The Sunshine When She's Gone - Softcover

Goodman, Thea

2.79

910 ratings by Goodreads

9781250052698: The Sunshine When She's Gone

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1250052696 ISBN 13: 9781250052698

Publisher: Picador USA, 2014

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When Veronica Reed wakes one frigid January morning, two things seem amiss. First, her Manhattan apartment is luxuriously quiet--her husband, John, and the baby, Clara, are out. Secondly, she is rested, having slept through the night for the first time in months. As Veronica goes about her first free morning in what feels like a lifetime, John, racked by sleep deprivation, is fleeing lower Manhattan with Clara for a weekend in the Caribbean. This isn't a kidnapping. It's just that the cozy local diner happened to be closed, and John, wanting to give his wife a break and spend a little time with the baby, took a taxi to the airport and hopped on a plane.Told through alternating points of view, Thea Goodman's "The Sunshine When She's Gone" explores one unusual weekend's life-changing impact on a couple, as individuals and as partners. As Veronica revisits the carefree lifestyle she knew before John and the baby, she grapples with the sacrifices of parenthood. Meanwhile, John faces the full responsibilities--and joys--of being father to an infant with whom he has almost never been left alone. John and Veronica nearly lose hold not only of themselves but of each other as they struggle to find their way in this hilarious, eloquent novel about passion, ambivalence, and love.

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Review:

"Thea Goodman's astute debut novel poses the question, What if you were to step out of your imbedded life? And her discerning mind answers it with a tale of Manhattanites more inextricably bound together than they might imagine." --Susan Minot, author of "Evening"
"Thea Goodman has made something I would've thought impossible: an edge-of-your-seat narrative about parenting a small child. Her emotional investment in her characters is complete as they confront each other, themselves, and the heavy weight of new love." --Nell Freudenberger, author of "The Newlyweds" "Thea Goodman's astute debut novel poses the question, What if you were to step out of your imbedded life? And her discerning mind answers it with a tale of Manhattanites more inextricably bound together than they might imagine." --Susan Minot, author of "Evening"
"From its first alarming domestic scene to its far-from-inevitable, unbearably true conclusion, "The Sunshine When She's Gone" is a faultless portrait of a marriage in crisis and the precarious paths we all must take to keep our lives in balance. Ever been in love? This book will shake you, jolt you, jar you, and wake you up to life." --Patrick Somerville, author of "The Cradle" and "This Bright River"

"I'm writing this blurb on very little sleep, because I stayed up far too late finishing "The Sunshine When She's Gone". Thea Goodman's novel could deprive you of sleep too. It's suspenseful, funny, realistic, melancholy. She has captured the secret thoughts of new parents so flawlessly, I wonder if she's installed a listening device into my brain." --A.J. Jacobs, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Year of Living Biblically" and "Drop Dead Healthy"

"Thea Goodman has made something I would've thought impossible: an edge-of-your-seat narrative about parenting a small child. Her emotional investment in her characters is complete as they confront each other, themselves, and the heavy weight of new love." --Nell Freudenberger, author of "The Newlyweds" "Thea Goodman's astute debut novel poses the question, What if you were to step out of your imbedded life? And her discerning mind answers it with a tale of Manhattanites more inextricably bound together than they might imagine." --Susan Minot, author of "Evening"
"From its first alarming domestic scene to its far-from-inevitable, unbearably true conclusion, "The Sunshine When She's Gone" is a faultless portrait of a marriage in crisis and the precarious paths we all must take to keep our lives in balance. Ever been in love? This book will shake you, jolt you, jar you, and wake you up to life." --Patrick Somerville, author of "The Cradle" and "This Bright River"

"First-time novelist Goodman is a master of sustained, 'are-you-KIDDING-me?' tension as John and Veronica compete for the title of Worst Parents Ever. New parents should find validation that their own sleep-deprived insanity is normal and will pass." "-- Library Journal

""Sharp, intuitive, and empathetic. . . Goodman offers a wickedly incisive take on the pressures of parenthood and the resiliency of marital trust.""--Booklist
"
"I'm writing this blurb on very little sleep, because I stayed up far too late finishing "The Sunshine When She's Gone". Thea Goodman's novel could deprive you of sleep too. It's suspenseful, funny, realistic, melancholy. She has captured the secret thoughts of new parents so flawlessly, I wonder if she's installed a listening device into my brain." --A.J. Jacobs, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Year of Living Biblically" and "Drop Dead Healthy"

"Thea Goodman has made something I would've thought impossible: an edge-of-your-seat narrative about parenting a small child. Her emotional investment in her characters is complete as they confront each other, themselves, and the heavy weight of new love." --Nell Freudenberger, author of "The Newlyweds" "Thea Goodman's astute debut novel poses the question, What if you were to step out of your imbedded life? And her discerning mind answers it with a tale of Manhattanites more inextricably bound together than they might imagine." --Susan Minot, author of "Evening"
"From its first alarming domestic scene to its far-from-inevitable, unbearably true conclusion, "The Sunshine When She's Gone" is a faultless portrait of a marriage in crisis and the precarious paths we all must take to keep our lives in balance. Ever been in love? This book will shake you, jolt you, jar you, and wake you up to life." --Patrick Somerville, author of "The Cradle" and "This Bright River"

"Thea Goodman shines in "The Sunshine When She's Gone."""--Vanity Fair
"

"A deft account of love and its sacrifices."--"Marie Claire"

"[An] exhausted-new-parent fantasy. . . Readers...laughed a lot."--"Elle ""Readers' Prize" Pick, March 2013
"First-time novelist Goodman is a master of sustained, 'are-you-KIDDING-me?' tension as John and Veronica compete for the title of Worst Parents Ever. New parents should find validation that their own sleep-deprived insanity is normal and will pass." "-- Library Journal"

