LEAVING by Roxana Robinson

Do not read this book.  Seriously.  It’s tedious at times with a lot of hand-wringing and some heavy-handed justice being dealt.  The premise is a love story between two sixty-somethings, and I felt like I was reading a letter in a newspaper advice column.  Sarah and Warren were young lovers who split up due to a couple of misunderstandings on Sarah’s part.  They then went their separate ways and married other people.  Sarah is now divorced with two well-adjusted adult children, whereas Warren is married with a grown daughter.  When Warren decides to leave his wife, his daughter becomes outraged and completely cuts him off from all communication.  Really?  His wife and daughter both insist that he is destroying the family by choosing to live his own life.  I found all this drama absurd, and, yes, I know it happens, but it’s still absurd for a man to be held hostage by his daughter who is no longer part of his household.  Sarah’s daughter’s assessment of both Warren and his daughter is spot-on, even though she has never met either of them.  If you’re looking for characters who attain some level of redemption, skip this one.  It’s depressing but not a tear-jerker.  One section that is very tense—life and death--is the best part, and I can’t complain about the writing.