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Indiscretion by Charles Dubow

Indiscretion

by Charles Dubow

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (24):
  • Published:
  • Feb 2013, 352 pages
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There are currently 24 reader reviews for Indiscretion
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Roni S. (Pittsburgh, PA)

Indiscretion
This is Charles Dubow's first novel and it is beautifully written with good character development. There are 4 main characters and one of them is the narrator. The reader cares about some of the characters. You feel their joy and their pain. Anyone interested in life in the Hamptons would enjoy this book but it also has a much wider appeal. Other settings include Manhattan, Paris and Rome. Some of the early parts of the book are very sensual. I will look forward to other books by this author. Of course, the title, "Indiscretion" tells it all.
Laurence O. (Phoenix, AZ)

No Discretion Needed to Enjoy Indiscretion
I will admit, after about 30 pages I was ready to return the book--it was so slow and somewhat trite. However I am the type of person who has never walked out of a movie. I was not enjoying and never put down a book I started to read, but didn't enjoy.

I am so glad I read the next 20 pages--it captivated me. Charles Dubow does an excellent job developing the characters and you love the 6 major characters. The book is a great read for hopeless romantics and those that ponder what we do while we are here in this universe.

Dubow artfully takes you through and you experience all the emotional highs of the great, happy moments and the depths of the negative and sad moments.

Great for a book group or club--so much to discuss.
Sarah N. (Corte Madera, CA)

I couldn't look away...
Indiscretion kept me wanting more and terrified of where it was going to take me. As a married woman, I am always fascinated and repelled by the thought of such indiscretions. I was thrilled by the fact that I thought I knew where the book was taking me but then didn't. I will put Charles Dubow on my list of "must read" authors for when his next book comes out.
Shirley D. (Amherst, MA)

A Tug at the Heart.
Ever been at a gathering where you knew no one nor were familiar with their privileged lifestyles?
But you decided to stick it out for a time anyway. This is how the beginning of INDISCRETION felt – not easy to get started. Yet as in life we usually (and if you continued reading) adjust and find that in this crowd of strangers, some quickly became familiar. It was thus with Walter and Claire, Maddy and Harry. Once we slipped into their lives, their problems, their highs and lows were understandable. Depending on your own life experiences, one person may stand out, become an individual you won't forget long after the story ends. Through the skill of the writer, these seem to be real "people" with real lives. You will care and this novel will tug at your heart.
Power Reviewer
Wendy F. (Kalamazoo, MI)

Indiscretion
Great read! I fell in love with the characters throughout their happy times as well as struggles. Although there was a familiarity about certain parts of the story, I didn't want it to end. The beautiful and loving Maddy, handsome, witty Harry, the newcomer Claire and of course Walter, all caught up in a complex web of emotion. Thank you Charles Dubow for giving me this engrossing read.
Edie M. (Kennett Square, PA)

Indiscretion is the ultimate love story
I was captivated from the beginning with this book.
The characters are very easy to relate with. I found myself being drawn back again and again. I love Harry and Maddy, my heart was celebrating and breaking along with theirs. The narrator Walter's view was very interesting and from that aspect, it did remind me of Gatsby.

We should all have such a devoted friend!
Bink W. (Sopchoppy, FL)

modern tragedy
The setting of the lifestyle of the rich and famous was interesting and believable. The well developed characters and their desires, self-destructive and otherwise, was a timeless tale. A thoughtful and insightful tragedy that was also a real page turner. Well paced with a few surprises. This one will stay with me for quite awhile.
Beth (USA)

Simply wonderful
This is what reading is all about for me -- an absorbing story, beautifully written, with characters that seem so real I know I will miss them when I am done.
Dubow has taken what should be an ordinary, time worn story -- a man's adulterous affair -- and turned it into something riveting. The device he employs of having the narrator recount the story by looking back on events only adds to the tension. I am in awe of this author's ability to capture so authentically the shifting feelings of the players involved, and in doing so to evoke sympathy for all the players involved. Is Claire, the other woman, to be loathed, feared, pitied? And what of Harry, is he weak...a fool...deserving of forgiveness? So too, the narrator, the affable family friend Walter, an echo of Nick from The Great Gatsby, who is hopelessly in love with the wife, is a man of many shades.
Top it all off with a quiet and gut-wrenching ending that does not resort to tricks or big fireworks for impact, but instead, packs its punch through sheer brilliance of feeling and emotion .
I cannot wait to see what this author does next.
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