Book Club Blog

Book info: The Divide. Nicholas Evans. London: Penguin Books Ltd. 2005. ISBN 0-399-15206-7

If you’ve read both The Horse Whisperer and The Loop, then you’re probably used to Nicholas Evans’ unpredictability.

In The Divide, he explores the underlying themes of love and loyalty in a marriage slowly going apart and the effect separation can has on the children. In doing so, Nicholas Evans proves himself capable of delving into the human psyche as Fyodor Dostoevsky, the late Russian master of that genre.

The Cooper family is an otherwise normal family – at least to everyone outside as well as the children. From the onset, we feel Benjamin Cooper’s – sexual rejection from his wife Sarah, the disdain in which he is held by his father-in-law and the near-perfect love his children share with him.

Abigail, the daughter, brilliant, worshipful of her father is devastated when he leaves her mother for another woman while Joshua is completely supportive of him and of Eve, the woman Benjamin left his wife for. His character is perhaps, the most complex of all as Nicholas Evans explores the conflicts between his love interests, drugs and his dedication to his sister.

Sarah, Benjamin’s wife and the mother of Abigail and Joshua is another complicated character. Her moods swing from hurt and blame to the despair at the realization that she is partly to blame for her husband’s desertion as evidenced by the seduction of her husband in an attempt to make up for the rejection and to prove she is not frigid.

Abigail’s death is the catalyst to the reunion of the family – although not in the way expected. While still legally married to Benjamin, Sarah gives her blessing to the union between him and Eve – and gets involved with the sheriff investigating their daughter’s death.

Nicholas Evans blends wit, humor and satire in an original style that can be called his – simple, clear language that converts his hours of long research into a work that can be understood by both the technical and non-technical. Unlike most writers I’ve come across, I always say ‘This guy knows what he’s talking about’ when I read a Nicholas Evans book.

The plot is smooth, and though bizarre in some ways, he manages to convince you. The speech is very realistic and true to life and one recognizes something that could have really happened.

The Divide is a very touching story, humorous in some places and evoking different feelings depending on the side one takes. Nicholas Evans has once again created a masterpiece in a genre that defies classification and can be called his.

I seem to have scared people away. I apologize for going too technical and promise to write shorter and more down-to-earth articles in future. Sorry, Buki.