The Uncoupling is a book about sex. Or rather, it’s a book about no sex. In the sleepy suburban town of Stellar Plains, New Jersey, a spell has come over the women who work at the local high school. They feel an icy chill and they suddenly no longer have any desire to engage in sex. The very thought is repulsive. This cold wave happens to coincide with the staging of that year’s school play, Lysistrata, the ancient Greek comedy where the women of Athens decide to withhold sex until their men stop fighting the Peloponnesian War.

If you can let yourself embrace this magically-realistic premise, Wolitzer’s story puts an interesting spin on how sex and our love or hate of it can affect a relationship. The spell knows no bounds and we hear from, among others, a formerly passionate spouse; a teen in the thrall of new love; a disaffected partner resentful of hurtful remarks; and a serial-dating single. These different voices give the story a well-rounded perspective. As the characters exam their sex lives, they examine their whole lives and their place in each relationship. They consider intimacy at all its levels. Wolitzer’s writing style is easy to read and she is spot on with describing certain elements of high school life and suburban living.

The ending of the story is, perhaps, a bit predictable and heavy on the mystical, but the body of the story is entertaining and thought-provoking enough to carry the reader through.

Laura J.