It s Jordi Gordan s 55th birthday and she receives, as she has for
every birthday for the last fifteen years, a message from Nico.
While her husband, Hal, cooks her a birthday breakfast, she cries
over her message from Nico because Jordi is a woman with a secret.
During the course of the day, the reader follows Jordi around: to
the traditional family breakfast and the handing out of gifts, then
to a visit with her (now French-speaking and senile) elderly
mother, to Thrupps for some groceries, to lunch with her best
friend, the irrepressible Sally, and then home where she makes the
final preparations for a business dinner party that evening (an
unfortunate miscalculation of dates that has robbed her of a
special night with Hal). As she goes about her preparations, we
meet Jordi s friends and family and we get to see how her life is
carefully constructed to screen all of them from her secret.
Slowly, Jordi begins to tell us about Nico how she first met him
and where, how they knew as soon as they met that there was
something between them and how neither of them could act on it
because of their marriages.For almost thirty years, she and Nico
have been sidestepping each other in London, in New York, even in
Jo burg. And at every turn we see how Jordi and Nico s lives are
kept apart by Jordi s strong belief in the importance of her
marriage vows. Even when she weakens and begins to indulge her
fantasy of running away to be with Nico, there is always something
to hold her back. As evening approaches, she puts Nico to the back
of her mind and readies herself for her guests. The dinner party is
a success and the atmosphere is laid back and casual. Then, while
she is taking a break from the table, Jordi overhears two of her
guests talking about her. Back at the table she confronts the women
in an amiable kind of a way, but it becomes clear that something is
not quite right. The conversation grinds to a halt before Moira,
Jordi s poisonous sister-in-law, blurts out a shocking truth.
General
Imprint: |
Kwela Books
|
Country of origin: |
South Africa |
Release date: |
July 2016 |
First published: |
April 2010 |
Authors: |
Gail Schimmel
|
Dimensions: |
225 x 155 x 17mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
283 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-7957-0270-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
Modern fiction
|
LSN: |
0-7957-0270-1 |
Barcode: |
9780795702709 |
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