The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer

When the elliptical new drama teacher at Stellar Plains High School chooses for the school play Lysistrata-the comedy by Aristophanes in which women stop having sex with men in order to end a war-a strange spell seems to be cast over the school. Or, at least, over the women. One by one throughout the high school community, perfectly healthy, normal women and teenage girls turn away from their husbands and boyfriends in the bedroom, for reasons they don't really understand. As the women worry over their loss of passion, and the men become by turns unhappy, offended, and above all, confused, both sides are forced to look at their shared history, and at their sexual selves in a new light.

The premise of this book is what drew me in, a modern day Lysistrata! It had so much potential but just flopped in the end.

When the new drama teacher picks Lysistrata as the fall play the women of Stellar Plains are put under a spell. They all start to turn away from the men in their lives. One by one relationships start to crumble, some just end, and no one knows why.

That is pretty much all there is to this book. The beginning was good. It drew me in and made me want to know more about the characters, they were interesting. Wolitzer is great at details and you get a sense of all the characters. In the end, though, they all lacked the depth that I crave. I want to read a story and connect with the characters, feel what they feel. There was none of that in this story. Plus, there were just too many characters, they all started to blend and it was hard to remember who was who as the story progressed.

Toward the middle the story began to jump around too much and became inconsistent. Also, the climax was almost nonexistent and the ending was terrible and predictable. Overall the book lacked excitement and drama.

I would definitely skip this book.

2 out of 5 stars.



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