“Life is a series of remembered impressions.” With this simple phrase, author Charles Dubow summarizes his alluring and elegant tale of love, loyalty and betrayal. A founding editor of Forbes.com, Dubow has composed an addictive first novel that keeps the reader guessing with the turn of each page. Told by a third-person narrator, the story slowly pieces together memories that reveal trouble within a seemingly perfect marriage.
The novel begins in a Gatsby-esque setting of extravagant parties, flowing cocktails and intelligent conversation during a summer in the Hamptons. Our narrator, Walter, is a successful attorney and longtime friend of award-winning author Harry Winslow and his lovely wife, Maddy, who met while they were all students at Yale. A wedding and a child later, the couple still possesses the kind of love that seems pure and unfaltering to all who witness it. Then Harry meets Claire. Young and zealous, Claire’s addition to their group of friends ultimately marks each of their lives forever.
When a story contains unfaithful parties, it is assumed that there is always someone to hate. Indiscretion is different. The complex characters evolve until the final pages, allowing the reader to sympathize and bond with each one. Equal parts passion, heartache and anger, Indiscretion transcends the love story archetype. Regardless of the painful circumstances that unfold, there is space for questions and speculation, reinforcing the notion that nothing is ever black and white.
