Monday, May 3, 2010

perfect book club book.


The Wives of Henry Oades, by Johanna Moran is based on the true story of Henry Oades, a principled man whose first wife and children are abducted by the native Maori. His wife, Margaret endures six heinous years of slavery and emotional abuse being in captivity. Henry's life sucks pretty bad as well, and he is convinced his family is dead. After deeply grieving for many years, he eventually leaves their home in New Zealand and travels to Berkeley, California, where life gives him a second chance through his marriage to an attractive young widow named Nancy Foreland. Just when Henry's life starts getting back to normal, with his new wife and her baby, his first wife and their children show up. Seriously? How outrageous is that?


So here Henry is with his first wife, who of course he cannot turn away. But he really likes his new wife, what's a guy to do? Keep them both. They all begin living under the same roof, and of course the community freaks out. I think it's pretty lame, give the guy a chance to figure things out. It's such a tough situation. They end up taking it to court, and it turns into this insane trial.

There is SO much to discuss in this book. Perfect for book clubs, or solo reads. You cannot help but talk about it. Moran did such a great job portraying this story.

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