Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2010
384 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
"Giffin excels at creating complex characters and stories that ask us to explore what we really want from our lives." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life.
Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie--a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance--and even to some degree, friendships--believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.
Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.
In alternating, pitch-perfect points of view, Emily Giffin creates a moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.
"Starred Review. Giffin’s talent lies in making her characters believable and relatable, and readers will be enthralled by this layered, absorbing novel." - Booklist
"[A] modern-day Jane Austen." - Vanity Fair
"Giffin uses her great wit and gift of storytelling to weave a tale that's nuanced, empathetic and, at times, heartbreaking." - Associated Press
"Giffin displays her trademark ability to capture the complexities of human emotions while telling a rip-roaring tale." - Washington Post
"Giffin excels at creating complex characters and stories that ask us to explore what we really want from our lives." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This information about Heart of the Matter was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Emily Giffin is the New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed (which was also made into a movie and released in May 2011), Something Blue, Baby Proof and Love The One You're With. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and three young children. Her eighth novel is First Comes Love (2016).
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