Happenstance
Carol Shields
Open Road Media
<p><b>Two novels in one, <i>Happenstance </i>tells the story of a marriage from the individual perspectives of a husband and wife at a turning point in their relationship</b><p><BR>When we meet Brenda Bowman in "The Wife's Story," the forty-year-old mother of two is preparing to fly to Philadelphia to attend a craft convention that will feature one of her quilts. She already has the flight memorized: leaving Chicago at 8:35, arriving at Philadelphia at 1:33. This will be her first trip solo, her first time away from her husband, Jack, in their decades-long marriage. She's nervous, excited . . . and tempted when she meets an intriguing stranger.<p><BR>"The Husband's Story" introduces Jack Bowman, a historian who is left at home with his troubled son and overweight daughter while his wife, Brenda, attends a craft convention. Not used to coping on his own, he's suddenly confronted with domestic calamities, including the disintegration of his best friend's marriage. And when he learns...</BR></p></BR></p></p>