Can Julia, a high-strung Manhattanite who gave up her free-spirited lifestyle to marry a struggling actor, find happiness (two children and many years later) as the wife of handsome Joe Ferraro, now a popular TV star and Golden Globe nominee? Julia thinks so--until she accidentally hears one of Joe's voice mails and discovers a message from a filthy-mouthed sex kitten. Cassandra Campbell's spot-on reading takes listeners through Julia's inability to confront Joe, her obsessive re-listening to his voice messages, and a personal crisis that drives her to therapy, hair extensions, dermabrasion, lip plumping, and BOTOX. Campbell has a ball with Ann Leary's cleverly written, darkly humorous take on marriage, backstage politics, and the New York City "mommy" scene, especially the nursery-Nazi moms at Julia's son's prestigious multicultural day care. Much fun! S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

 

"[A] sparkling debut novel …. Keenly observant of celeb culture … Leary pens a bittersweet tale about love, marriage and the perils of fame."

 

"The prose is sprightly … you'll keep reading."

 

"After years as a struggling actor, Joe Ferraro is starring on a hit TV show - and has a Golden Globe nod. But when his stay-at-home mom wife Julia hears a sexy-voice phone-message congratulations from a woman clearly more than a pal, her life is turned upside down. Leary, wife of actor Denis Leary, mines the laughs with her knowing New York-set story. She insists it's all fiction."

 

"Memoirist Leary (An Innocent, a Broad) follows in her fiction debut the unraveling of Julia Ferraro after she accidentally discovers a racy message in her Golden Globe–nominee husband's voice mail. As the doubts about her husband, Joe, mount, Julia begins examining other areas of her life with closer scrutiny, and her behavior becomes increasingly erratic as her paranoia grows: she dabbles in Restylane and Botox, attempts to seduce her shrink and plants rumors about her husband on Gawker. In addition to Julia's marital angst, she is also managing a shaky relationship with her entitled, adolescent daughter, Ruby, and is wracked with anxiety over her own lack of a career. Julia is a sharp and self-aware narrator, though there are moments when she seems too much a romantic, particularly for someone with otherwise worldly and wry sensibilities. Leary, the wife of actor Denis Leary, has an eye for the comedy of manners of the rich and idle. As Julia's daughter observes, 'You don't really have to do anything.'Julia responds: 'I know. You have no idea how stressful that is.'"

 

"[T]he ruefully funny story of the stay-at-home wife of a sexy TV star who inadvertently discovers he's having an affair, and sets out to discover with whom before the Golden Globes."

 

"A hilarious, moving, and addictive novel."

 

"I loved it. I loved Julia—her strength, her vulnerability, and her realism—and I loved Ann Leary's stingingly sharp observations of marriage and motherhood. I can't even say it works as a stunning first novel, because it is far better than that. Ann is truly a writer with enormous talent and heart."

 

"Outtakes from a Marriage is a ruefully funny novel about adultery, family, and the good memories that get people through hard times. Ann Leary is a sharp observer of domestic life and celebrity culture."

 

"Memo to all men: Read this book. You'll rejoice in its searing honesty and crackling wit. You're sure to learn something about marriage, about women, and, above all, about yourself as women see you. And women? You might see this book as a mirror where you discover yourself. You'll know (I think: I'm only a man) how Ann Leary so often hits the nail on the head. I envy all who haven't read this book. They're in for a treat."

 

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"A witty take on marital survival in Manhattan—with heart."