Semi-Detached — Cynthia Holz

When Barbara and Elliot Rifkin decide to lead semi-separate lives, little do they know what emotional and material consequences they are about to reap. Married nearly 35 years, this middle-class boomer couple take early retirement and proceed to divide their home into two apartments. They will live apart and thereby enjoy lives of freedom unencumbered by the responsibilities of family and domestic duty. This experiment in relationship is engineered by Barbara, who finds having her retired husband around the house too much to endure. Elliot is baffled but reluctantly agrees. The rest of the family - grandmother, son and daughter and their respective families - are appalled. Friends raise eyebrows and assume it all has to do with extra-marital sex. But Barbara and Elliot are determined to enjoy the eccentricities of their new-found freedom. When the cost of that freedom proves to be too high, an unusual series of events converge to bring about an inspired denouement to this most captivating story. This is a lively and poignant love story written by one of Canada`s best storytellers. Completely original and beautifully written, this novel is redolent of the work of novelists Ann Beattie and John Updike. Cynthia Holz writes with superb control and is at the height of her powers. Semi-Detached is a gem of a novel. (1999)