"A sobering tale of two people discovering what it means to be a parent.""--Publishers Weekly"
"Sharp, intuitive, and empathetic. . . Goodman offers a wickedly incisive take on the pressures of parenthood and the resiliency of marital trust.""--Booklist
"

"Snug and elegant. . . Thea Goodman, a prodigiously talented first-time novelist, distills the keen drama of first-time parenting. . . . The intimacy with which Goodman treats her characters leaves us likewise lucky voyeurs.""--Town and Country
"
"I'm writing this blurb on very little sleep, because I stayed up far too late finishing "The Sunshine When She's Gone." Thea Goodman's novel could deprive you of sleep too. It's suspenseful, funny, realistic, melancholy. She has captured the secret thoughts of new parents so flawlessly, I wonder if she's installed a listening device into my brain." --A.J. Jacobs, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Year of Living Biblically" and "Drop Dead Healthy"
"Thea Goodman has made something I would've thought impossible: an edge-of-your-seat narrative about parenting a small child. Her emotional investment in her characters is complete as they confront each other, themselves, and the heavy weight of new love." --Nell Freudenberger, author of "The Newlyweds" "Thea Goodman's astute debut novel poses the question, What if you were to step out of your imbedded life? And her discerning mind answers it with a tale of Manhattanites m

"Sprightly . . . Like every comedy of errors, this novel makes us wince, then grin with relief."--"More Magazine"
"Thea Goodman shines in "The Sunshine When She's Gone."""--Vanity Fair
"

"A deft account of love and its sacrifices."--"Marie Claire"

"Manhattanites, lovers, parents, readers: This gorgeously human novel is not to be missed.""-- Redbook Magazine"

"On the one hand ... a comedy of manners. . . .On the other hand . . . a darker, raw look at what happens to a person's identity when nobody's looking." - "oprah.com," a Book of the Week selection

"A page-turning portrait of a couple in crisis."--"Vogue.com
"
"Sprightly . . . Like every comedy of errors, this novel makes us wince, then grin with relief."--"More Magazine"
"Thea Goodman shines in "The Sunshine When She's Gone."""--Vanity Fair
"

"A deft account of love and its sacrifices."--"Marie Claire"

""The Sunshine When She's Gone" is a fresh breath of fiction with rich characters and an engrossing plot, in which Goodman makes the drudgery of new parenting seem utterly exciting. . . . a fast-paced, riveting story out of the pitfalls of new parenthood." - "Shelf Awareness" (starred)
"Manhattanites, lovers, parents, readers: This gorgeously human novel is not to be missed.""-- Redbook Magazine"

"On the one hand ... a comedy of manners. . . .On the other hand . . . a darker, raw look at what happens to a person's identity when nobody's looking." - "oprah.com," a Book of the Week selection

"A page-turning portrait of a couple in crisis."--"Vogue.com
"
." . . This book is so good. . . Goodman's language has an understated poetry to it, particularly in illustrating the relentlessness of raising a baby. . . She is at her best in describing the selfish, often bewildering feelings of new parents handicapped by sleep deprivation, when the constant buzzing irritation of wakefulness twists and magnifies a spouse's shortcomings into fatal character flaws." - "Chicago Magazine"
"Sprightly . . . Like every comedy of errors, this novel makes us wince, then grin with relief."--"More Magazine"
"Thea Goodman shines in "The Sunshine When She's Gone."""--Vanity Fair
"

"A deft account of love and its sacrifices."--"Marie Claire"

"Goodman's spot-on descriptions... will be acutely recognizable to readers with children." - "New York Times Book Review
"
"Goodman brings compassion and humor to the domestic struggles of new parents trying to come to terms with the changes to themselves, their spouses and their marriage 'after baby.'"-"- BookPage
"
""The Sunshine When She's Gone" is a fresh breath of fiction with rich characters and an engrossing plot, in which Goodman makes the drudgery of new parenting seem utterly exciting. . . . a fast-paced, riveting story out of the pitfalls of new parenthood." - "Shelf Awareness" (starred)
"Manhattanites, lovers, parents, readers: This gorgeously human novel is not to be missed.""-- Redbook Magazine"

"On the one hand ... a comedy of manners. . . .On the other hand . . . a darker, raw look at what happens to a person's identity when nobody's looking." - "oprah.com," a Book of the Week selection

"A deft account of love and its sacrifices."--"Marie Claire"

"Goodman has captured the secret thoughts of new parents so flawlessly, I wonder if she installed a listening device into my brain."--A. J. Jacobs
"A deft account of love and its sacrifices."--"Marie Claire
""This gorgeously human novel is not to be missed.""--Redbook Magazine"
"Goodman's spot-on descriptions...will be acutely recognizable to readers with children."--"New York Times Book Review
"
"Goodman brings compassion and humor to the domestic struggles of new parents trying to come to terms with the changes to themselves, their spouses and their marriage 'after baby.'"--"BookPage
"
""The Sunshine When She's Gone" is a fresh breath of fiction with rich characters and an engrossing plot, in which Goodman makes the drudgery of new parenting seem utterly exciting.....

About the Author:

Thea Goodman has received the Columbia Fiction Award, a Pushcart Prize Special Mention and fellowships at Yaddo and Ragdale; her short stories have appeared in several journals, notably "New England Review," "Other Voices" and "Columbia." Born in New York City, she studied at Sarah Lawrence and earned her MFA from Brooklyn College, CUNY. She has taught writing at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, and lives in Chicago with her husband and children.

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