The Folded World - Amity Gaige

This is one of those books that seems better to me after I've finished and sat back to think about it than it did while I was reading it. Charlie, a social worker dealing with the mentally ill, and Alice, the young daughter of a librarian, meet and fall in love with the "better" qualities of the other. Once they are married, and the parents of twins, Charlie finds himself all-consumed by his work, and in particular one client named Opal. Alice, on the other hand, finds herself overwhelmed by parenthood and Charlie's absences. She seeks to escape through the books recommended by a local bookseller - who just happens to be one of Charlie's former clients. I found the writing initially difficult to get into - the author changes the character from whom's perspective she is telling the story every couple paragraphs - and given that many of the characters suffer from mental illness, this doesn't lend itself to the easiest to follow story. But, I did think that Gaige presented a very realistic picture of relationships - how people deal with their pasts and issues within the context of their marriages, and how the reasons we come to love someone can often turn out to be the reasons we cannot ultimately make the relationship work. Overall, this book also presents an enlightened view of the mentally ill and how they are and should be cared for in our society.