3 out of 4 stars
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I chose to read Sarah Marie Graye’s novel The Second Cup based on the excerpt that was featured when it was Book of the Day. I was intrigued by the glimpse of contemporary British life it offered, and I was impressed with the deep psychological intimacy of Graye’s writing. The novel could be considered realistic romance or chick lit. One of the tags for it is “intelligent chick lit”, and I agree with that.
The Second Cup is rare for a novel, because it has a subtitle. “Can someone else steal your suicide?” is a key question to keep in mind, because it helps the reader follow and keep track of the connections between the four main characters that structure the novel. Faye, Olivia, Beth, and Abbie had come together as a group when Faye and Beth met. The four begin to splinter after Faye runs into a man she thought might be her former boyfriend. She challenges the others to consider whether they are fully living their lives, and Beth reacts to the news and the challenge in a deep way. The subtitle question points the way to the novel’s conclusion of the four storylines as each character tries to change her life.
Each character tells her own story in first person, which is mixed in with passages in third person. I loved how very intimate the depictions were, with the characters’ flaws and insecurities displayed to the others with the use of third person and then justified through each character’s first person perspective. I liked the depiction of contemporary British life through these characters’ lives. The full novel lived up to my initial expectations there. The plot did meander in the third quarter, but ultimately it resolved into a satisfying ending. The characters’ jealousies, insecurities, flaws, and shifting affections were depicted wonderfully. I ultimately felt most conflicted by the portrayal of the character Beth, because her insecurities came from a childhood of being treated like an unloved annoyance, something I had empathy for. But I could also find her character annoying myself. Since I suspect the author intended that, I think it was done well.
The meandering middle sections required some perseverance. Other readers may be less patient or committed. Keeping each character’s story line and personal details straight through those middle chapters could be a challenge. I found myself having to stop and think, “What is Olivia’s boyfriend’s name again?” The middle of the novel also uses the stream of consciousness technique to show the perspective of one incapacitated character, adding another challenge for readers. None of this was bad, but the complex structure makes The Second Cup a less than ideal candidate for light beach reading. The number of typos increased about four fifths of the way through the novel. However, there were less than ten in total. They did not take away from the novel.
On the whole I liked the novel very much. It is a wonderfully immersive, intense look at four flawed young women as they evaluate their lives in the aftermath of tragedy. Between the occasional confusion created by the narrative structure and the handful of typos, I would give The Second Cup 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to older teen girls, to young women, and to anyone who likes a deeply psychological look at modern life.
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The Second Cup
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