Thursday, April 2, 2020

Review: THE BET by Orna Landau



The Bet: a 45-year old woman aims to prove to her husband that she is still desirable to others. For a 3-month trial separation, they would be free to do…whatever they wanted.



Of course, the very next day, when Sarah wakes up from the hang-over and the passionate love-making, she wonders if it was a good idea, especially when Ben starts packing right away. Yeah, never make bets when drunk. Can a perfectly good marriage be broken? It’s only for 3 months.



Throughout the story, Sarah and Ben suffer a mixture of angst, withdrawals, and excitement. The eagerness to fly and be free clashes with the guilt and constant doubts plaguing their minds. What happens when sex gets in the mix? Then it becomes an internal war between the angel and the devil.  Who will win in the end?



Lovely and well-written.  I was intrigued by the bet and thought it was such a daring idea. And I agreed with Sarah: if the two really loved each other, they would survive the 3 month. Heck, I’d enjoy the peace and quiet, too! Watching Sarah sort through the online dating dilemma was a riot.  The two just get wracked with guilt that it’s hard for either of them to enjoy this little experiment. They constantly obsess and quibble, practically repeating the same whiny notions over and over again. That tends to get annoying after a while.



Overall, this was a good read.  



My rating: 4 stars

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