Leaving by Roxana Robinson isn’t typically a book I’d be dying to read. The story sounds banal; high school sweethearts accidentally bump into each other years later and rekindle their lost love.

However, Roxana Robinson throws in quite a twist, that the male half of the equation isn’t free…yet. In fact, Warren is still very much married, even if his connection to his wife is lackadaisical and a binding from which he’d love to break free. Sprinkle in their adult children with complex separate lives and opinions told in a third person point of view that still somehow feels real and voyeuristic and you have a compelling novel.

Part of the allure is that Roxana Robinson focuses on material I rarely see utilized regarding loving parents who try desperately to keep connections with their adult children, only to be brushed off or pushed aside. And how grandparents’ attempts at bonding with their grandchildren are often taken for granted.

The book is by no means an upper, but living with these characters feels like the opera that the character Warren escapes into, and that tragedy based on honor is something to be witnessed and admired.

Leaving by Roxana Robinson is available for pre-order at sarasotabooks.com and available in store at 117 S. Pineapple Ave. beginning on February 13, 2024. ISBN: 9781324075516.