I could love you

British suburbanites wrestle with the trials of midlife: "Smart, crisp insight and lacerating wit . . . The feel of a Nick Hornby novel with a little more teeth" (Publishers Weekly).

When Belinda discovers her husband is having an affair, she's furious, hurt, and bent on leveling the score. But Belinda isn't the only one in her affluent suburban neighborhood suffering the indignities and disappointments of middle age. Instead of resting comfortably in the glow of earlier good decisions, she and her neighbors have just as much angst as they did in their twenties.

One of Belinda's friends fears her own husband is unfaithful, too. But when she finds out there's no other woman-that he's found God instead-this, to her, is the biggest betrayal. A renowned artist, near death, is convinced that his entire life has been a waste. And a schoolteacher, upon achieving his dream of selling a screenplay to Hollywood, finds himself buffeted by the maddening whims of the studio executives, who are no longer looking for a serious drama, but a low-brow comedy about a talking dog.

Yet, even as the grownups in this searching, beautifully told story try to claw back the happiness that has slipped away, two college kids who believed they'd never find love discover a glimmer of hope . . .