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My Husband's Sweethearts | 
 enlarge | Author: Bridget Asher
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Category: Book
List Price: $22.00
Buy New: $14.96
You Save: $7.04 (32%)
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Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 26498
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 038534189X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780385341899
ASIN: 038534189X
Publication Date: August 19, 2008
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Product Description
When Lucy discovered that her charming, cheating husband was dying, she came home, opened up his little black book, and decided she wasn’t going through this alone. After all, Artie’s sweethearts were there for the good times—is it fair that Lucy should have to manage the hard times herself? In this wise, wickedly funny new novel, Lucy dials up the women in Artie’s black book and invites them for one last visit. The last thing she expects is that any will actually show up.
But one by one, they do show up: The one who hates him. The one who owes her life to him. The one he turned into a lesbian, and the one he taught to dance. And among them is a visitor with the strangest story of all: the young man who may or may not be Artie’s long-lost son.
For Lucy, the jaw-dropping procession of women is an education in the man she can’t forgive and couldn’t leave. And as the women find themselves sharing secrets and sharing tears, they start to discover kindred spirits—and even something that’s a lot like family. But Lucy knows one thing for certain: the biggest surprises are yet to come….
Full of heart, Bridget Asher’s unforgettable novel is about mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and the deep friendships between women. It’s about sweet liars and tenderhearted cheaters—about loving those we love for reasons we can’t always fully rationalize, and about the sort of forgiveness that can change someone’s entire life in the most unexpected and extraordinary ways.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 The thin, thin line between love and hate November 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Lucy Shoreman has returned home to the man she left a scant six month before. After four years of marriage her husband Artie felt the need to unburden himself about the four "affairs" he had in those years. Now he is sick, actually dying and she has grudgingly returned to his side. At his sickbed she is reminded again of his betrayal and she reminds him of the pain he has caused with his affairs. Nothing prepares her for his suggestion..."Call them up". She is still reeling from that zinger when Artie tells her he has a son as well.
Taking his address book she decides to look them up, to look Artie's past loves up, and after a bit of liquid courage she does just that...but is caught off guard when the first of many appears on her doorstep. Some want nothing to do with Artie, some have wonderful memories, some discover even more betrayal . Little does Lucy know that each of the women she contacts may help her come to grips with her love for Artie and the pain and loss caused by his betrayal. Bridget Asher has written a quirky, offbeat tale of loves lost, dreams delayed and the struggle to see others as they are. Once Lucy begins to understand Artie and puts the pieces of his actions together she is able to acknowledge her love and mend her heart. This quirky story is surprisingly tender and a very satisfying read. These characters stay with you long after the book is closed.
A Novel Menagerie's Review October 30, 2008
My Husband's Sweethearts, a Novel
by: Bridget Asher
I read a review of this book in People Magazine. It was published along with the review of Yesterday's Weather. It was a good review and peaked my interest. I purchased them both, simultaneously.
There's not an elaborate discussion about why I chose this book, other than the premise of it really intrigued me. In reading it, that intrigue kept me glued. I very much enjoyed reading this novel. I must say... this book has "Screenplay" written all over it! Personally, I could imagine it as a movie that I would definitely go and see... I hope it makes it way to The Big Screen. It would be interesting to see who they'd cast for the characters.
This book is simple, yet complex. It is written at just the right pace, with wonderful little "nuggets" of wisdon and insight into love, death, and family. Simply, I would recommend this book along with many of the other ones that I've reviewed this Fall. Speaking of Fall, this book is on my Fall Into Reading 2008 Challenge (link is below).
The Review:
Title: My Husband's Sweethearts, a novel
Author: Bridget Asher
[...]Publisher: Bantam-Dell / Delacorte Press
[...]
Type: Fiction
ISBN #:978-0-385-34189-9 (Hardcover)
Pages: 271
This book is a story of Lucy, a woman married to Artie, a dying man. Lucy is an auditor with a well-established career and leading a "successful" life. We meet Lucy, and her assistant Lindsay, while she is on a business trip. The reader discovers that her dying husband has been cheating on her during her 4-year marriage to him. She has been away from Artie for 6 months on trips in order to avoid him due to his "transgressions." Artie makes, what I believe to be, the sweetest attempts to win her back. He does so by sending her flowers, wherever she is at on her business trips, accompanied by small flower cards with numbered reasons as to why he loves her. These cards span from memories they shared to actual things about her and/or their relationship.
She arrives home, takes up residence in the guest bedroom, and is faced with the fact that Artie has only, at most, one month left to live. In summary, he gives her his "black book" of sweethearts. The reason being that she is bitter that she must endure his death alone... and why should she when he has these other women in his life. Why aren't they enduring this as well? So, back to the guest bedroom she heads, black book in hand. In a drunken mindset, she makes a few calls, after midnight, to these women and leaves them messages to "schedule their time with Artie" while he is on his deathbed. Most hang up or ignore the call... but, two women do not: Eleanor and Elspa.
