More Than You Know- Penny Vincenzi (review by Diana)

More Than You Know: A Novel by Penny Vincenzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary
It all comes down to love or money in a harrowing custody battle over a little girl, set against the glossy backdrop of the magazine and advertising worlds in 1960s London.
 
A privileged girl from a privileged class, Eliza has a dazzling career in the magazine world of the 1960s. But when she falls deeply in love with Matt, an edgy working-class boy, she gives up her ritzy, fast-paced lifestyle to get married.
     
By the end of the decade, however, their marriage has suffered a harrowing breakdown, culminating in divorce and a dramatic courtroom custody battle over their little girl. Also at risk is Eliza's gorgeous family home, a pawn in the game, which she can't bear to give up.
     
True to form, Penny Vincenzi introduces a devious cast of characters seemingly plucked from the pages of sixties- and seventies-era magazines, as she deftly maneuvers between the glamorous, moneyed worlds of fashion and advertising, and a heart-wrenching custody battle going on in the courtroom where the social mores of the time are on full display.

Review
This was my first Penny Vincenzi novel, and I've found reading it to be a rewarding, if not pleasant, experience.

More Than You Know follows two people from different worlds as they stumble into love and later crash out of it. It elegantly shows how a marriage with so much love can go so wrong. This is the first time I've read an up-close portrayal of a divorce and found it successful in it's representation. The pain in this novel is vivid and intense. Readers will come to understand how two people, neither of them 'bad', can be so bad together.

However, I will warn forward-thinking females that Matt, our male protagonist, will drive you mad with his neanderthal values towards the role of women in a marriage. His antiquated views, however, were not uncommon in the setting of this novel: 1960s London.

Which brings me to my final point. I felt Vincenzi could have done so much more with this setting. There is so much opportunity for literary art in such a memorable setting. I felt Vincenzi's setting did not live up to its potential.

Overall, More Than You Know is a novel whose strength lies in its characters and their dynamics. This is much more than a fluffy beach read. This is a novel for a summer storm.

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