Split-Level by Sande Boritz Berger is the story of
Alexandra “Alex” Pearl, a married woman with children in 1974. She lives in a
lovely home in an upscale New Jersey suburb and seems to be content with her
two daughters and her charming husband. Until one day, she receives a telephone
call which will send her world crashing down. In order to save her marriage and
avoid the dreaded “7-year itch”, Alex signs her and her husband, Donny for a
marriage retreat, to rekindle their marriage. When another participant at the
retreat gives Donny a book on wife swapping, it begins a slippery slope that
they may not be able to stop. Donny believes it’s the key to their happiness.
At first, Alex refuses but she quickly finds a new heightened desire beyond her
husband. Will this new life be the answer to their problems? Or will Alex find
herself in a mess that she cannot get out?
Split-Level is a book in which the book description
doesn’t give an accurate depiction of the story. I expected an edgy, dramatic
book about one woman’s discovery of herself and her desires. From the very
beginning, Alex was boring, dull and so naïve that I resisted the urge to
scream. As she recounts the beginnings of her relationship with Donny and
leading up to their wedding, there were so many red flags that she ignored and
continued to minimize as she deals with that phone call. The great part about
the book was the author’s description of the 1970s atmosphere. However, the
characters were either creepy or so bland you just didn’t care for him or her. There
were no real emotions, no real conflict and even a real resolution. With a
topic like wife swapping, which usually ends badly, the book fell flat. I do
not recommend Split-Level.
Split-Level
is available in
paperback and eBook
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