Treading Joanna Trollope territory but with a lighter touch, British author Cheek (Pause Between Acts) plays a roundelay on midlife marital crisis. Fortyish but still delectable, Angela Fytton has lost her beloved Ian to a "little, blonde, helpless" younger woman, just as they were getting to the point where they could relax and enjoy each other. Sadly, Angela, supermom and wife that she was, cannot get over her husband and wants him back. To that end, she formulates a plan so devious, so gorgeously simple, so prospectively effective, that it is sure to work, though his new baby with the despised "Binnie" does give her a qualm. She buys a country home and departs London, leaving her two teenagers to live with their father, allowing her former spouse to contend with all the joys of a new infant, new wife and resentful adolescents ("a walking disaster area") in the same house. Surprisingly, Angela loves the country, though its denizens are not the innocents she expected; she gets on well, and the plan goes as expected, almost. Cheek's breezy style suits this consistently amusing story, and the characterizations, while not deep, are engaging. Her very readable wry look at modern marriage has all the right ingredients: the second family, the first wife making the second life possible, the husband needing to be needed while subconsciously expecting his home life to be perfect, the usual miscommunications and separate agendas. The cleverly ironic ending adds a nice twist to a tart and larky tale. While it's unlikely the book will achieve the bestseller status it attained in England, it should appeal to the audience for domestic comedy, British style. (Nov.)
