Matt McAvoy Book Review

Being something of a cynic, I read books like this with a somewhat incredulous frustration.  I mean no disrespect to Ros or her ex – for as it turns out, this book is almost entirely based on the true story of her own experience – but I tend to find myself shouting silently at the women in them not to trust this man, time and time again.  Of course, were that the course, we wouldn’t get to appreciate the warm and enjoyable experience of Ros’s writing.  She is pleasant to read, endearing to accompany on her journey, and I’m sure a pleasure to know.  She writes with heart and passion, particularly when sharing her faith.  Of course, for an atheist like myself, that devotion is another source of frustration when the protagonists in these books seem to continue being manipulated and walked over.  Again, though, it is not the reader’s place to comment on another’s relationship, and certainly not the one she may have with God. 

What Ros invites us to do with The Mistress and the Wife is let God and Jesus into her life – which is its true premise, I suppose.  From the two-thirds point onward, it begins to read rather more as a sermon rooted in first-hand experience.  Ros invites us to find the joy and peace she does from her religion, in the face of genuine trials of the heart.  The narrative itself actually ends rather abruptly, its resolution sudden and brutal – though, of course, life is like that: it changes in the instant a decision is made; sometimes we just aren’t party to that decision before that point.  What follows the story is then something of an appeal to the mistreated wives and the would-be mistresses, as well as the philandering husbands, all addressed as parties culpable and relevant to a life of peaceful harmony and resolution.  Obviously, this is all presented from a compass of faith and trust in God. 

Despite my own apathy in this respect, I do enjoy reading books from a faith-based perspective.  The joy of the authors and the warmth they impart to others is a lesson to all, and in some ways contagious, as it hopes to be – of course, this may be the very reason for the adoption of faith by some: seeing the joy and clarity it has brought to others.  My point is that, even if you don’t fall into that category, there is much to be gained from authors who feel that way.  Ros’s book is an easy read, despite knowing how much pain she must have been in.  There is no sex, no cursing, as you would expect – just full-blown poignancy followed by hope.  Sure, the book could do with a polish, and it isn’t really aimed at myself, I don’t think, but I’d definitely recommend it if you’re in the market for the genre, or looking for a genuinely uplifting, sermon-based narrative.