One evening, Peter Blue, a troubled 19 year-old, sets a fire in a church after having beaten up his girlfriend. Police chief Otto Hunnicut subdues the youth, who is waving a gun in his face. Hunnicut wants to slap Peter in jail, but the more rational Father Fairfax, whose church has been attacked, petitions to have Peter placed in a psychiatric clinic under the care of Cal Bradley.

Little does Cal know that having Peter as a patient will change his live dramatically. Cal helps Peter make important progress in dealing with the obstacles that threaten his life, but the more Cal talks to Peter, the more Cal’s personal life seems to become entangled with his patient’s.

At first, Cal’s thoughts seem almost surreal. As time passes Cal is convinced that part of Peter’s dilemma is connected to his wife, Marie’s strange bouts of sleeplessness, and her refusal to talk of her life before she met Cal. Loathe though he is to do it, Cal is drawn to investigate his wife’s earlier life, perhaps bringing to light facts about which he would be much happier not knowing. He fears he will be forced to choose between the best interests of his patient and the love of his life.

A departure from his usual fast pace from start to finish, Andrew Klavan’s Man and Wife begins very slowly and methodically. After the initial scene in which Peter sets fire to the church, considerable time is spent evaluating Peter’s life, what trauma he has endured, and what possible hope there is for his future. In addition to a discussion of Peter’s condition, there is a lengthy self analysis by Cal of how difficulties in Peter’s life may relate to his own. For those readers who have little patience for psychiatric considerations, there may be a great desire to give up on this one. A word of warning! Don’t do it. Pay attention to what is being said. It will become important later on . Keep reading, you’ll be glad you did.

Mr. Klavan’s characterizations of Cal and Peter are excellent. One learns little about the others. They are pretty stereotypical, but the two main protagonists are rendered with such depth and skill that it doesn’t matter much about the others. Both are intelligent and articulate, although Peter has no education beyond high school. The one concept that is hard to grasp is Peter’s rapid and implicit trust in Cal. As an individual who has every right to be skeptical of others, it seems strange for Peter to be so open and secure in Cal’s presence. Others have disappointed Peter when he expected support, and he had spent more time with them than Cal, but they are both intelligent, so perhaps it is possible.

Also it seems unusual that the young people at the clinic responded so positively to Cal when they had been so unresponsive to others ostensibly skilled in the art of communication with distressed people. Mr. Klavan’s portrayal of Cal’s indecision when he feels he must choose between his patient and his wife is exceptionally well done.

Initially the plot is slow to develop, but the last third of the book moves rapidly. Although frustrated by the first portion of the book, I found the detail provided made a much more dramatic climax. The author has more to say on several different levels. Readers with a background in literature will definitely appreciate the more subtle points of this book.

--Andy Plonka