Amanda Patterson's Reviews > Love May Fail

Portia Kane leaves her cheating mega-wealthy husband in Florida and goes home to Philadelphia. She meets Sister Maeve Smith on the plane, where she confesses her drunken mess of a life to the bemused nun. Portia, in the depths of misery, thinks about the one man she knows was good, Mr Vernon, her English teacher. When she arrives, she finds her crazy mother - an agoraphobic hoarder who barely leaves the house – has not changed.
Portia meets and falls in love with the lovely Chuck Bass. Chuck, a former drug addict, has cleaned up his life and who lives with his sister, who is an old friend of Portia’s, and his nephew, Tommy. Chuck has gone back to school and is looking for a job as a teacher.
The book is told in four pieces, narrated in turn by Portia, Mr Vernon, Sister Maeve and Chuck. Quick is an expert in telling the stories of damaged people with a good deal of humour and hope. In Love May Fail, he tells the stories of the people who look after the crazy people in their lives. Portia looks after her mother, Chuck looks after his sister, Maeve looks after her son, and Mr Vernon looks after his dog, Albert Camus.
I enjoyed this book. It is rich with characters who have less than perfect lives, but somehow manage to find their way in the end.