cover image WESTCHESTER BURNING: Portrait of a Marriage

WESTCHESTER BURNING: Portrait of a Marriage

Amine Wefali, . . Dial, $23.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-0-385-33511-9

In hypnotically flat, simple sentences, Wefali tells the story of the rise and fall of her almost upper-class, Westchester, N.Y., marriage. Her husband is a work-obsessed executive, mostly notable by his absence from family life. In spite of his long hours at the office, the couple has four children, necessitating constant shuttlings to various schools, camps and training programs. House purchases (in Westchester, New Hampshire, Nantucket and Florida), travel between homes and the elaborate cleaning and furnishing of these abodes consume the first half of the marriage. In the marriage's middle years, houses are either mortgaged or sold (or rented to disastrous tenants, entailing more cleaning). As her husband progressively becomes an absentee landlord with his marriage as well as his real estate, Wefali starts an affair with a shady but romantic Russian, propelling the marriage to its fated rocks. The devolution—property squabbles, child custody threats—is as ugly as the marriage, only clearer. By the book's end, Wefali and her ex are at least nicer to each other, even if it feels more like a deal-with-the-devil than a true meeting of equals. Wefali's style is spare, which may surprise readers expecting Russian histrionics, and quite unsparing, as readers are dismissively told of the sexual abuse of the narrator and her children. It's a familiar theme: the ladies lunch, tell all... and then charge the meal to hubby's credit card. (July 2)

Forecast:Publicity is planned—including New York Times advertising and NPR sponsorships—but without a visible hook (celebrity, current event, literary or otherwise), selling this may be a struggle.