I liked this book but unfortunately I didn't love it.

I found it hard to warm to the characters entirely, however it's still a lovely story and a nice read.

This book enthralled me on so many levels that it is almost difficult for me to find the words to explain why it’s a novel I’d recommend. The voice of the two main characters, Frank and Maggie, is so powerful that I really felt as if I was intruding in their lives, peeking at their diaries, at their most intimate moments.
 
Both characters feel so real that, even with the mystery of the secret that led them apart dragging on until the very end, I never got bored. It was, overall, very cleverly presented – and very cleverly stretched until almost the epilogue.
 
The Silent Treatment is the story of a family thorn apart by secrets that Frank and Maggie kept in order to protect each other from a terrible truth. It’s the story of two soul mates whose world collapses the day that Maggie decides to end Frank’s six months silence treatment by swallowing all of her sleeping tablets. It’s a story of tenderness and care, of grief and joy, despair and elation.
 
The writing is fluid, never repetitive, and also quite evocative. There is only one downside I have to point out, and this is the choice to introduce a third narrator in the epilogue. This, in my opinion, ruined the end of a beautiful book, to the point that I wonder why the editors decided to keep it. However, as this happened just in the last couple of pages, I decided to give the book a full score, as I still enjoyed it quite a lot.

Frank and Maggie, having been happily married for forty years have hit a bump in the road. Actually it's more of a colossal boulder which neither of them seems able to clamber over or around. For the past six months Frank has not uttered one word to Maggie. Not one. But why?

One morning he finds Maggie slumped over the kitchen table having apparently swallowed the contents of a bottle of sleeping tabelts. Did she intend to kill herself, or was this an attempt to shake Frank out of his dreadful silence?

During the next few days, whilst Maggie lies in an induced coma, Frank sits beside her, and begins to talk to her, reminiscing about the early days of their relationship, their subsequent marriage and the only child Eleanor, who despite being a perfect child has become something else altogether as she entered her teens. As they struggle to help her, they each become mired in their own misery.

This is probably one of the most moving books I've read in recent months; it is joyous and tragic in equal measure with this small family of three all totally believable and all terribly flawed. To say the family is dysfinctional isn't quite right, but the missed signals, the miscommunication between people who love each other deeply was, at times, unbearable. It's a gentle, but at times brutal, unpicking of a relationship.

Beautifully written, not a word wasted, no cliches or sterotypes here - a book that will stay in my mind for a long, long time.

Trigger warnings for a suicide attempt and addiction. 

This book starts with a wife attempting suicide. Then it’s a monologue interwoven with flashbacks from her husband about what lead them both to this point. 

The book was alright I didn’t particularly like either husband or wife. I found that the topics discussed were fairly superficial on the depth. I felt like the ending was too easy and everything was tied up too quickly.

I couldn't put this book down. I was totally captured by the story. I love how the story is split, almost in half, with the perspective changing from Frank to Maggie. The epilogue truly is the cherry on top, as it gave the whole novel some much needed clarity and finality. 

Without giving anything away, I can whole heartedly say that the love between this couple is so strong and they really do have each others best interests at heart. This story, fixates on their love and their life together, following the highest highs and the lowest lows. We get to see these moments from both perspectives, which really adds to both the story, and our understanding as the reader.

Although I know that this is a work of fiction, my heart still aches for Frank and Maggie, for everything they've gone through. I can imagine how they felt throughout their story; hope, helplessness and heartbreak being the predominant emotions. Closely followed by the strength of their love and the joy shared.

A heart-wrenching, utterly captivating debut from a shining new voice. In The Silent Treatment, Abbie Greaves celebrates the phenomenal power of love, loss and leaving nothing unsaid through a unique portrayal of a long marriage with all its secrets and silence. Cleverly crafted and beautifully written, this novel pulses with an unspoken tenderness that moved me beyond means.

Frank and Maggie are unforgettable characters who’s love and challenges will repeatedly capture your heart.

A must read debut of 2020.

