The Hypnotist’s Love Story – Liane Moriarty

I had a novel (heh) experience last week.  I took all three kids to the pool and discovered that I could actually sit and relax.  They all, finally, can swim.  They all, finally, can entertain themselves.  They don't NEED NEED NEED me every blinking second.  

So the next day, I tried something else.  I took a book to the pool.

And there I sat, in a low lounger in the zero entry, and read my novel while my three getting-older-ish children frolicked happily in the water for TWO HOURS.  I would have a picture of this amazing spectacle eight-and-a-half years in the making, but I was too freaked out by it to attempt retrieving the phone for documentation.  This situation was too new, and it was precarious.  I feared that any shift in position could cause the gods of relaxation to be angered, thereby imparting my children to immediately demand snacks, or produce diarrhea, or start punching each other over dive sticks or something.  It was kind of like a standoff with a wild beast of the jungle – if I didn’t move, maybe I would remain hidden in the foliage.  So I stayed put, and barely breathed.  FOR TWO WHOLE HOURS.  TWO.

Bliss.

I know those of you with very young children are thinking something along the lines of, “What is this of which you speak?”  Believe me, I’ve paid my dues.  There was one summer in which I was taking them all to the pool at the ages of three, two, and four months.  (We live in south Texas.  The pool is mandatory in the summer.)  I don’t remember much about that time other than the lifting and heaving of one water-soaked toddler after another, during which a sleeping infant was strapped to my chest in a Baby Bjorn.  It wasn’t pretty.  So this reading-at-the-pool thing is well-earned, and I’m loving it.

And what was I reading, you may ask?  Put this one on your summer list right away. 

It’s always a treat to pick up a novel that I think will be a fun, fluffy read, and discover that the author is doing something smart and new and unexpected.  The Hypnotist’s Love Story is a love story, yes, but with a sort of creepy twist (a stalker!).  The main character, Ellen, is completely lovable and relatable – as well as very self-aware and insightful, which contributes to the interesting psychological layers of the narrative.  Sydney, Australia serves as setting for the rom-com (and what is Vegemite, by the way?).  And the dialogue is fantastic – some of the lightest and most humorous conversational writing I’ve seen since Harry Potter!  In my opinion, the dialogue is Moriarty’s particular strength. 

In closing, I need to brag about something.  I can't help myself, please bear with me.  LOOK at what she’s READING! 

(It’s the real one.  Not a watered-down version.  She’s on page 100 and loving it.  Eeek!)

(!!!)