Despite the fact that it isn't that long, I found this book heavy going. It is proper literature - thought provoking etc... maybe too much because I don't know whether I picked up on everything I was supposed to.

Well, it's set in America in the 50s and follows Sabina, married girl who has quite a few affairs. She is searching for something to fill her life. She gets a different aspect of "love" out of each of her affairs, and with this, a different version of herself embarks upon each affair, so that at the end of the day, she's never completely herself with any one person just as she never really experiences complete proper love.

Disillushioning I suppose: Real life v Fairytales.

Have set up a bookring for this book:

1. Opheliaphillips - UK
2. Elis-fromSweden - Sweden
3. malagan - Netherlands (not responding to PMs - skipped)
4. sudokugirl - Bosnia-Herzegovina
5. Titihood - Canada
7. celticseahorse - UK
8. Opheliaphillips - UK (back home)

This book arrived in the mail. I'll get back here when I am ready to send it along its way. Thank you OpheliaPhillips!

11 february: It has taken me some time. I am sorry for the delay. Just wanted to let everyone know I haven't forgot.

As soon as I get malagan's address I will put this book in the mail. Before I do so I will get back here to write my feelings about the book. Thank you very much Ophelia Phillips for sharing.

Bara en liten påminnelse att ringen fortfarande väntar =)

After failing to get malagan's address I got in touch with sudokugirl and the book is on its way to Bosnia Herzegovina. I was hoping my husband would get in here and write about his opinions before I did so but now I'll go first and we'll see if he gets around to it. He got really interested in the book when it arrived and since it took me so long to get through it he borrowed it and finished it in notime.

I don't know what it was that made it so difficult for me. I had to take breakes and read other books in between. I can't say that I disliked the book but I don't know if I liked it. It felt like Sabina had love-affairs upon love-affairs, but apparantly there where only four different men. One wonders if her husband really was so clueless as Sabina thinks. At the end I got the feeling Sabina had her own theory on why she lived her life on lies, about how she wasn't a whole person with any of the men. I also think that it wasn't until the second half of the book it was easier to read, perhaps the story-line was easier to follow or perhaps I got into the story.

Thanks OpheliaPhillips for sharing the book and I am so sorry I kept it so long.

elis-fromSweden's husband also read this book, here is his comments...

This book really made me realize that time passes slowly. The world does not seem to be much different now then in the fifties. But I guess each generation thinks that it is the first and only generation that has been “young”. A fascinating story told from the inside.

I read the book because I wanted to check if there were any connection to The Doors song The Spy, and I would guess that Jim had read Anais Nin’s book…
I'm a spy in the house of love
I know the dream, that you're dreamin' of
I know the word that you long to hear
I know your deepest, secret fear
I know everything
Everything you do
Everywhere you go
Everyone you know

Arrived safe and sound today. I have one bookcrossing book in front of this one, but it shouldn't take long.

Not exactly something I'd normally pick up, but that's precisely the reason I'm glad I read it. Thanks for sharing, OpheliaPhillips.

I PMed titihood a few days ago and will wait a while longer for her response.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to titihood.

Minor update. I know this does seem very late and to be honest I have written off this book as 100% wild now! But I am having a bored Sunday afternoon so I am seeing if I can get in touch with Titihood and find out what happened to the book. I saw in the forums that sudokugirl had a bit of trouble getting Titihood´s address a year ago to post it onwards.

Update. Never landed with titihood, but apparently Canada post can be a bit iffy. I think this one is well and truely in the wild now.

I bought another second hand copy of this yesterday and have PMed the remaining two ring participants to see if they want to read the book. So the ring may or may not continue depending on what they say.

Link to the other book: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/6882978