Truth Aches & its Remedies. Review on Wonderful You - Alex George

Husband and wife, 2 lovely kids, spacious house with garden, enviable opulence - Sounds like a peaceful, settled  & harmonious family doesn't it? But what happens if the man or the lady leading such a family life dismisses this as too much family and not enough life?

"Wonderful You" by Alex George, is about lives struggling with lies. Andy is the husband in this story, who enjoys a secret thrill when his wife's(Cathy) career is eclipsed by the attention demanded by her children and other related domestic work.After few years of committed devotion and unwavering fidelity, Cathy's resolve gives way to some thrills of trangression.

Andy though heaves a sigh of relief that he need not any longer be jealous of his wife once she sacrifices her career, does feel guilty of his fanatism. So how does the couple recoup the drifting relationship? How long does Andy battle with his emotions all alone? More than anything else, what happens when a wife, a mother, considers her marriage as a process of an ongoing erasure of all that she has achieved or wants to achieve?

The author has also justified the characters quite well.

*The reason for Andy's jealousy towards his wife has been attributed to his failures dating back to his childhood days. Fear that he couldn't surpass his better half(career-wise) transforms into relief when she opts not to work.But how does this kind of a person react when he comes to know of his wife's weird habits? That is the surprise package in the book. And an adorable one too!

Cathy, being perplexed by the goings on and her own submission to the demands of family life, further confuses ordinary happenings to divine interventions. That she is an atheist, doesn't stop her from thinking this way.These have been narrated in a plausible manner, and the reader would be on tenterhooks when Cathy's religious beliefs are questioned by her conscience. Manaytimes in life, we do find our firm beliefs shaken by the goings on around us. How we react to such happenings could indeed unravel a person hitherto unknown to ourself!  Sometimes, the word that we speak or the act that we perform, does take us aback by surprise!

The Strongpoints:-*

~The book hints on a simple yet hardly accepted fact that ALL that we want and yearn for is nothing but EVERYTHING that we already have!

~In the quest for money, and the consequential chasing of the buck, family life goes for a toss. The book would make one sit back, think and reconsider one's priorities.

~There is a touch of humour, whenever feelings of envy, repentance and distress crops up in the book. This makes reading a delight!

~Also, there is a global reach in the narration,  which is not customary for a UK centric modern fiction novel.

The Shortcomings:-

~In a bid to depict some of the misdeeds of Cathy, The author just get overboard! Compelling emotions, seem to be forcefully included, which only reduces the luster of the otherwise interesting narration.

~Also, the end chapter is not as gripping as one would expect it to be, and the curiosity evinced in the penultimate chapter is not fed well.

~The character Cathy, could have been depicted with some more dynamism. She's been shown as a person, who simply succumbs to personal demands without even the least defence which women wouldn't be able to associate with.

Though the book may not make for a fantastic read, it leaves us ruminating the essentiality of we being ourself.and isn't that self-introspection required time and again?

Also, for some Tom. Dick and Harry to look at you and remark "Wondeful You", shouldn't you first feel "Wonderful Me"? What a feeling of contentment and confidence that would give!*