Not Perfect

The latest novel from LaBan (The Restaurant Critic's Wife) is a raw and at times rough exploration of a woman's marriage, parenting, and life. Tabitha Brewer wakes up one morning to find her husband gone, having left her and their two children without explanation. How can she alone maintain the financial responsibilities of the life they had? Understandably, but also sadly, Tabitha tries to keep up appearances and projects a false image to the outside world that everything is okay—all because of a threatening note left by her husband that states he will expose her. Tabitha has no idea what this threat refers to, and the resulting fear she feels creates a kind of guilt that prevents her from reaching out for help, making the struggle even more of a hardship. LaBan's characters are fallible, and sometimes not likable because of that, but they are complicated and real as well.