Review: The Truth Club

The Truth Club by Grace Wynne-Jones
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

From the cover:
Marriage seems to have stirred up all sorts of weird longings in Sally Adams. On the surface she seems to have everything she needs to be happy....so why is she guzzling so many chocolate biscuits and dreaming of elsewhere?

She has good friends, an interesting job and an almost brand new husband. Then a chance encounter with a stranger makes it all too clear that life could have been so different if she had followed her heart. She begins to wonder if the key to fulfillment lies not in the present but in the past.

Over fifty years before, Sally's Great-Aunt DeeDee, the official black sheep of the family, disappeared. When Sally uncovers a scandal that has left deep fault lines in her family she begins to understand the legacy of lies and secrets that are echoed in her complicated relationship with her sister, April. As she unravels the mystery she begins to see what she has been hiding from. And she learns that to be who she truly is and to find her soul mate, she must be honest...and she must be brave.

My Review:
This book took place primarily in Ireland. Sally had moved out from her husband Diarmund and was trying to figure out if she wanted to stay married or not. Sally was an odd sort of character and I couldn't quite connect to her. She seemed all over the place emotionally and it was a little (ok a lot!) distracting. I never quite managed to understand her. As the book progressed, I was more and more confused by the interactions and relationships. The auxiliary characters like Diarmund, Fiona and Erika seemed to have stories of their own, they didn't really "fit" if that makes sense. The story was choppy and seemed to be all over the place like the main character. There wasn't a smooth flow and that's always something that will make me lose interest. I did finish the book but it was a struggle.

From a Christian perspective:

I couldn't find any redeeming factors in this book. There were extramarital affairs, much extramarital sex, lying between partners. I found this a bit disturbing especially since it did nothing to support the story being told. I feel like some attempt was made at the end when one of Sally's "hobbies" was singing in a gospel choir with blacks. It was weak and again unnecessary.

Overall I did not enjoy this book and I would find it difficult to recommend it.  This was a  book from my personal collection and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Love and Blessings!
Margaret

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