The Divorce Papers

Starred review from November 18, 2013
In Rieger’s clever and funny debut—an epistolary novel told through memos, e-mails, and letters—Sophie Diehl is a criminal lawyer, working for a law firm in the fictional state of Narragansett in New England, similar to Massachusetts. As she says herself, “I like that most of my clients are in jail. They can’t get to me; I can only get to them.” One of the firm’s managing partners asks her to do an intake interview for Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim, daughter of one of the firm’s most important clients, whose husband served her with divorce papers at a local restaurant. Sophie reluctantly acquiesces and has to learn how to handle a divorce case (rather than a criminal one), while juggling family dynamics, nasty interoffice politics, and the ups and downs of her own romantic life, all as the year 2000 approaches. Lovers of the epistolary style will find much to appreciate. Rieger’s tone, textured structure, and lively voice make this debut a winner. Agent: Kathy Robbins, Robbins Office.

Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey, and numerous others read the letters, memos, and emails sent between the attorneys and clients of a 1999 divorce proceeding. Each narrator takes a different approach to emotion and, sometimes, accent when delivering his or her assigned correspondence. Young attorney Sophie Diehl learns about handling divorce proceedings from her deep- and resonant-voiced boss, David Grieves, as Sophie helps her client, a Mayflower descendant, divorce her husband. The story, organized by headings with dates and subject lines, is mired in details. The narrators deliver their parts fluidly despite the long-winded nature of the correspondence. Listeners expecting verbal sparring between the divorcees will be disappointed as their story is told primarily through legal documents. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine