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    Heart of the Matter: A Novel
    Heart of the Matter: A Novel
    Heart of the Matter: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Heart of the Matter: A Novel

    Written by Emily Giffin

    Narrated by Cynthia Nixon

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    "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's Heart of the Matter 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateMay 11, 2010
    ISBN9781427209627
    Heart of the Matter: A Novel
    Author

    Emily Giffin

    Emily Giffin is the author of Something Borrowed, her smash-hit debut novel that was made into a major motion picture. She is also the author of Something Blue, Baby Proof, Love the One You’re With, and Heart of the Matter. Giffin is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law. After practicing litigation at a Manhattan firm for several years, she moved to London to write full time. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and children.

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    Reviews for Heart of the Matter

    4/5

    84 ratings60 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Another great book with relatable characters from Emily Giffin. However, I would like to see her move away from the "cheating husband/boyfriend/wife/girlfriend" theme in her next book. I love her writing style and the way she develops her characters, but the topic is getting a bit redundant.
    • 5/5
      It is not a nail biting thriller with a surprise on every page...Emily Giffin just writes solid, REAL, stories ....with well developed characters that draw you in and make you root for their success. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am scrolling now to find my next Emily Giffin winner! Really love her!
    • 5/5
      This is a heartbreaker of a novel. Scobie, and man of duty if there ever was one, falls in love while his wife is away. He is torn by guilt; the guilt of being a poor husband, and knowing he cannot do better, the guilt of finding love, the guilt of standing "poor in spirit" before God. One can only hope there is redemption for him. It is only sad until the last few pages, where it turns tragic.
    • 2/5
      Spoiler alert: This may contain too much information about the plot, but I feel like I have to say it.The thing that bothers me most about this book and others by Giffin is that her female characters are often so extremely weak that they are caricatures of various stereotypes of women. While I sympathized with both of the characters, I was frustrated that they let Nick take advantage of them. Nick preys on Valerie's vulnerability as a single mother during her time of crisis. I cannot say that they are equally culpable in their transgressions. Tessa gives-up her career for her family, her husband does not support her, yet she allows him to stomp all over her marriage.I think that both of these women were emotionally victimized by Nick. While their story is heart wrenching, I don't think I can read another one of Giffin's books in which the female characters are so passive in their relationships.I had the same problem in Something Borrowed, in which I wanted Rachel to stick-up for herself, but instead let Dex control their relationship. In Heart of the Matter, Rachel and Dex's marriage is portrayed as perfect. However, again Rachel defers to Dex, gives-up her career, and is perfect because she never talks bad about him.Overall, this was a good read, but I prefer stronger female characters. I find consistently that the women in Giffin's books live their lives according to their male partner's desires. I am angry with Nick for putting these women to be in a situation in which they are forced into a decision on whether or not they can forgive. Unfortunately, male dominance is the heart of the matter.
    • 3/5
      20th century, British, Catholicism, faith, marriage, colonialism, Africa
    • 4/5
      I usually love Giffin's books, and this one was no exception. She draws you in with three-dimensional characters and engaging situations. This story is told from two points of view: Tessa, a stay-at-home mom married to a pediatric surgeon, Nick; and Valerie, a single mother whose child is badly burned at a slumber party. Valerie's child, Charlie, is under the care of Nick, and Valerie finds herself drawn to Nick, who is compassionate and skillful. Soon, Nick and Valerie's friendship turns into more, and Tessa is suspicious.I read this book in less than 24 hours, and was able to relate to both mothers. I thought the story was wonderful. My only objection was the ending; I would have ended it differently. Still, I recommend this book to all Emily Giffin fans.
    • 5/5
      Heart of the Matter is told from two very different viewpoints. Tessa, the stay at home mom and wife of pediatric surgeon Nick Russo, and Valerie, a single mom and attorney. On the anniversary of Tessa and Nick a terrible accident occurs involving Valerie's son, Charlie. Nick is called in the treat Charlie not knowing that all of their lives are about to change forever. Valerie finds herself drawn to Nick's kind and gentle way with her son while Tessa finds Nick growing distant from her. All three are caught up in a terrible triangle in which there can be no winners. I appreciated how Emily Griffin didn't make any one character out to be the good guy or the bad guy. I actually found myself liking both women even thought they were both so different. I could see both sides of the issue and wondered what would I do in each character's shoes. I found this book hard to put down as I couldn't for the life of me predict how it would end. It was an excellent read and I highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      "He felt tired by all the lies he would some time have to tell; he felt the wounds of those victims who had not yet bled. . . . Somewhere on the face of those obscure waters moved the sense of yet another wrong and another victim, not Louise, nor Helen."Greene's tale is dark and hardly redemptive, but as in THE POWER AND THE GLORY, Christ blazes forth suddenly in the least likely places--even in the faith of a man who is damned by his weakness.
    • 4/5
      In the late 1970s, I worked in Freetown for several months. Before I went, a number of people told me to read this book as the best possible introduction to Freetown. Greene wrote this novel in the mid-1940s after assignment as an intelligence officer in Freetown during the early part of World War II. In 1977, many of the background details were still the same, like the menu at the British Club (no longer called that then) and even the waiters seemed to be the ones whom Greene described. Until rereading "The Heart of the Matter," I remembered nothing of the plot but the descriptions of Freetown.
    • 5/5
      I love Emily Giffin's novels and this one was no exception. This book really made me think about some deep issues and what I would do if it was my husband that I suspected was having an affair. I love her style of writing and how easy and quick her books are to read.
    • 3/5
      This was just ok for me but I have to say there were some insights sprinkled here and there. Love this "I think of how each person in a marriage owes it to the other to find individual happiness, even in a shared life. That this is the only real way to grow together, instead of apart." She also talks about what it takes to "sustain a feeling between two people..a feeling that you can't imagine will ever fade in the beginning when everything comes so easily."

      Interesting stuff but a bit too formulaic for me...I guess I can liken this book to an old Cosmopolitan article from the 70's and 80's...I've outgrown a story like this.
    • 3/5
      This book starts out being a very interesting discussion about the choices a woman makes for her life. Does it make sense to get your doctorate and achieve high status as an educator then abandon your career to stay at home and take care of 2 children while your doctor husband devotes himself to his career? At one point the husband complains about women who exhaust themselves doing projects that are of no benefit to the world, or stay at home Martha Stewart Wannabes. At this time when there's a debate going on about Anne Romney and her role as the rich stay at home mom of 5 boys, that seems a worth while discussion. (Have you seen the nearly professional quality booklets some stay at home moms send out as Christmas cards?) Unfortunately the book ends with an interminable discussion of the evils of infidelity with the man grovelling and practically flagellating himself. Enough already. He didn't rape anyone, he didn't abuse anyone, he didn't steal anyone's life savings. A little perspective could have made for a much more realistic ending and more stars from me.
    • 4/5
      Heart of the Matter was my first foray into reading Emily Giffin’s books; I’ve previously listened to Baby Proof on audio.Heart of the Matter is narrated alternatively by the two leading female characters, Tessa and Valerie. Married to a brilliant plastic surgeon, Nick Russo, Tessa gave up her teaching career at a local university to be a stay-at-home mom to the couple’s two young children. Valerie, an attorney and single mom, has dedicated her life to raising her son Charlie and little else.A freak accident leaves Charlie with serious burns over his face and arm, bringing the duo into Nick’s path. As he works to repair the damage, Nick’s concern for the patient and his mother evolves into something more than simple professional courtesy. Long room visits turn into daily phone calls; when Charlie is discharged from the hospital, Nick finds reasons to visit him, and Valerie, at home.The quiet dissatisfaction Nick has with his marriage finds an outlet when he’s around Valerie, while Tessa is left to contend with Nick’s increasingly long “work” hours. Much of the novel grapples with Nick’s ultimate decision of whether or not to give into his growing affection for Valerie, and the potential ramifications of his choice on Tessa and their family.Reading Heart of the Matter was akin to having a crush, and hoping that the other party felt the same way. The anticipation of mutual affection in real life and in Giffin’s novel was one and the same. In Heart of the Matter, she created the perfect combination of knowing what’s right, and still being able to sympathize with the side that’s wrong. While I felt for Tessa and understood that Nick’s actions were wrong, I also felt for Valerie and could not help but want her’s and Nick’s relationship to work out in some way.
    • 5/5
      At first it was somewhat slow but it picked up quickly. One of my favourite books by Emily after "Something Borrowed". Somehow Emily has you care about each character, no matter how wrong it feels. I kept guessing how it was going to end and I always changed how I wanted it to end. I can't wait to read it again!
    • 4/5
      I'm a fan of Emily Giffin's books. They are always easy, fun reads, but somehow make you think about things differently through the course of the novel. This one is no different. I enjoyed the story very much, even bringing me to tears at some points, and the casual tie in of characters from past books was great. It does address the topic of adultery, and raises the question, what would I do in this situation? If you are a fan of her books, you will enjoy it. She is the best of "chick lit".
    • 3/5
      A quick read. This one deals with the issue of infidelity and "what would you do?"
    • 5/5
      The Heart Of The Matter served as my introduction to Graham Greene, and I am thrilled to be acquainted with his work. Greene writes about the contradictions of religious faith with great style and insight. To the modern eye, the workings of British colonialism seem quaint and faintly embarrassing, yet it is impossible to remain unmoved by the travails faced by Scobie, the morally conflicted police deputy. A classic, highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      A light read and a look at infidelity and the question What would you do if you found out that your husband had slept with another woman even if it was only once. Could you forgive him and carry on? Could you trust him again. The book is told from the perspective of the wife Tessa and the woman Valerie that Nick has the relationship with. Because of this you were not really able to see what Nick was thinking. Nick is a very successful paediatric surgeon and Valerie's son Charlie becomes his patient when he is burnt badly in an accident at a child's party. Nick's concern for Charlie grows into a relationship with her mother and eventually Tessa finds out what has happened and confronts Nick with the information. She has to make a choice about where to go from there. Not a great read but I guess it did keep me interested till the end. I knew one of the women would have to be hurt - just wanted to see how she ended it and I guess I felt satisfied with the way she did it.. Felt a bit sad for Valerie the way Nick seemed to use his patient/doctor relationship wth Charlie to take advantage of her a single mum doing things on her own. And I felt for Charlie who had come to count on Nick being there and then to have him suddenly disappear for reasons he could not necessarily understand.
    • 4/5
      Another depressing but cinematic book, this one set in WW II, coastal Africa, probably Sierra Leone. Our hero Scobie is the anti-hero: perfect bureaucrat, police officer, dutiful husband, honest man, and terminally depressed Catholic. The life of Scobie: heat, tedium, colonial politics and intrigue. He dutifully does his duty until he doesn't, and in the end has an orgy of suicidal ideation, totally dosed up with Catholic nonsense and kills himself. Sad, but ridiculous. Makes you hate the Catholic Church, and feel sorry for people who take it seriously as indeed some people do. If you are depressed and Catholic, this book could send you off. Well written, but oh really, read it only when you are in a relentlessly positive, anti-deep thought frame of mind.
    • 2/5
      The character of Nick is one of the most loathsome I have come across - he belittles his wife, who has given up her job to raise their toddlers and is having difficulty acclimating to suburban life. He is the most popular surgeon at his hospital, handsome and modest, but sates his ennui by ditching his family at every opportunity to play white knight to an emotionally fragile woman and her injured son. And he is also the kind of Italian mama's boy who will unfailingly out argue his wife and force her to experience his guilt.The character of the mistress is far more complex than the married couple, but just as foolish in her actions.Giffin is a good writer - her sentences are sharp, her characters and their milieu is thankfully not silly and lacking in disorganized, simpering girlishness - but this book was a disappointment.
    • 4/5
      I snagged a copy of Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin through Library Thing's Early Reviewers, but it took forever to get to me. I thought maybe it got lost in the mail and was about to go out and buy a copy as I was really excited to read this book. I’ve ready all of her other books and loved every one of them. As I was thinking about what to write for my review, I kept thinking about the characters and their experiences in the book, not about the book itself or what I did or didn’t like about the author’s writing style. I think this shows what great characters Giffin developed and how she made the reader empathize with (or dislike) them. Giffin took a commonplace situation (an affair) and made the story interesting. I found the questions raised about affairs and how people get sucked into them and how others deal with the aftermath particularly interesting. I really enjoyed this book. I stayed up way past my bedtime reading it and took an early lunch to finish it as I just couldn’t wait to find out the ending.
    • 5/5
      I completely adored this book. It's about two women who have very little in common. One (Tessa) is married, and a stay-at-home-mom to their two kids and the other (Valerie) is a single mom who works as a lawyer. But there's one common link--Tessa's husband, Nick, is getting increasingly involved with Valerie.The thing is, it'd be so easy to hate Valerie, but she's pretty awesome. And so is Tessa (who goes by Tess, a name I love). The only character in the story I didn't like was Nick (but I guess that's pretty obligatory, right? You tend to not like the cheater).Such a good, fun book. And I'm happy because Emily Giffin's starting to release books every year.
    • 3/5
      I was disappointed by this book. It's the old story of a man- Nick that cheats on his wife- Tessa. The author did a good job of presenting the "other woman"- Valerie in a way that makes her likable. She's not a woman who set out to be a home-wrecker, she's a single mom who believes she's fallen in love. As many other reviewers cited- the male lead Nick was very unlikable and the female leads were weak. This book made me sad. I am a big fan of her other books, mainly because I liked the characters so much. I really would skip this read.
    • 2/5
      Before I continue, I will confess that I did not read the synopsis very well before I purchased this book. This is one instance where marketing and buzz completely influenced my purchase. Had I been paying closer attention, this would have been a book for which I would have thought twice before paying money for it. I might have been willing to read it or listen to it for free, but even then, the topic is one about which I have very strong feelings, so I tend to avoid books with this theme of adultery. I am not the target audience of this book and will most likely be in the minority for opinions and feedback. To put it bluntly, I did not like this book at all. The narrator did not help. I adore Cynthia Nixon and have since she was the maid in Amadeus. She was one of the reasons why I chose this audio book over thousands of others. Imagine my disappointment when her voice grated on my nerves and she wrung emotion out of every single sentence, even where none existed. As a narrator, she had a way of trailing off at the ends of sentences, as if to soften the blow of the words, that quickly grew annoying. Had there been another narrator, one who could tell the story without adding extraneous emotion, this might have been a decent audio. Unfortunately, while Cynthia Nixon may be a decent actress, she is not meant to be a narrator for audio books.Another large failure of the book was my reaction to Tessa, Valerie, and Nick. I felt no real sympathy for any of them and often found myself wanting to slap them upside the head for their inability to remove the blinders. I was particularly discouraged by Ms. Giffin's portrayal of Tessa as a stay-at-home mom and Valerie as a single mother. Both characters are presented as caricatures with dangerous messages. Tessa finds herself lost and unhappy as a stay-at-home mom and reflects on how much she enjoyed working. Valerie is so focused on her job and her son that she fails to establish healthy, normal relationships with other adults. Both of them support and feed into the social competition to attend the right school, have the best decorations, be the perfect mother, be the perfect hostess, and so forth. It is disconcerting to see this represented in print because it a) is not an accurate portrayal of a majority of society and b) involves social norms that do more harm than good.I was completely disgusted by the selfishness of each character. Each acted according to his or her own wishes and failed to consider the consequences. However, each parent managed to scold his or her child(ren) at one point in the novel for the very same behavior. I often felt that the children acted more like adults than their parents did, as at least they were willing to take responsibility for their actions. The adults did not. As for the adultery, this is what sent me through the roof. Hour after hour of justification, turning a blind eye, and other excuses for adultery literally turned my stomach. I felt that Ms. Giffin was putting the onus for the adultery on the wife, as if it was her fault her husband strayed. Maybe my picture of adultery is too black and white, but this was truly one area of the novel that upset me to my core. At one point in time, I questioned whether Ms. Giffin were actually defending adultery, and that is, unfortunately, my personal moral line in the sand. Call me naive, call me old-fashioned, but I cannot condone adultery, and this is why I had such issues with Heart of the Matter.Thankfully, Heart of the Matter ended on a much better note than I expected. For myself, I cannot help being disappointed; I had such high hopes for the novel but feel like I am letting down Ms. Giffin for not having the "correct" reaction. All I can do is chalk this one up to a massive learning experience and move on from there.
    • 3/5
      Tessa chose to quit her job and stay-at-home with their children while her husband Nick, a ped. plastic surgeon, supported them. Valerie, a single mother, let her child attend a slumber party where a campfire accident left her child, Charlie, burned. Nick becomes Charlie's doctor. Soon, Nick and Valerie become close friends and Tessa suspects Nick is having an affair after signs of their marrage crumbling become more and more obvious. Not going to go any farther as to what happens (don't want to spoil the book.)Wish the book would not have ended when it did. I'm not convinced at the resolution that happened but it is what it is. I can't say this book was one of the my favorites by Emily (I found it hard/sad to read about the relationship crumbling) but it was realistic and worth reading.
    • 2/5
      I liked the characters and found the story semi-interesting but it was a bit fluffy and the story was set up so that I was going to be disappointed in the ending no matter what. And I was.
    • 4/5
      One of Greene's "Catholic" books. A little bit of oversimplification goes on here with big issues like suicide and redemption, but it's definitely worth reading. Although if you're unfamiliar with Greene, I'd recommend starting with Our Man in Havana or The Quiet American.
    • 3/5
      A British officer stationed in West Africa is in an unloving marriage, has had his only child die, and is passed over for promotion. What to do, what to do. I know. Have a passionate affair with a nineteen year old that reminds him of his daughter. The primary themes seem to be failure and pity, I don’t understand why this book is as highly regarded as it is; it’s not awful but is far from great. As a forewarning, the racism starts a couple of pages in as well.Quotes:On happiness:“Point me out the happy man and I will point you out either extreme egotism, evil – or else an absolute ignorance.”On love vs. pity:“Did my lies really start, he wondered, when I wrote that letter? Can I really love her more than Louise? Do I, in my heart of hearts, love either of them, or is it only that this automatic pity goes out to any human need – and makes it worse?”And this one:“Why, he wondered, does one ever begin this humiliating process: why does one imagine that one is in love? He had read somewhere that love had been invented in the eleventh century by the troubadours. Why had they not left us with lust? He said with hopeless venom, ‘I love you.’ He thought: it’s a lie, the word means nothing off the printed page. He waited for her laughter.”On marriage:“He never listened while his wife talked. He worked steadily to the even current of sound, but if a note of distress were struck he was aware of it at once. Like a wireless operator with a novel open in front of him, he could disregard every signal except the ship’s symbol and the SOS.”On relationships, an interesting inversion:“There is a Syrian poet who wrote, ‘Of two hearts one is always warm and one is always cold: the cold heart is more precious than diamonds: the warm heart has no value and is thrown away.’”On youth (and age):“He listened with the intense interest one feels in a stranger’s life, the interest the young mistake for love. He felt the security of his age sitting there listening with a glass of gin in his hand and the rain coming down.”
    • 4/5
      Heart of the Matter is the story of two women in love with the same man. Tessa is Nick's wife and the mother of his two children, and is slightly unsatisfied with her role in life. Valerie is the mother of a young boy who has suffered a terrible burn and is being treated by doctor Nick.The story is alternating points of view, and the technique really works well here. We really come to understand both Tessa's and Valerie's hearts here; no one is the villian. I do think the story would have been even stronger if we knew more of Nick's perspective, though. Even so, I read this book pretty rapidly as I was absorbed in Tessa's and Valerie's lives, and really wanted to find out how it would end.
    • 4/5
      Heart of the Matter follows Tessa and Valerie, two women with young children living in Wellsley, MA. Tessa is married to Nick, a pediatric plastic surgeon. Valerie meets Nick when her son is in a tragic accident, and is under Nick's care. As the two women's lives are pulled together, they have to consider what lies at the heart of the matter--and what will ultimately be best for themselves and their children. Giffin is an excellent storyteller who always does a great job of getting into the head of her female characters. Heart of the Matter is no exception--and she does a great job shifting the narration back and forth between her two female protagonists. There is great emotional depth to this novel, and even though it is a fairly quick story, I think you will find yourself pulled in. I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Cynthia Nixon, who did a fantastic job of portraying both women. She used her voice to capture all of the different characters, which really made this novel fun to listen to.