This interesting novel grabbed me right from the start, as Maggie calmly swallows a handful of tablets, then gets up to make dinner from her husband. It takes till half way through prepping the green beans and she has collapsed suddenly, so suddenly there is no time to break her own fall. Frank is so engrossed in his study that the smoke alarm is the first sign of the tragedy that has unfolded in their kitchen. He finds their tea on fire in the oven and a little way away, Maggie is unconscious on the floor. Frank’s voice is hoarse and he’s unused to the sound as he calls the emergency services. This is when I found out that Frank hasn’t spoken to anyone, even his beloved wife, for the past six months. 

When I requested an ARC of the novel it was this premise that first drew me in. Probably because, as my long-suffering partner will tell you, I nev.  er stop talking. I imagine that not chatting to the person you live with takes concerted effort. Greaves came across the premise for her novel when she read an article about a Japanese boy who had never seen his parents speak to one another. It’s intriguing and does ensure that you keep reading; I kept wondering why and how this has started. 

I hadn’t realised that the book was about pregnancy loss and infertility. Greaves writes about the grief and helplessness of this experience with real insight. Having been through the same experience, it was important that Maggie’s response be genuine. We see the ups and downs if a long term relationship and as Frank starts to reminisce, the romantic beginnings of building their home together.  As Maggie lies in a coma at the hospital, her nurse Daisy encourages Frank to talk, to say everything he can to her because the time they have left together may be limited. This Is where Frank’s secret is revealed and we know why he hasn’t spoken for six months. 

I enjoyed the novel, even though there were parts I didn’t fully connect with. Although Frank’s narration is emotional I found him difficult to understand. It’s a if there is a barrier between the reader and Maggie, both because she’s in a coma and because we only see her through Frank’s eyes at first until the narrative voice changes. I found myself waiting for a contrasting chapter from Maggie’s point of view early on, then with Maggie’s letters we start to see her inner life. I found this a moving and honest portrayal of pregnancy loss and parenthood. It’s hard to imagine a relationship where all the usual day to day things happen like eating together, sleeping together and sex, without a word passing between them. I guess it shows the strength of love, that Maggie can continue to give while receiving silence. I won’t spoil the ending, but it is emotional and I can see it staying with readers. This is an intriguing debut and I would read the author again. 

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC copy. This will have a longer review on my blog around publication day.

ALONG PETAL BY THE SEA

BY

Isabel Allende



	Not usually a fan of books where politics are a prominent theme, I loved this book.
It has everything.  I have a better understanding  of the Spanish Civil War now and the emotional and physical turmoil that refugees suffered in the aftermath, losing everything.
	Each chapter opens with a quote from the work of Nobel Prize winner, Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet and politician.  He chartered a ship, the Winnipeg, to take 2,200 refugees from the war to Chile. The title of the book is based on a quote from one of his poems.
	Cutting across the turmoil caused by the war there is at the heart of the book a love story that covers generations of the same family.  Their dreadful loss and deprivation highlights the situation not only in Spain but every country where there is turmoil.
	Isabel Allende is an ardent feminist and strong women feature in her books.  She interweaves events in her own life and historical events and her books have an immediacy taking the reader into the minds and hearts of her wonderful characters.  Because the books are based on truth this reader was keen to check events and do some further research on the time of which she is writing. What a dreadful time, leaving Spain a totally changed country.
	Family circumstances see Roser is taken in by a family while merely a girl.  She becomes an accomplished pianist but as the friction spreads across Spain she has to flee from Barcelona for her own safety.
	Victor is a young doctor exhausted in his attempts to help the injured and  victims of the war with little medication, eventually he too must flee his beloved home.
	They are together on the ship to Chile where a new and different life awaits.But will it be better?   This moving tale tells of the struggle of the young couple and the thousands of others who land in a country with its own problems.
	Through several generations we follow this emotional and gripping tale of families trying to exist and survive in the face of what appears to be insurmountable hardship.
	This is the first book I have read from this formidable writer but it will not be the last.

