Publication Date: June 16, 2015
Publisher: Harper
Rating: ★★★★★
Portia Kane is having a meltdown. After escaping her ritzy Florida life and her cheating pornographer husband, she finds herself back in South Jersey, a place that remains largely unchanged from the years of her unhappy youth. Lost and alone, looking for the goodness she believes still exists in the world, Portia sets off on a quest to save the one man who always believed in her – and in all of his students: her beloved high school English teacher, Mr. Vernon, who has retired broken and alone after a traumatic classroom incident. Will a sassy nun, an ex-heroin addict, a metal-head little boy, and her hoarder mother help or hurt Portia’s chances on this quest to resurrect a good man and find renewed hope in the human race? Love May Fail is a story of the great highs and lows of existence: the heartache and daring choices it takes to become the person you know (deep down) you are meant to be.
Review:
There is something about Matthew Quick’s words that grab your attention immediately. Love May Fail begins with a woman, Portia, who ends up drunk in her closet in her million-dollar-home waiting for her husband to come home with his mistress. If that doesn’t immediately grab your attention, there’s something wrong. My brain was begging to find out what was going to happen when they finally came in the door.
Portia is a traumatized character and really shows it throughout this novel. She had a really questionable childhood with her mother as well as having a cheating husband. It was a really telling story. Portia moved home to south New Jersey. I loved this because it tells the story of the author. Matthew Quick is also from that area so we got to see his hometown area through his own eyes. As someone who grew up in the South Jersey area, I really enjoyed seeing all of the landmarks that Matthew Quick had to offer.
One of my favorite things about this book was the character development. Portia, Chuck Bass and everyone really just improved themselves throughout this entire novel. I really enjoyed Portia as a person. She was kind of messy to start, but by the end, I felt like I really could understand and see her through my own eyes.
Lastly, the title really is something to pay attention to. Love May Fail is the perfect title because Matthew Quick really has you thinking that love may just fail. Portia had been through so much that you really weren’t sure where she was going to be in the end between location and her development. Love May Fail is really, really true because it may, but it may not.
Lacey's Library 