Synopses & Reviews
The well-intentioned parents of a teenage son attempt to lessen the impact of their failed two-career marriage with an intelligent, successful divorce. But their son goes off the tracks, staggering under the weight of his parents' expectations and need for denial. His troubles send shock waves through adult relationships on all sides. The serious implications of divorce on ex-spouses, their new partners, their family members and the absurd college pressures on young people today is the emotional landscape of
A Perfect Divorce. Through riveting storytelling, Corman addreses the popular cultural myth, created out of wishful thinking, that children of divorce can be emotionally protected by careful parenting, and that divorce can be relatively risk-free. With the same clear-eyed perspective and insight about contemporary life that he brought to
Kramer vs. Kramer, Corman shows us where we have come since
Kramer and where we are now, in a novel that is timely and moving.
Review
"This is life after Kramer vs. Kramer, tender, tough and so true it hurts. In crystal clear prose, Corman superbly lays bare the secrets we hide, even from ourselves." (Barbara Goldsmith, author of Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism and)
Review
"Avery Corman apparently knows how it all works--or doesn't--with the fast track urban middle-class: career, workaholism, divorce and children, single parent stress, SAT stress, copelessness that passes for coping. In this densely detailed, fast-moving story that has the scope of cultural anthropology, he is compassionate, clinical and funny. And with a surprise at the end that is credible as well as heart-warming." --Jules Feiffer
"With perfect pitch, Avery Corman has written an unforgettable book about love, kids and divorce. Divorce, even a 'perfect' one, devastates all in its path. Everyone--and I mean everyone--divorced or considering divorce should read this book. It will break your heart and open your eyes."
-Ari Goldman, author of The Search for God at Harvard and Living a Year of Kaddish
“This is life after Kramer vs. Kramer, tender, tough and so true it hurts. In crystal clear prose, Corman superbly lays bare the secrets we hide, even from ourselves.”
-Barbara Goldsmith, author of Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull, Johnson v. Johnson, and Little Gloria...Happy at Last
"Does anyone understand family life better than Avery Corman? A Perfect Divorce takes a lucky reader into the mysterious landscape of urban life, love and child-rearing with Corman's wise and all-knowing gaze."
--Marie Brenner, Vanity Fair Writer-at-Large and author of Great Dames: What I Learned from Older Women
Synopsis
The well-intentioned parents of a teenage son attempt to lessen the impact of their failed two-career marriage with an intelligent, successful divorce. But their son goes off the tracks, staggering under the weight of his parents' expectations and need for denial. His troubles send shock waves through adult relationships on all sides. The serious implications of divorce on ex-spouses, their new partners, their family members and the absurd college pressures on young people today is the emotional landscape of
A Perfect Divorce. Through riveting storytelling, Corman addreses the popular cultural myth, created out of wishful thinking, that children of divorce can be emotionally protected by careful parenting, and that divorce can be relatively risk-free. With the same clear-eyed perspective and insight about contemporary life that he brought to
Kramer vs. Kramer, Corman shows us where we have come since
Kramer and where we are now, in a novel that is timely and moving.
Synopsis
Karen and Rob are the well-intentioned parents of a teenage son, Tommy, who believe they can avoid the emotional fallout of their failed two-career marriage. Both are successful individuals who have pursued other personal relationships since their divorce, but have managed to stay connected through their son. When Tommy goes off the tracks, his troubles send shock waves through relationships on all sides. Staggering under the weight of his parents' expectations and need for denial, Tommy risks everything—and Avery Corman turns everyday life into a brilliant page-turning drama. Not since
Kramer vs. Kramer, Corman's landmark novel and the basis for the Academy Award-winning motion picture, have truths about us—about marriage, divorce and parenting—been so accurately and emotionally dramatized.
About the Author
Avery Corman is the author of the bestseller
Kramer vs. Kramer, which was made into an Academy Award-winning motion picture,
Prized Possessions,
Oh, God!, which was adapted into a hit screen comedy,
The Old Neighborhood and most recently
50. His writing has also appeared in
Esquire,
Cosmopolitan,
Readers Digest,
Ladies Home Journal, and syndicated by
The New York Times in newspapers around the country and in Europe. He lives in New York City with his wife.