I didn't know what to expect from this book but wow, I was absolutely blown away. Such an emotive storyline, beautiful told and so believable. As a mother myself  I could identify with so many of the emotions and insecurities of being a parent, 'learning on the job. Outstanding and highly memorable.

I'm not sure how to review this book or what my real feelings are. 

I read the book in a couple of days and felt engaged enough to finish it but felt a bit let down by the final reveal.
 
I am sorry but I don't think it was for me, but I am sure other people will enjoy it.

This one is complex to review. It’s a difficult story to read, about a lifetime of love between Maggie and Frank, but packaged up with over protection of each other and their long awaited child both physically and emotionally. It’s the story of how that over protection eventually  retards the truth and resultant growth in their relationships, and changes some things forever.
After six months of Frank not speaking to her, Maggie takes action. This book documents the resultant, messy piecing together of what has gone on to bring them to this place. It speaks of love, but shows the flaws, the scrutiny and weighing up of self worth, and the shutting down of communication that can result when judging oneself as unworthy. 
I liked this book, and all its characters. They were very real, and each one made me want to reach out and help them in turn. I’ll look out for more from this author!
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Silent Treatment is a wonderful  bittersweet novel!  It tells us of Frank and Maggie's 40 year love story.  We begin almost at the end of the story and work backwards and forwards through the highs and lows of their lives together.  We already know that they haven't spoken to each other for 6 months, but we don't know why.  The author teases us through telling the story from all sides but gradually the truth comes out....and the truth when we finally learn it is heartbreaking. This is a thought provoking and poignant well written first novel and I look forward to reading more from Abbie Greaves.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for an advance copy of this novel.

This story is well written and an intriguing story, which sucked me in at the beginning. Written about an older couple it starts by looking back over their life, it was very touching and made me reminiscent of my own early days of marriage. I frequently made me smile reading about their sweet relationship.

Frank and Maggie were lovely characters; in the beginning you can't help enjoy their interactions and romance, though their story isn't without upset and disappointment. Later their life changes and both have to deal with it in their own way. 

I found the first half of the book fascinating but towards the end of the story I did feel I wanted it to get on with it; however, this was just a minor annoyance in a good story.  This is a debut novel by an author who is one to watch in the future.

This was not what I expected from the initial description, however I did find this an interesting read.. the idea of living with someone who did not talk to me for 6 months is totally abhorrent as. I. personally  do not believe in this sort of behaviour. I found the way that the couple handled their daughter very realistic but sad at the same time and it made me wonder if I could be strong enough to handle the same situation. The characters were very well described and as a reader I felt that I was with them and understood the things they did, from the miscarriage through the no children and then on to Ellie. I felt emotionally for all three main characters.

Perhaps because I couldn’t really relate to the story and situation, I struggled to get through this. It was lost on me that a married couple could spend 6 months not speaking to each other but again, perhaps because I’m not in that situation I can’t relate. The writing was good and while I didn’t gel with story, I’d be interested to see what the author does next.

Loved this book - quite unlike anything else. It was lovely yet emotional to experience the whole romance of these characters - and also lovely to finally read that real love sits in wait, rather than prances about with roses and chocolates.

A difficult book to read for many reasons. 

This is a sad but believable book about a couple who have been married for a long time but the husband has not spoken to his wife for 6 months. 

Told from the couples perspectives, Maggie and Frank and we learn the reason for Frank's silence. 

A very detailed story and highly emotional.

This book was well written and I love reading about human interaction and relationships.

This was so hard as it’s focussed on a failing relationship and the perspective is such an interesting one that, although it’s not something I’ve experienced, I felt it with the character.

A slow start but it did get better the more I read. 
Found it a little unbelievable in places that a couple would not speak at all for 6 months. 
The background story did explain things .Not the best book but not the worst either.

Do you ever feel like you're just the wrong reader for a book? That for some reason a perfectly well written book with an interesting plot just doesn't appeal to you, well that is how I felt with this book, I cannot comprehend how a couple living together don’t speak for 6 months.
I am afraid I just couldn’t empathise with the main characters and found the whole story somewhat difficult to believe. However the book is well written and other people my well