Tempting Fate (Green)

Tempting Fate 
Jane Green, 2014
St. Martin's Press
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780312591847


Summary
An enthralling and emotional story about how much we really understand the temptations that can threaten even the most idyllic of relationships.

Gabby and Elliott have been happily married for eighteen years. They have two teenaged daughters. They have built a life together. Forty-three year old Gabby is the last person to have an affair. She can’t relate to the way her friends desperately try to cling to the beauty and allure of their younger years…And yet, she too knows her youth is quickly slipping away.

She could never imagine how good it would feel to have a handsome younger man show interest in her—until the night it happens. Matt makes Gabby feel sparkling, fascinating, alive—something she hasn't felt in years. What begins as a long-distance friendship soon develops into an emotional affair as Gabby discovers her limits and boundaries are not where she expects them to be.

Intoxicated, Gabby has no choice but to step ever deeper into the allure of attraction and attention, never foreseeing the life-changing consequences that lie ahead. If she makes one wrong move she could lose everything—and find out what really matters most.

A heartfelt and complex story, Tempting Fate will have readers gripped until they reach the very last page, and thinking about the characters long after they put the book down. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—May 31, 1968
• Where—London, England, UK
• Education—University of Wales
• Currently—lives in Westport, Connecticut, USA


Jane Green is the pen name of Jane Green Warburg, an English author of women's novels. Together with Helen Fielding she is considered a founder of the genre known as chick lit.

Green was born in London, England. She attended the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and worked as a journalist throughout her twenties, writing women's features for the Daily Express, Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan and others. At 27 she published her first book, Straight Talking, which went straight on to the Bestseller lists, and launched her career as "the queen of chick lit".

Frequent themes in her most recent books, include cooking, class wars, children, infidelity, and female friendships. She says she does not write about her life, but is inspired by the themes of her life.

She is the author of more than 15 novels, several (The Beach House, Second Chance, and Dune Road) having been listed on the New York Times bestseller list. Her other novels Another Piece of My Heart (2012), Family Pictures (2013), and Tempting Fate (2014) received wide acclaim.

In addition to novels, she has taught at writers conferences, and writes for various publications including the Sunday Times, Parade magazine, Wowowow.com, and Huffington Post.

Green now lives in Connecticut with her second husband, Ian Warburg, six children, two dogs and three cats. Actively philanthropic, her foremost charities are The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp (Paul Newman's camp for children with life-threatening illnesses), Bethel Recovery Center, and various breast cancer charities. She is also a supporter of the Westport Public Library, and the Westport Country Playhouse. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 4/20/2014.)

Book Reviews
The author, one of the first ladies of chick lit, once again exemplifies the best qualities of the genre...her compelling tale reflects an understanding of contemporary women that's acute and compassionate, served up with style.
People


Complex and funny family drama
US Weekly


You'll have trouble putting it down.
Detroit Free Press


Green is one of the great entertainers in popular fiction, with 14 previous novels that large numbers of readers have taken to heart. Her work is what might be described as smart escapism, stories that deal with issues we all can relate to, but that serve up ideas in the context of wonderful stories that keep us turning pages. More often than not we see the world through the eyes of a charming, striving woman.
Connecticut Post


Gabby has prided herself on being surrounded with tranquility, one of the defining characteristics of her happy and long-standing marriage...[until] she encounters an intriguing younger man.... Green skillfully depicts a woman trapped between contentment and temptation, crafting an insightful look into married life and middle age.
Publishers Weekly


The course of [qa couple's] lives changes in one night when...meets Matt, who is much younger than she and very handsome. The two hit it off.... Green once more proves her skill at exploring the complexities of the human heart.... [W]ell-written women's fiction. —Kristen Stewart, Pearland Lib., Brazoria Cty. Lib. Syst., TX
Library Journal


An affair threatens a woman's marriage, yet it also forges unexpected bonds that transcend the narrow definition of family.... Gabby's transgression may detonate a bomb in her personal life, yet out of the wreckage emerges a love more flexible, more tolerant and more inclusive. A Scarlet Letter for the 21st century
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Let’s start with the title of this novel. What does it mean to, quote, tempt fate? What did fate have in store for Gabby? Do you "believe" in fate? You may choose to define the term as a group, both within and beyond the world of the novel.

2. When we first meet Gabby she is feeling self-conscious about going out with the "girls." She feels old, unattractive, irrelevant. Do you feel her "condition" is a cliché of middle age, or does her dissatisfaction go deeper? Do you like Gabby once you better understood her needs, her history, her struggles? Or are you judgmental?

3. And then there’s Matt. Were you surprised by his actions and, ultimately, the affair? Take a moment to discuss his attraction to Gabby. What was he looking for, really? How was he tempting fate by falling in love with an older, married woman?|

4. Take a moment to talk about love and romance in Tempting Fate. Do Gabby and Elliott have "true" love? What is true love, both in your personal opinion and/or experience and for each of the main characters in the novel? Do Claire and her husband have it? What about Trish and Elliott?

5. Is there such a thing as right or wrong with matters of the heart?

6. Gabby realizes the mistake she’s made once she assesses the damage she’s done to her family. Do you sympathize with her? How did you react to Elliott’s reaction, and her daughters’? Did you find Jane Green’s portrayal of this family realistic? Which episodes (or even words) were most meaningful, or recognizable, to you?

7. Tempting Fate employs a unique narrative in which Matt’s character comes to life in a series of texts or emails. Did you feel, in the end, that you knew him? Liked him? Does it matter, either way? Moreover, how do you envision his role in his son’s life? And—just for fun!—do you think that will he and Monroe will stand the test of time?
 
8. How we talk about books—in or outside of book clubs—is almost as engaging as reading the books themselves. What would you say about Tempting Fate to someone who has not yet read it? Is it a love story? A family drama? A cautionary tale? All or none of the above? Would you recommend it to a friend, fellow parent, or loved one? Why or why not?

9. Why do we feel the need to share our feelings about books with other readers? Also, who in the group recommended you read Tempting Fate in the first place? Take a moment to discuss what your expectations were in choosing this novel. Have you read Jane Green’s other novels? You may choose to talk about the themes that run through her work at this time as well.

10. Did you have a sixth sense about how Tempting Fate would end? Were you gratified or disappointed by how things turned out? Do you "believe" in happy endings, generally speaking? Feel free to suggest alternate endings, if you wish.
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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