Day: September 4, 2014

The Stories We Tell: A Novel by Patti Callahan Henry

Mary Contemporary Fiction, Patti Callahan Henry, St. Martin's Press, Sullivan and Partners
  • the stories we tell (Sept4)Title:  The Stories We Tell: A Novel
  • Author:  Patti Callahan Henry
  • Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
  • Published:  June 2014 – St. Martin’s Press
  • Source:  Sullivan and Partners

Synopsis:  Eve and Cooper Morrison are Savannah’s power couple. They’re on every artistic board and deeply involved in the community. She owns and operates a letterpress studio specializing in the handmade; he runs a digital magazine featuring all things southern gentlemen. The perfect juxtaposition of the old and the new, Eve and Cooper are the beautiful people. The lucky ones. And they have the wealth and name that comes from being part of an old Georgia family. But things may not be as good as they seem. Eve’s sister, Willa, is staying with the family until she gets “back on her feet.” Their daughter, Gwen, is all adolescent rebellion. And Cooper thinks Eve works too much. Still, the Morrison marriage is strong. After twenty-one years together, Eve and Cooper know each other. They count on each other. They know what to expect. But when Cooper and Willa are involved in a car accident, the questions surrounding the event bring the family close to breaking point. Sifting between the stories—what Cooper says, what Willa remembers, what the evidence indicates—Eve has to find out what really happened. And what she’s going to do about it.  (publisher)

My take:  The Stories We Tell opens with a storm brewing outside Eve Morrison’s window one evening. To her it feels like an omen. Her feeling proves correct when a policeman arrives to take her to a hospital where her husband and sister have been admitted after a car accident. Eve can’t figure out why they would’ve been in the car together. That is just the first of many questions she’ll be seeking answers to.

Eve married Cooper for good reasons (she’d told herself) but now she wonders if they were the right reasons. The last straw is when Cooper blames Willa (Eve’s sister) for the car accident. Eve is certain he is hiding something and wonders if she can trust her husband anymore. On top of that, their seventeen-year-old daughter is acting out big time. It’s all Eve can do just to keep the peace in her own house. What will she do when her questions are answered?

Patti Callahan Henry’s novel is about a marriage and appearances and what happens when appearances aren’t what they seem. It’s about the fallout from fibs and stories and lies.I loved how all the strings of the story were woven together by the end of the novel. I wouldn’t expect to feel any other way about one of Patti Callahan Henry’s books. I’m a fan and recommend The Stories We Tell to fans of the author and Contemporary Southern Fiction.