"Cars from a Marriage" is a delightfully honest portrayal of a 20+ year marriage, told from the perspective of the cars that the couple drove during their life together. I found this premise intriguing and highly enjoyable. We don't really think about how our cars have been with us through the ups and downs of our lives, and telling the story of a marriage in this manner is refreshing and quite unique!
Ivy Honeycutt and Ellis Halpern meet and fall in love in NYC in 1981. Ivy is a southern transplant with an intense fear of driving, although her father owns the local Buick dealership in her hometown. Ellis is a wannabe stand-up comedian who rescues Ivy from a mean waitress in a nightclub he is performing at. He whisks her away in his 1974 Burgundy Mustang Hatchback and they fall in love.
Where most stories end, "Cars from a Marriage" is just beginning. From the 1982 Light Green Buick LeSabre, to the 1987 Buick Century Wagon (white with wood trim), to the 1992 Silver Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, to the 1995 Red Audi Cabriolet Convertible (rental), and finally to the Red Chrysler Sebring Convertible (rental), the reader is taken on a journey of the highs and lows of a 20 year marriage. What I found interesting about this book is what each car signifies - that the car is a metaphor for the characters lives at that time. From just starting out, to having children, to figuring out life, to death, and to infidelities. You can picture the family in each of these cars during these times, feel the joy and feel the pain that they are experiencing.
The story is told in alternating chapters between Ivy and Ellis. I really felt for both of these characters. I could understand their frustrations and their angst and you can't help but be drawn into their story, wanting to help them and hoping that they will figure it all out. This story is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, and at times very, very sad. Just like a marriage.
I would absolutely recommend this book - I loved it!
Ivy Honeycutt and Ellis Halpern meet and fall in love in NYC in 1981. Ivy is a southern transplant with an intense fear of driving, although her father owns the local Buick dealership in her hometown. Ellis is a wannabe stand-up comedian who rescues Ivy from a mean waitress in a nightclub he is performing at. He whisks her away in his 1974 Burgundy Mustang Hatchback and they fall in love.
Where most stories end, "Cars from a Marriage" is just beginning. From the 1982 Light Green Buick LeSabre, to the 1987 Buick Century Wagon (white with wood trim), to the 1992 Silver Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon, to the 1995 Red Audi Cabriolet Convertible (rental), and finally to the Red Chrysler Sebring Convertible (rental), the reader is taken on a journey of the highs and lows of a 20 year marriage. What I found interesting about this book is what each car signifies - that the car is a metaphor for the characters lives at that time. From just starting out, to having children, to figuring out life, to death, and to infidelities. You can picture the family in each of these cars during these times, feel the joy and feel the pain that they are experiencing.
The story is told in alternating chapters between Ivy and Ellis. I really felt for both of these characters. I could understand their frustrations and their angst and you can't help but be drawn into their story, wanting to help them and hoping that they will figure it all out. This story is, at times, laugh-out-loud funny, and at times very, very sad. Just like a marriage.
I would absolutely recommend this book - I loved it!
