes it clear that Ted's affair is a symptom: infertility problems have caused years of emotional turmoil. And Gina's no bimbo: she has a loving but difficult relationship with Ted, complicated further by her young son, Toby, and his immediate attachment to Ted as a stable father figure. When Elinor confronts Ted and Gina, Ted quickly ends the affair; neither is sure if infidelity or infertility should end their marriage. During their separation, Elinor takes a sabbatical from her law firm and casually dates Noah Orch, a hunky but dull arborist. Ted haphazardly resumes his relationship with Gina. As he realizes that his connection to her is more than an escape from a bad marriage, all concerned have decisions to make. Winston has a real feel for the push and pull of a marriage in crisis, and delivers it in a brisk, funny, no-nonsense style that still comes off as respectful of the material.

Starred review from June 15, 2006
Corporate lawyer Elinor Mackey, now 40, wonders why she didn't try to have kids earlier. She and podiatrist husband Ted have only been married three years, but children, despite repeated IVF treatments, seem to be elusive. She funnels her sadness and fears into doing laundry. He responds to her withdrawal with frustration and by going to the gym, where he meets and eventually beds fitness instructor Gina. Elinor discovers the affair early on in this sophomore effort from Winston ("Good Grief"). It's where the couple go from there that captivates and engages the reader. The Mackeys even try to recover, but Gina's belligerent ten-year-old son, Toby, meets Ted and wants him for his math tutor. Ted loves his wife, but he can't stop thinking about having sex with Gina. Where does this leave Elinor? Finding solace under the diseased oak on her front lawn. -Ted's dating a ten-year-old, - she says to neighbor Kat. -Fine. I'm dating a tree. - Elinor, Ted, and Gina are well-drawn characters whose responses are intensely felt and perversely funny in Winston's bittersweet evocation of life's possibilities and disappointments and the slippery slope of being in love. Her unanticipated but still optimistic solution will resonate with readers. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 4/15/06.]" -Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2006
Infertility and infidelity pack a potent--and potentially fatal--one-two punch to Elinor and Ted Mackey's once-idyllic marriage in Winston's perceptive and poignant exploration of marital commitment and liberation. Intelligent and successful, the Mackeys appear to have everything going for them except the ability to become parents and the agility to withstand the devastating emotional impact such a loss imposes on their relationship. Her hormones in a state of turbulent imbalance, Elinor becomes alternately volatile and withdrawn, driving Ted to seek refuge at the local gym, where his nubile personal trainer, Gina, is more than willing to provide the sympathy and support he craves. Madly in love with Ted, single-mother Gina has a secret weapon to eventually win him over: her ten-year-old son, Toby, whose open adoration of Ted may prove too hard for anyone to resist. Once again, Winston demonstrates a laserlike ability to focus on the inescapable reality of contemporary relationships, tempering her characters' abject pain with appealing good humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)