The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller – 400 pages

Book Blurb:

It is a perfect July morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at “The Paper Palace”–the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn’t forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families.

My Review: 4 stars

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The Paper Palace was an interesting look into marriage and the man you married versus the idea of who should’ve married. Honestly, this book wasn’t on my radar to read until Reese picked it for her book club. I was bored at Costco while my husband was getting an eye exam so I went to peruse the books. Success! This book was there so I got started right away in one of the many recliners for sale. I was hooked.

The author has an uncanny ability to bring details to life with gorgeous descriptions. I could easily imagine The Paper Palace, Elle’s family’s summer home that she’d summer at every year. It’s not glamorous, or fancy, but it’s part of her identity, where good things happened and of course, some heinous things as well.

This book follows one day at the summer home in the present time, yet is broken up into segments that tell the backstory of the characters, which ultimately becomes the meat of the book. The historical narrative explored how these characters survived their own parentage, which led them to who they are now. There are loads of triggers in this book, which is what makes the writing feel to raw and honest. With everything from rape, incest, cancer, adultery, lies and trying to keep your family whole, there was a lot in this book to digest.

I truly felt for these characters and was somewhat fascinated by their stories as they survived a lot of hardships. The ending left me somewhat confused, even after I re-read it. This is definitely a book worth discussing as I can see people having different opinions on whether Elle should stay with her husband, or be with her first love and best friend, Jonas.