The Divorce Papers made me realize how much I love epistolary novels. Susan Rieger’s story of how lawyer Sophie Diehl manages the divorce of Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim is told through correspondence, including legal papers, emails, newspaper articles, and more. Even though reading through paperwork might sound boring and divorce is an unpleasant topic, The Divorce Papers tells a fascinating story.
Sophie is not a divorce lawyer. Yet somehow, a longtime client of her firm, Mia, decides that Sophie is the right lawyer for her divorce. Sophie’s firm wants to keep their client happy and asks her to take on this daunting task. As Sophie learns more about divorce law and of the story of her client, so do you. She asks for assistance from her bosses, reads articles about the law of her county, and keeps in close contact with her client. You learn more about both Sophie and Mia, as well as the intricacies of divorce law through each piece of correspondence.
Normally when I choose a book, I check Goodreads for it’s average rating and I don’t often read books with a rating of less than 3.5 stars. I either didn’t check before I read The Divorce Papers or I decided I didn’t care, because it has a 3.32 rating. The masses are not always correct: sometimes a book just falls really well with you even when many others hated it. That was the case for me with The Divorce Papers. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. If you’re looking for good epistolary fiction, I recommend this book.
Lakesidegirl 