AN ORDINARY WOMAN

Donna Hill

St. Martin's Press

0-31228-191-9

October 2002

(4+) Wayne Jordan

PLOT SYNOPSIS: 

REVIEW: 

Asha Woods and Lisa Holden have been best friends since childhood.  They are, however, totally different.  Asha is more concerned with her professional career.  A photographer, she has achieved some measure of success, and is, to a certain extent, satisfied with what she has accomplished.  Lisa, on the other hand, dreams of domestic bliss.  Her main goal in life is to be happily married to the perfect man.

AN ORDINARY WOMAN opens on Lisa’s wedding day.  Her marriage to Ross Davis is all that she has ever dreamed about, and the day promises to be one of perfection.  She’s done all the planning to ensure that everything is exactly how she wants it.

The honeymoon, however, proves to be a disappointment; the first indication that all is not well.  Ross was beginning to realize that something is wrong; that somehow all that comes with marriage was slowly suffocating him.  He felt trapped.  It is at this point that this reader felt that something serious was about to happen.  When Ross stops by his mother-in-laws house several months after the marriage, and offers Asha, who’s there, a ride home, he ends up in her bed.  Eventually, Lisa finds out and their worlds come tumbling down.

AN ORDINARY WOMAN is Ms. Hill at her very best.  Readers must be warned that this is not a romance, so not to expect the usual happily-ever-after.  This story is definitely mainstream, as Ms. Hill explores the effects that infidelity and adultery have on the lives of those involved.

In the story, Ms. Hill’s message is clear; that situations like these must be looked at objectively, and that no one person is to blame.  Told from the views point of Asha, Lisa and Ross, readers are able to delve into the minds of each of these characters, allowing them to see what could have caused this present crisis.

AN ORDINARY WOMAN is not a gentle book.  The story is a bold look at adultery and all the hurt and pain that comes with it.  At the end of the story, Ms. Hill does not provide ready answers.  Instead, she allows us to access the situation and see it for what it is.

The pacing of AN ORDINARY WOMAN does not flow smoothly, as the story moves backward and forward in time, changing from one viewpoint to another.  This rhythm effectively reflects the turbulent rollercoaster of emotions that is central to the story.

AN ORDINARY WOMAN is the story of ordinary people and how events can affect the individual we are.  At the end, the Asha, Lisa and Ross we see, are not the same characters we met at the beginning of the story.  They have each grown up, affected by the events in their lives. 

In recent years, I’ve watched Ms. Hill move from romance fiction to mainstream fiction, and I wish that occasionally, she’d give us a tender romance, but if AN ORDINARY WOMAN is an example of her growth as writer, maybe I can live with this change in style.

wajordan@romanceincolor.net (1st October 2002)