Sunday Salon: Around the Next Corner
By Kristen on Nov 22, 2009 in Reviews, The Sunday Salon
Around the Next Corner by Elizabeth Wrenn
Release date/ Length: 2006 / 312 pages
Synopsis (from jacket cover): For Deena Munger, the transformation to underappreciated housewife was subtle and gradual. She loved her family dearly, but Deena was starting to wonder: When did I disappear? And how come I never even noticed? Then one day she stuns her family by volunterring to raise a puppy for K-9 Eyes for the Blind. Suddenly, the stability of Deena’s life is turned upside down. And, it turns out, this rambunctious, impulsive ball of fur could actually be the damage control she needs to save her family, her marriage and her self…
First line: Hairy took some perverse feline pleasure in shedding his voluminous white fur into my cookware.
Review: I have no idea who recommended this novel — but a big “thank you!!” to whomever you are! This novel is the perfect mix of “hero’s journey” and Marley and Me. The protagonist is a 49 year-old stay-at-home mother who has already lost one of her children to college and fears she may have lost her identity as well.
I loved how “real” this story felt — Deena is a good mom who submerged herself in her family and feels a bit adrift now that her children do not need as much as they did when they were younger. Neil, Deena’s husband, is a good man who devotes himself to his medical clinic and understandably takes for granted Deena’s role that has developed in their family and marriage.
So, how does Deena find her unique identity again? With the help of a rambunctious and irrepressible yellow lab puppy named Heloise! Deena decides to volunteer for K-9 Eyes for the Blind, socializing a puppy in its first year of life before formal training begins. Anyone who has had the distinct pleasure (and pain) of raising a puppy will happily empathize with Deena’s trials and tribulations — and fall hopelessly in love with Heloise, too.
I will soon be raising a puppy or two myself, so I enjoyed reminiscing — and embracing my well-seasoned 17 year-old “pup” as I read this. My dog, Juno, is a lovely reminder of how all of that early work is so worth it… eventually! I also enjoyed Deena’s personal journey, too. She is just about to turn 50 — I just turned 40 — and I enjoyed reading about how she evaluated her past decade and embraced her next one.
Lastly, (but maybe even most enjoyably for me right now!) the novel is set in Colorado, not far from Denver so not far from where my husband and I are moving, and I reveled in Wrenn’s sense of place. All of our expectations and hopes regarding the weather and seasons were confirmed by this novel, and now I’m even more excited for us to begin our next adventure.
So, a big thank you to Wrenn and to whomever brought me to this novel!!
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