What's love got to do with it?

In The Senator's Wife, Sue Miller intertwines the story of recently married and newly pregnant Meri with that of her next-door neighbor (and the title character) Delia. The novel moves between the two women, with a heavier focus on Delia, whose complicated relationship with her womanizing husband fascinates both Meri and the reader. In fact, despite disbelief from so many of the characters, Delia's love and forgiveness of Tom was much more believable and understandable than Meri and Nathan's relationship. They seemed quite mismatched, and I found myself disliking Meri in many places, especially in contrast to Delia -- the younger woman was just a little too selfish and too whiny, though I understand that worked beautifully against Delia's elegant generosity and contained emotions. The book was compelling and well-paced, but not anything to rave about.