Elspa is an eccentric young woman, piercings, crazy hair and all. She left college to stay at Lucy's home to share Artie's last days. Eleanor, a bitter woman who is closer to Artie's age (early 50's), also arrives to read him the riot act. Lucy's Mother, Joan, is also a presence in Lucy's home... keeping up the garden and attempting to be there for Lucy. She brings along her dachshund, Bogie, who is overly endowed and wears homemade "jockstraps" to keep his appendage from scraping on the ground (we love Bogie and Lucy's Mom).
Lucy makes the managerial decision to have Eleanor orchestrate the visits of all of the sweethearts in the blackbook. In addition, Elspa is to reach her dream of getting her 3-year old daughter back from her parents. Joan is to handle Artie's funeral arrangements, as she is a multiple-time widow and the right person for the job. Lastly, Lucy's goal is to reunite Artie with his grown son, John, and for John to learn about is father before his death.
This host of characters is a perfect compliment to Lucy and Artie's journey of healing and forgiveness during his last days. What they discover, is that there is a common love shared amongst them all. How they get to that familial love is for the reader to discover when they pick up this great read.
My Favorite Quotes From the Book:
"Love isn't logical," I insist. "It's immune to logic."
Title of a Chapter: "You Can't Always Eat Your Way Out of a Problem-bu If You Want to Try, Begin with Chocolate"
"He has a depth of attention that comes with his love that is keen and sharp."
"Everyone should hear their own eulogies-but the notes, aren't they kind of a love song? And aren't the best eulogies a kind of love song?"
"We need to love each other again, with all that love entails-even the hard things, like forgiveness and acceptance. I don't think it makes logical sense-that one love can bring back another love-but it's true."
"Does my soul look fat in this body?"
On Sher's "One to Ten Scale:"
I like the kind of books that keep me up, in bed, at night... that I just can't close my eyes because I want to keep learning the story. This story did that for me. Mainly, I think, because this is a story that I could see really happening to somebody. And, Lucy is such a great protagonist... a person that I can relate with as to how she deals with things. When I read a story like this... and it grabs me... not because of anything other than my soul can relate... then, I have to say I really liked the book. Bridget Asher earns a 9! I'd share this book with a girlfriend, no qualms about it.
 Not a page turner October 28, 2008
In Bridget Asher's "My Husband's Sweethearts," Lucy contacted her dying husband's sweethearts so that they can say their farewell. Even though Lucy separated from Artie after discovering that he cheated on her, Lucy still loved Artie, and was having a hard time having to grasp the idea of him dying. By inviting his sweethearts over, Lucy hoped that she would be able to go through this difficult time with them, and at the same time satisfying her curiosity about them. Soon, the parade of women started coming, and Lucy actually formed friendships with two of them. She also discovered things about Artie that she was not aware of before, which made things more complicated.
The premise of the book sounded interested, but the novel lacked depth and the characters were not drawn out the way they should. I find a hard time relating to any of the characters in the book. There was definitely a potential, but at the end, the book was not very engaging. It was an okay read with an interesting premise, and potential readers are better off getting the book from the library.
My Husband's Sweethearts October 26, 2008
I felt the book was a quick, enjoyable read. It was a warm and heartfelt story. I felt like I wanted to be a part of the "family." It shows all different sides of and the strength of love. Looking forward to her next book.
Bittersweet Story October 20, 2008
This was a bittersweet story. Humorous yet sad. I think my favorite character was that of Artie's maybe son, John Bessom. I liked his interactions with Lucy, where they talked about Artie. As for the rest of the characters I wish I had gotten to know them better, I didn't feel like I knew that much about most of them besides one of the sweethearts, Elspa. Since the story is told from Lucy's perspective I found myself actually forgetting her name. I would have liked to see more interactions between Lucy and Artie and found out a little more about Artie. You could definitely sense his love for Lucy through the little notes he sent her while she was away on business/avoiding him. I just wanted to see it a bit more when they actually came face to face.
I really liked the idea of a revolving door of sweethearts and really liked the part where several of them were described including a mother and daughter! Again, would have loved to hear about more of them! I think it would have added to the humor of the book. I also liked the idea of women that could potentially be at each other's throats developing a friendship and helping each other grow and prepare for losing Artie.
I definitely knew how the book was going to end but that's the ending I was really hoping for so it was pretty darn satisfying! I hate endings that set you up and then go into a totally different direction! This was a sweet, rather light read!
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