My Father's Wives

November 15, 2014
Two weeks in the life of a man who caught his wife in flagrante delicto-or did he?When Wall Street executive Jonathan Sweetwater returns home early-an unlikely occurrence since he's usually jetting around the country at the beck and call of Bruce, a hoops-obsessed CEO who likes to go one-on-one on private NBA-caliber courts-he hears the unmistakable sound of a tryst emanating from a guest bedroom in his Connecticut mansion. A glimpse through the keyhole confirms his worst fears-he sees the backs of two naked people, a long-haired man sitting on the Frette sheets getting dressed and a woman resembling his wife, Claire, walking into the bathroom. Without making his presence known, beyond leaving his briefcase in the living room, Jonathan takes off on another trip. A cat-and-mouse game unfolds: Which spouse is going to admit what to whom and who is going to do it first? Every time Jonathan tries to confront his wife, he is interrupted, in one case by his surprise 40th birthday party. Such a coincidence-dependent plotline threatens to grow wearying, until Greenberg shifts focus to back story-Jonathan embarks on an inquiry about his late father, Percy, a charismatic senator who left his mother when Jonathan was 9 and married five more times. Jonathan has the resources to investigate Percy's serial monogamy himself while he waits for a private detective's report on Claire. Greenberg is adept at description and dialogue. The basketball scenes, predictably for this ESPN sportscaster, are compelling-in one, Jonathan challenges Michael Jordan. Jonathan's conversations with his mother, and the five other wives, in colorful locales-Manhattan, Chicago, Aspen, Nevis and London-are entertaining even if they generate scant insight into Percy's behavior or its relevance to the burning question at hand-did she or didn't she? There's a superfluous subplot involving Bruce's penchant for blackmailing employees. Ultimately, Greenberg paints himself into narrative corners where the only exits are marked with cliches.Much dribbling punctuated by a few slam dunks.

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January 1, 2015
Jonathan Sweetwater has it allbeautiful wife, two loving children, and rewarding Wall Street careeruntil he comes home early one day and sees his wife, Claire, in bed with another man. Jonathan decides he won't say anything to Claire about his discovery until he's had time to process, but he soon realizes he can't fully understand his relationship with his wife until he understands his relationship with his father. Percival Sweetwater III was largely absent from Jonathan's life, and the high-profile U.S. senator passed away not long ago. Jonathan decides to visit each of his late father's wives to gain some much-needed closure and marital perspective. Greenberg, cohost of the ESPN sports radio program, Mike and Mike, imbues his second novel with an autobiographical sense of purpose and undeniable honesty. He wraps up the events of My Father's Wives with a too-tidy bow, but the bulk of the novel is a highly enjoyable walk through Jonathan's foggy past, tumultuous present, and imagined future. Fans of Joshua Henkin and Emma Straub will enjoy Greenberg's wry, unflinching domestic fiction.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)