After 20 years of living together, Brenda and Jack Bowman have perfected the careful balance of being intimate, friendly and supportive while at the same time being complete strangers to one another.

The current edition of "Happenstance" is printed with the two novels back-to-back. They were originally published as separate pieces in the early 1980s -- Brenda's story as "A Fairly Conventional Woman," and Jack's story as "Happenstance."

Read the summary elsewhere on this page - I won't repeat what's already been said over and over again. What makes "Happenstance" particularly unique and enjoyable is Shield's use of language and experimental style of narrative, more so in Brenda's story than Jack's. This may be because Shields grew as a writer (Brenda's story was published two years afterwards) or she was more familiar with her character (as she had already envisioned Brenda when creating Jack's work), but Shields' style of writing is heavily reflected in Brenda's internal presence much more so than in Jack's, in which Shields writes more straight-forward narrative.

For example (no spoilers here, don't worry), the first night of Brenda's conference, Shields writes the entirety of the interactions between Brenda and her fellow quilt makers in dialogue, minus dialogue tags most of the time, which is initially confusing. Shields does the same thing when Brenda meets Barry, a married metallurgist with whom Brenda makes an intimate connection, by taking out the dialogue tags when they talk to each other. In the first case, the lack of tags brings about the frenzied feel of a crowded atmosphere, in which one remembers bits and pieces of what people say but never the people themselves. In the second, the flow of dialogue brings about a sense of unity - it doesn't matter whether Brenda or Barry is speaking because of how fluidly their thoughts interweave. Shields uses language flawlessly, and it's important to note that she isn't just forgetting to note who said what - she writes (and omits) everything with a purpose.

Shields even makes quilt making interesting: one lecturer discusses quilting in terms of sexuality. Another woman uses each one of her quilts to tell a story, and Brenda's conversation with her is yet another step in Brenda's road to self-discovery.

This book is anything but an average, sentimental couple story. Shields injects power into tiny moments, bundling them together to create a sincere portrait of a marriage and - as another reviewer has said - leaves you with a sense that you've truly gained something by reading it.

After 20 years of living together, Brenda and Jack Bowman have perfected the careful balance of being intimate, friendly and supportive while at the same time being complete strangers to one another.

The current edition of "Happenstance" is printed with the two novels back-to-back. They were originally published as separate pieces in the early 1980s -- Brenda's story as "A Fairly Conventional Woman," and Jack's story as "Happenstance."

Read the summary elsewhere on this page - I won't repeat what's already been said over and over again. What makes "Happenstance" particularly unique and enjoyable is Shield's use of language and experimental style of narrative, more so in Brenda's story than Jack's. This may be because Shields grew as a writer (Brenda's story was published two years afterwards) or she was more familiar with her character (as she had already envisioned Brenda when creating Jack's work), but Shields' style of writing is heavily reflected in Brenda's internal presence much more so than in Jack's, in which Shields writes more straight-forward narrative.

For example (no spoilers here, don't worry), the first night of Brenda's conference, Shields writes the entirety of the interactions between Brenda and her fellow quilt makers in dialogue, minus dialogue tags most of the time, which is initially confusing. Shields does the same thing when Brenda meets Barry, a married metallurgist with whom Brenda makes an intimate connection, by taking out the dialogue tags when they talk to each other. In the first case, the lack of tags brings about the frenzied feel of a crowded atmosphere, in which one remembers bits and pieces of what people say but never the people themselves. In the second, the flow of dialogue brings about a sense of unity - it doesn't matter whether Brenda or Barry is speaking because of how fluidly their thoughts interweave. Shields uses language flawlessly, and it's important to note that she isn't just forgetting to note who said what - she writes (and omits) everything with a purpose.

Shields even makes quilt making interesting: one lecturer discusses quilting in terms of sexuality. Another woman uses each one of her quilts to tell a story, and Brenda's conversation with her is yet another step in Brenda's road to self-discovery.

This book is anything but an average, sentimental couple story. Shields injects power into tiny moments, bundling them together to create a sincere portrait of a marriage and - as another reviewer has said - leaves you with a sense that you've truly gained something by reading it.