Sophy Chase has left Will, her husband of ten years, and moved from the small Massachusetts island of Swansea to New York, where she begins an affair with Daniel, an English art dealer and single father of four adopted Vietnamese children. While their sex is great, their emotional relationship is stunted, but, Sophy, herself childless, develops a strong emotional attachment to the children, especially the oldest daughter, Vicky. Just a couple of months into the relationship Sophy receives a call telling her that Will has been found dead, and she quickly returns to Swansea to plan a funeral. There she confronts feelings of guilt over having abandoned Will, feelings that are exacerbated by uncertainty about whether his death was due to natural causes or to suicide. She also has to manage difficult relationships with Will’s first wife and his grown twin daughters, as well as with an old friend and lover who is coping with demons of his own. Her dog, who Will gave to Sophy when she decided to stop trying to conceive, is missing. And in midst of all this Vicky runs away from home. Not surprisingly, Sophy, a recovering alcoholic, struggles to cope with everything happening to her.

Elizabeth Benedict’s novel explores love, loss, regret, and especially coping. Sophy not only must cope with the unexpected tragedy of Will’s sudden death, but also cope with uncertainty of many kinds. Her marital status is uncertain—she’s almost divorced but not quite. Her relationship with Daniel’s children is uncertain, what happened to Will in his final days and what led to his death is uncertain. The book is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always believable and moving, and worth reading. ( )

Mediocre, enough of a story to hold my attention but the author incorporated a mismash of topics: alcoholism, divorce, homosexuality, adoption, infidelity. It seemed very contrived. Not sure why this made the list of New York Times Notable Books.......... ( )

Sophy Chase, newly divorced, is a woman enjoying a hot relationship with her boyfriend David in Manhattan when she receives news that her ex-husband has suddenly died in Swansea, her former seaside hometown in New England. She leaves David and travels alone back to Swansea to face her two stepdaughters, her husband Wiil's first wife, and the people who knew both Sophie and Will when they had been married.

Much of this story takes place in Sophy’s mind as she navigates the path of her life and Will’s. Was she to blame in part for his death? How will she deal with Will’s family who are no longer part of her life? Does she really want to be in Manhattan or is Swansea really her her home?

Author Elizabeth Benedict takes these questions and turns them inside out. She explores every nook and cranny of the circumstance in which Sophy finds herself. It’s an interesting exploration of one woman’s thoughts, the resolution of which comes from reading the story. It’s a quiet novel, but it reveals the feelings that anyone could experience if ever thrust into a similar situation. ( )

This was a NY Times notable book, but I don't understand why. It was dull with colorless characters and little plot. Although the book moved along, I kept waiting for something interesting to happen but nothing did. Mishmash of divorce, death, alcoholism, AA, adopted kids, etc. ( )

Eh, story is only okay, a bit too focused on the female protagonist for my tastes. I am not a big fan of "woman's lit" and this is truly written for women. Too many characters coming and going and never really given any dimension. Even the lovely island setting gets too little attention. Eh. ( )