by Abigail Thomas
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Product Description
In this delightful novel, Abigail Thomas takes readers back to the summer of 1960 and into the heart of a young woman embarking on a marriage not exactly made in heaven.
Amazon.com Review
"It is too bad marriage doesn't come with attachments like a vacuum cleaner. You can't do anything with ours. Ours just sits there and blows hot air," says Virginia, the 19-year-old narrator of An Actual Life. Having gotten pregnant in the late 1950s after a single night of not so blissful sex, she is now mired in a joyless marriage. Her young husband Buddy works, goes to school, and ignores her, preferring to spend free time with his high school girlfriend Irene, whose marriage to Buddy's best friend Chick seems just as much of a sham. In the meantime, Virginia plays with their daughter Madeline, repeats every superstition she's ever heard--passing on the stairs is bad luck, a dropped knife heralds a man's arrival--and obsessively charts Buddy's comings and goings. Quirky humor makes the reader laugh and wince, while adept characterization and flowing prose add up to a wonderful, featherweight novel.
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Average Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Great, 2008-06-11
I found this book to be wonderful! Yes, it was sad, but it felt very real to me. I found it easy to connect with the main character and understand her actions. It is a quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
read it twice, 2008-01-15
This was one of the only books I've ever read twice. I found the character Virginia to be hilarious and found myself laughing out-loud more than once. I was also excited to find out that this book was based on a short story in a previous book, that I now plan to read. I would highly recommend this to anyone, especially a young wife (which I was the first time I read it).
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A fresh voice to an old subject..., 2007-06-06
At 19, Virginia's just learned the hard way that getting pregnant doesn't always equal love and happiness. She had the misfortune of conceiving her daughter Madeleine the night she lost her virginity to Buddy, a young man she barely knew. Now, it's 1960, and Virginia's shotgun wedding has led to a stay-at-home mom existence, where she realizes just how little she actually knows -- and has in common -- with Buddy.
The one thing Virginia does know, however, is that Buddy isn't over his high school sweetheart, Irene. Although Irene is now married to their childhood friend Chick, she and Buddy seem unnaturally close. But, Virginia wonders, if they loved each other so much, why did they break up in the first place?
Through it all, Virginia hasn't much to cling to, except her stiff, formal upbringing -- entirely different from Buddy's uneducated, happy-go-lucky Aunt Dot, who raised him after the death of his parents. Still, she and Dot try their best to make their family work...even when Buddy doesn't.
Although Thomas is hardly covering a unique subject, the voice she lends to young Virginia is. An engaging character with heartbreaking honesty and often unintended humor, Virginia's life is worth reading about. In the end, when she can no longer pretend, she is faced with a decision that will leave readers rooting for her, no matter where her life takes her.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
 I don't understand the positive reviews this book received, 2005-03-14
This was a very difficult book to read, because it seemed so sad and hopeless to be trapped in a such a loveless marriage that was doomed from the start. I disagree with the product description above which states that Virginia and Buddy tried hard - I didn't think they tried at all, and just resigned themselves to a dismal life together. I realize this was the 1960's when marriage counseling and other current ways to cope with these situations weren't as common and available as they are now, but still, I was so frustrated that this couple didn't at least try to communicate better to make their marriage work, especially since they decided to stay together because of the baby.
The secondary characters weren't at all supportive - Aunt Dot and Virginia's mother were tremendous enablers. Elinor, the eccentric friend, could have made a difference in Virginia and baby Maddie's lives, yet this possible storyline was not developed further. It was odd that the one person who did befriend Virginia was Irene, the woman her husband loved.
The only reason I stuck with the book was that it was a scant 236 pages of rather large print, so it was readable in one sitting of just a few hours. I don't understand all the positive reviews this book received. Yes, it was well-written, very human, nostaglic and even at times humorous, but I often wondered what the author's point was and where this story was going.
I'm not even sure how it ended, how the conflicts were resolved. Did Virginia's husband Buddy get back together with his first and true love Irene? Irene was moving to California with her husband Chick, because she couldn't bear to see the man she loved making a family-life with someone else - did they decide not to go? Virginia was packed to leave, but then she said she had no place to go (I felt she did have places to go...) Irene's husband Chick appeared at the end- did she get together with him, someone she was equally mismatched with???
Too much was implied at the end, and I felt dissatified that after muddling through this very depressing story, the least the author could have done was to tie up loose ends and give these pathetic couples some closure and hope for the further, espcially with an innocent child involved.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
An Actual, 2003-03-09
This is the first work by Abigail Thomas I've encountered. It is how I ended up here, in fact. I was looking for more! That in itself is probably indicative of her ability to draw the reader in & keep them connected, even after the last page is read. Especially impressive is her talent in creating such a believable story-line. Reading "real life" is sort of a reward for having made it through your own up to this point! Most effective, Ms. Thomas refrained from "over-developing" Buddy's character, leaving him rather vague and aloof. I found this rather clever, being narrated by Virginia, who admits she doesn't really know her husband that well. Theirs was was an impulsive union forged solely by circumstance & consequence. God, how many times does that actually happen in life!? While reading, you find yourself confused & even rejected by Buddy's furtive behavior & his 'easy' detachment. Irene, [his former love interest] gets under your skin as well. It keeps the pages turning, to find out if she is to be trusted... or busted! The biggest issue to address: Is Virginia going to STAND for this?! You keep taking steps back, asking yourself "what would I say right now" & you are ready at moment's notice to step in & babysit little Madeline so your "new friend" can get it in gear & go deal with both of them! LOL
I'm awaiting delivery of more examples of Ms. Thomas' work, which I expect to be just as good. This is worth reading; but as with any good book, you're left wanting more when it comes to an end!
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