A Better Man Book Review

I was recently sent the latest Britmums book club novel, A Better Man by author Leah McLaren. The front cover immediately gets you thinking with one sentence. "What if the only way to end your marriage was to be the perfect husband?".

Maya wants Nick to be less of a workaholic, to come home earlier, to spend some time with his children. 

Nick wants a divorce.

With his mind made uo. Nick is determined to leave. But it comes as a shock to realize how much it will cost him to walk away. As a stay at home mum, Maya is entitled to everything….

This novel is one that intrigues. The story begins with Nick contemplating his life, his official story is that he's a happily married man. On the face of things he has everything he could ever want and more. Money is no issue, he has a beautiful wife and two children, twins, that love and adore him. But as with most things in life, not all is as it seems.

For Nick I guess you could say things have turned stale. I'd go as far as saying most married couples end up feeling the same on occasion. Day to day life ends up on repeat, a bit like ground hog day and before you know it you end up stuck in a rut. Each morning he wakes up and the routine remains unchanged.

What I've come to realise is that both marriage and life itself need work. I think for Nick and Maya they realise that there are problems there but neither are willing to actually do anything to make a change. Maya is focussed on the kids and Nick is happier at work. Really they both come across quite stubborn, I guess you could say well suited. But they've both lost their fire, the passion has disapated but whilst Maya is contemplating if it will return, Nick is consulting their best friend Gray on just how much a divorce will cost him.

His friends advice, be a better man, a better husband to basically trick the courts into giving him more and Maya less.

As Nick sets about spending more time at home, being more attentive to his wife, he begins to change, he falls back in love with the woman in fron of him and realises that he stands to lose more than just money. His realisation however comes too late because Maya finds out what he was planning and this sets the wheels in motion for the divorce that he was so longing for.

This book makes for an extremely interesting read. I found myself completely engrossed. What is interesting for me is that there is no real drama to make it a page turner, what it becomes is real life in a book. 

"Maya stares at her son, his face flushed with the thrill of out right defence, and thinks, You are an arsehole"

Lines like the above really made me chuckle. Come on we've all had thoughts like that about our kids at times.

The dialogue mixed with events that could very easily happen to any couple/family if allowed make this a page turner, a novel that doesn't leave you the minute you reach the end. 

For me, it made me sit back and think about my ownlife, my marriage an my family, how perhaps I should be making a bit more effort myself to keep the emotions fresh, the passion alive because honestly your life can change before your eyes with no warning so I guess the message that really comes across is that life is for living.

I really enjoyed reading A Better Man and would highly recommend others read it to. Leah does a wonderful job of blurring the lines of fact and fiction, making a made up story seem extremely real.

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent this book as part of Britmums book club, all thoughts and opinions are my own.