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Tunnel of Love
Continuing the emotional journey of the two enormously appealing characters from the bestselling Hearts, this book is "one of Wolitzer's best novels, filled with multiple levels of meaning and nonstop story line" (Booklist). "A rare joy."--New York Times.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Hilma Wolitzer
23 books156 followersHilma Wolitzer (b. 1930) is a critically hailed author of literary fiction. She is a recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, and a Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award. Her first short story appeared in print when she was thirty-six. Eight years later she published her first novel. Her novels and stories have drawn praise for illuminating the dark interiors of the American home. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 11, 2023
Two nights ago I finished Hilma Wolitzer's novel, Hearts, which was published in 1980. I enjoyed it immensely, and I was thrilled to discover that Ms. Wolitzer penned a sequel to it in 1994. I received a copy today from the library, and I actually clapped my hands like a seal when I saw that 376 pages of Linda and Robin Reismann's new journey awaited me.
And then. . .
And then, I read on the front book jacket of the sequel: “Robin is terminally sullen; her mother abandoned her when she was a baby.”
Um, no. No she didn't. I just finished the first book, two nights ago. Robin wasn't a baby when her mother abandoned her; she was five years old. (Further proof, from page 310 of the original novel, Robin's biological mother says to her, “You probably don't remember it, but I used to brush your hair all the time.”).
And then, I read at the bottom of the book jacket: “Bill Clinton appears on the political horizon, promising change.”
In 1979? Um, not really. Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, at that time, but I doubt he had entered the consciousness of two young women from Newark, NJ in the late 1970s. I suspect that it was Ms. Wolitzer's (or her publisher's) perspective, in 1994, that Bill Clinton's arrival might be one of “promising change,” rather than the perspective of two ladies in bell bottoms sharing a joint under a disco ball.
And then, I crack open the book (still a little confused about the inaccuracies on the book jacket) and this is the very first sentence of the sequel: “As Linda Reismann approached the city limits of Los Angeles in her late husband's laboring Mustang, the slow procession of rush-hour traffic slowed even more and then came to a dead stop.”
Her late husband's laboring Mustang?
Wha??!
One of the main characters of Hearts is the Ford Maverick that Linda's husband left to her. The car features so prominently in the story, the word “Maverick” must appear approximately 48 times in the novel, including the final sentence: “Linda's right foot pressed the accelerator and her left one was braced against the floor of the Maverick, but she believed she was dancing.”
A Maverick isn't a Mustang, and what are you telling me. . . that neither the author nor her editor could be bothered to read the original story before starting on the sequel?
This may be the first one star review I have given, without making it past the first page of the book.
I mean. . . really. This hot mess is an insult to readers.
(Thanks. I feel better now).
And then. . .
And then, I read on the front book jacket of the sequel: “Robin is terminally sullen; her mother abandoned her when she was a baby.”
Um, no. No she didn't. I just finished the first book, two nights ago. Robin wasn't a baby when her mother abandoned her; she was five years old. (Further proof, from page 310 of the original novel, Robin's biological mother says to her, “You probably don't remember it, but I used to brush your hair all the time.”).
And then, I read at the bottom of the book jacket: “Bill Clinton appears on the political horizon, promising change.”
In 1979? Um, not really. Bill Clinton was the governor of Arkansas, at that time, but I doubt he had entered the consciousness of two young women from Newark, NJ in the late 1970s. I suspect that it was Ms. Wolitzer's (or her publisher's) perspective, in 1994, that Bill Clinton's arrival might be one of “promising change,” rather than the perspective of two ladies in bell bottoms sharing a joint under a disco ball.
And then, I crack open the book (still a little confused about the inaccuracies on the book jacket) and this is the very first sentence of the sequel: “As Linda Reismann approached the city limits of Los Angeles in her late husband's laboring Mustang, the slow procession of rush-hour traffic slowed even more and then came to a dead stop.”
Her late husband's laboring Mustang?
Wha??!
One of the main characters of Hearts is the Ford Maverick that Linda's husband left to her. The car features so prominently in the story, the word “Maverick” must appear approximately 48 times in the novel, including the final sentence: “Linda's right foot pressed the accelerator and her left one was braced against the floor of the Maverick, but she believed she was dancing.”
A Maverick isn't a Mustang, and what are you telling me. . . that neither the author nor her editor could be bothered to read the original story before starting on the sequel?
This may be the first one star review I have given, without making it past the first page of the book.
I mean. . . really. This hot mess is an insult to readers.
(Thanks. I feel better now).
April 16, 2012
Robin, the stepdaughter is very believable. She's had a very hard life. Her step mother, Linda, , a 28 year old widow, is so even tempered and loveable, that though I liked watching her, I just couldn't believe her.
The "tunnel of love " was pretty dark and scary. An uneducated woman with a surly teen and an infant, yet she finds suitor after suitor? Come on. She doesn't have a plan until she shakes Governor Clinton's hand? Come on. This is entertaining.
The "tunnel of love " was pretty dark and scary. An uneducated woman with a surly teen and an infant, yet she finds suitor after suitor? Come on. She doesn't have a plan until she shakes Governor Clinton's hand? Come on. This is entertaining.
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May 22, 2023No review available.
February 12, 2020
This arrived at the library as a new book, but it came out in 1994. I was struck by the elements that highlighted how different life was a mere 25 years ago - lack of cell phones, casual use of epithets that are taboo today, the political outlook. Linda's way of sort of floating through life was wearing after a while as was Robin's prickly attitude.
May 4, 2013
Compassionate, funny, sad and most of all a good story of love, in all it's different costumes!
October 23, 2013
The best part of this novel is Linda Reismann, a pregnant late 20s widow who's left with a teenage step-daughter who doesn't like her very much. The book opens with Linda and Robin arriving in Los Angeles, after a cross-country trip from New Jersey, following the burial of Linda's husband and Robin's father. On the way they stopped to see Robin's long-lost mother, a visit so disastrous that Linda immediately dropped her plan to reunite mother and child. Clearly, Linda's got a lot on her plate, but it's her determination to make a home and a family that charmed me. The novel is set in 1991, and from the vantage of 2013, Linda may seem a little too good to be true. Perhaps we've all become too ambitious and self-centered to believe there are actually people out there whose hearts' desires are to find a decent job that can provide a comfortable home for their families. Linda is no whiner -- every time she's knocked down, she gets up and gets on with life. Over the course of the novel, the plot takes a bunch of twists and turns but, just like the cars in a Tunnel of Love, finally finally finds its way back to a bright and happy day.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews