Thoughts of Maria Gregory Heath 9780615763088 Books
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Gerry Thorley’s wife Rachel has left him for another man. His son Callum, who works for a PR company by day and deals drugs at night, hardly ever visits him. Now Gerry, divorced and approaching fifty, wants a second chance at love.
On the other side of the world, on the infamous Payatas dump in Manila, nineteen-year-old Maria and her family live a life of abject poverty and desperation. Picking through the filth, they earn just enough to stay alive. There seems no chance for change, until one day a young man appears with a proposition.
As Gerry combs web site after web site searching for the perfect mail-order bride, Maria and her family come to terms with the possibility that she might marry a foreigner to escape the miserable cycle of poverty in which they live. But he must be just the right man, a kind, respectful man, and a man with the means to give her a better life.
Will Maria’s future husband turn out to be an Englishman more than twice her age? Will Gerry’s new wife satisfy his needs for companionship and warmth? And what might his ex-wife and son think of Gerry’s new bride?
When the marriage is finally arranged and Maria returns with Gerry to England to start their life together, neither expects perfect marital bliss but both are willing to patiently cultivate a mutually satisfying relationship. But trouble is lurking just around the corner as Gerry’s son Callum feeds the fires of an escalating sexual obsession with his father’s new bride, and Rachel resolves to see the marriage fail, and Maria back where she belongs in the Philippines.
Thoughts of Maria Gregory Heath 9780615763088 Books
I was drawn to this story of a young Filipina "mail order bride" for a British middle-aged divorcee for two reasons: I personally know of such martial unions and they have been quite successful; I love books that take place in England. Gerry is a very likable bloke whose wife of almost 28 years left him for another man. Not only that, Rachel informed him of her intention to divorce as they shopped in a supermarket. The crassness of this is something Gerry remembers whenever he might feel sorry for Rachel. Their adult son Callum is rather soulless leaving both parents feeling like they could have done better. Still, Gerry finds much satisfaction in the simple things of life. He loves his job as a property surveyor specializing in old buildings as well as playing trombone in a local brass band. The one thing he's missing is female companionship. One day he notices a couple exiting a shop. The man looked about his age and was accompanied by a much younger Chinese girl. Their expressions exuded a "quiet contentment" that inspired Gerry to seek his own happiness via a "mail order bride."British author Gregory Heath spun his tale through a narrative by each character. This made the story very interesting as I came to know each character by hearing them "speak." I enjoyed the story so much that I wasn't quite ready for it to end. A book of just 133 pages, I finished it in a few days. I would like to have read more details about Gerry and Maria's marriage, as it had barely begun by book's end. Also there were absolutely no details from the marital bed, which would have been interesting considering the disparity in their ages (Maria was 19, Gerry 50) and cultures. Perhaps he will write a sequel; I would love to read it.
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Tags : Thoughts of Maria [Gregory Heath] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Gerry Thorley’s wife Rachel has left him for another man. His son Callum, who works for a PR company by day and deals drugs at night,Gregory Heath,Thoughts of Maria,Open Books,0615763081,FICTION General,Fiction - General,General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)
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Thoughts of Maria Gregory Heath 9780615763088 Books Reviews
I received this as an advance reader from librarything. This is definitely a different twist about a mail order bride. I loved the way that the story had different chapters about the family members involved. Each expressing their "thoughts of Maria." It was sad reading about the struggles each person faced but intriguing to learn how they coped and dealt with their internal issues and feelings. This story touched on numerous things that happen in peoples lives today and I feel the author did a good job tying it all together. I will be looking forward to reading more books by Gregory Heath.
Thoughts of Maria is a short, quick read about two families on two very different paths that collide through a `mail order' marriage. The novel is told from the perspective of five characters Gerry, Maria, Rachel, Callum and Arthur. Gerry is an older English man who is looking for a committed relationship after his wife of over twenty years left him for another man. Maria is a young Filipina woman in her late teens living with her family in the Payatas dump in Manila, scratching out a living by collecting and sorting trash. Rachel, Gerry's ex wife, is a depressed alcoholic who regrets her decision to leave Gerry a few years prior. Callum is Gerry and Rachel's drug-addicted son and Arthur is Gerry's father who suffers from Alzheimer's.
The novel moves quickly through Gerry's search for a wife through various mail order bride agencies online to him meeting Maria and her family. Along the way Gerry, Rachel and Callum fill in details about the family's past. Based on the description of the novel, I expected the marriage between Gerry and Maria to take place early in the storyline, but the reader is nearly to the end of the novel by the time the two wed. Several new plot developments occur as Maria is adjusting to her new life in England and then the novel abruptly ends. A chapter ends and that's it for the story, the new twists in the plot are just left hanging in the air. I don't feel every book one reads has to have a neat and tidy ending but this felt sloppy and too loose. I keep expecting an e-mail from LibraryThing Early Reviewers letting me know that I received the wrong version of the novel.
The story is told from several different people's viewpoints which sometimes is distracting in novels; but in this case, the author has divided the chapters among the individuals so you always know who is talking. It's interesting to see how the same event is seen so differently through the different characters' eyes.
Maria is a girl living in poverty with her family in the Phillipines. Gerry is a middle-aged man, married to Rachael and father to son, Callum. When Rachael suddenly leaves Gerry after many years of marriage, he realizes this didn't really upset him all that much. Gerry and Rachael both have a strained relationship with their son who appears to have no real goals in his life.
The story progresses with the meeting of Maria and Gerry and how their relationship touches all the other characters.
I found the book to be realistic, sad, and hopefully with happiness ahead for Gerry and Maria. I enjoyed the writing and always find it appealing when a book leaves me wanting to know more.
I was drawn to this story of a young Filipina "mail order bride" for a British middle-aged divorcee for two reasons I personally know of such martial unions and they have been quite successful; I love books that take place in England. Gerry is a very likable bloke whose wife of almost 28 years left him for another man. Not only that, Rachel informed him of her intention to divorce as they shopped in a supermarket. The crassness of this is something Gerry remembers whenever he might feel sorry for Rachel. Their adult son Callum is rather soulless leaving both parents feeling like they could have done better. Still, Gerry finds much satisfaction in the simple things of life. He loves his job as a property surveyor specializing in old buildings as well as playing trombone in a local brass band. The one thing he's missing is female companionship. One day he notices a couple exiting a shop. The man looked about his age and was accompanied by a much younger Chinese girl. Their expressions exuded a "quiet contentment" that inspired Gerry to seek his own happiness via a "mail order bride."
British author Gregory Heath spun his tale through a narrative by each character. This made the story very interesting as I came to know each character by hearing them "speak." I enjoyed the story so much that I wasn't quite ready for it to end. A book of just 133 pages, I finished it in a few days. I would like to have read more details about Gerry and Maria's marriage, as it had barely begun by book's end. Also there were absolutely no details from the marital bed, which would have been interesting considering the disparity in their ages (Maria was 19, Gerry 50) and cultures. Perhaps he will write a sequel; I would love to read it.
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