Introduction: The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson
The Woman He Loved Before
by Dorothy Koomson is the second of the seven books that I am specifically reading for Women’s History Month. This was a very tough book to read because of the subject matter, but it made me stop to think about life, and how we choose to live our lives. Life isn’t easy, but we have to make the best use of the gifts we’ve been given.
Bite-Sized Learning from The Woman He Loved Before
by Dorothy Koomson
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The Story: The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson
The three main characters in The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson are Libby Britcham, Eve Britcham and Jack Britcham. A large part of the story is told through Eve’s journal entries. It is also told through flashbacks and different points of view. If you have been around this blog for years, you’ll know that I hate flashbacks. And I hate it when the authors use varying points of view to tell the story. Anyway, I loved the book, but I would have loved it even more without the two literary devices.
When The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson starts, Libby is in a car accident, and a firefighter is trying to keep her awake while they try to get her out of the car. He explains what’s going to happen as they release her. Libby’s been rethinking her relationship and marriage to Jack. He doesn’t seem to be in love her, which leaves her wondering if he wished if she was someone else.
Jack rushes out to her. Libby Rabvena’s first encounter with Jack is not an impressive one. She is at a car dealership, buying a car she really wants. Gareth, the salesman is processing her paperwork, when this handsome man walks in. Jack is wearing aviator sunglasses and is decked out in designer wear. He interrupts the sale, pulls the salesman away to take care of his needs, without a second thought to Libby. Deciding that she will not tolerate treatment like that, she gathers her things to leave the car dealership. As Libby is about to open the door, Gareth calls out to her to wait. She shoots him a look of contempt and leaves. Libby really wants the car, but she refuses to be treated poorly, so she is willing to let the car go to do the right thing.
““I’m really sorry about that,” he said. “I just—”
“Didn’t feel the need to wait your turn because an insignificant woman was sitting there and you’re incredibly important your needs come first?” I asked.
He was shocked enough to strip his face of his sunglasses and stare at me. “Not sure how to respond to that, really,” he admitted.
“Maybe there is no response, Jack,” I replied.
His face did a double-take: obviously people rarely answered him in this manner. “Maybe an apology would be the appropriate response,” he offered.
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
“I’m sorry. What I did was rude. I should not have interrupted your meeting, and I can only apologize for that.”
There was an unpleasant nuance to his apology: he had pitched it so the words were technically correct, his tone of voice was contrite, but everything was smeared with ridicule. He was taking the piss out of me. He probably took the piss out of everything and got away with it because most people were left unsure of whether he was being sincere or whether they were being hypersensitive.
“Was that it? The best you can do? Wow, I hope you never have to apologize in your day job because you are rubbish at it,” I said. “And if that was your idea of subtly taking the piss out of me then I feel even more sorry for you than I did a few seconds ago because you’re even more rubbish at that.” I stepped around him and continued my journey to the bus stop.”
The above dialogue from The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson sets the stage for what the reader can expect. But Jack doesn’t leave things at that. He starts building a case for why Gareth shouldn’t be punished for his selfish actions. Libby thinks back to what her friend Angela tells her that she is always cutting off her nose to spite her face. She decides to go back to get her car. She has already made a statement to Gareth to not ever leave her to serve another customer. In life, sometimes it’s okay to change your mind.
Jack gives Libby his contact details because he is interested in her. He is accustomed to women falling at his feet, so he is baffled by her behavior. What she does is simply priceless. Libby passes on Jack’s contact details to her boss, Paloma, because she thinks the two are a match made in heaven. Paloma wants to land a rich husband. Jack is interested in Libby, so he introduces Paloma to a wealthy friend.
The more Libby gets to know Jack, a side of him slips out that shows he can be a deeper person. She is still wary of him and she should be. One day she visits him to see his house that he is renovating. Jack bought a fixer-upper and has been working on it. In the entrance way, he seduces her and has sex with her right there.
Libby gets caught up in the euphoria and loses control. When he is finished he tells her he will get some stuff for her to clean up. Libby is shocked by her behavior because she has never done anything like this before. She feels intense shame and high-tails it out of there. When she thinks about the experience, one of the things that bothers her most, is that Jack didn’t even kiss her.
Libby refuses to take any of Jack’s calls and she avoids him like the black plague. She is having a very hard time dealing with the shame she feels. One day she couldn’t avoid him fast enough, so they end up talking and she tells him what she is feeling, and her honesty impacts Jack. As they get to know each other, Jack tells Libby about Eve, his first wife who died. But he doesn’t talk a lot about her, it’s like there is a secret surrounding his relationship with Eve. There is a whirlwind romance between Jack and Libby and they decide to get married.
Back to the car accident. Libby is hurt pretty badly and nearly dies. She recovers but is traumatized and is scared of going into cars. The doctors have to shave her head on one side. By the way, Libby is a black woman and Jack is white. The only reason I mention this is because of the relationship that a black woman has with her hair. When she is extremely upset that they have to shave her head, Jack doesn’t understand it. When Libby finally goes home, she still has to take it easy, and cannot work because of pain and mobility issues.
As she becomes stronger, she goes into the basement because of the dog’s fascination. She finds Eve’s diary hidden, and starts to read. Jack refuses to give a lot of details about his former wife, so Libby is forced to find out information about the woman. She also feels like Jack is still in love with his dead wife.
The reader learns that Eve Quennox leaves home when she is a teenager because her mother’s boyfriend tries to molest her. She tells her mother, who doesn’t believe. She stays with a friend she knows. Eve gets a job as an assistant at an accounting firm, but is laid off when the firm is acquired. She lies about her age to get a position as an exotic dancer at a night club.
One day she runs into Elliot, someone she worked with briefly, and they start to date, and live together. Eventually he asks her to quit her job, which she does. She later finds out that Elliot is a drug addict. He eventually gets fired and has a difficult time finding another job. He also withdraws all the money from Eve’s account to pay some of his debt. Things get really bad, so she becomes a prostitute. Eve feels like her options are limited because they are so deep in debt that working at certain jobs simply won’t do.
Eventually, she meets a man by the name of Caesar. He treats her well, then his true colors emerge. Now he uses Eve as his sex slave, threatening to kill her if she leaves him. His eyes tell her everything she needs to know. We learn how she meets Jack. Much to her chagrin, Caesar is Hector, Jack’s father. What a web of mess. When Jack finds out, he has a very hard time dealing with it. How would you feel if you learned that your girlfriend also slept with your dad?
Eve and Libby are so different. They make very different choices, even in similar situations. When Libby was working on her PhD, and wanted to do research in a specialized area, she had problems securing funding. Libby finally finds a company that promises to fund her research. During the meeting, the executive tells her that in return for getting the funding, Libby has to sleep with him. Because it is her only funding source, Libby has to walk away from her studies. And she does it because she knows where her line in the sand is.
When Libby first meets Hector, she likes him more than his wife Harriet. But she soon finds out his true nature. There is a rift between Hector and Jack, which started years ago.
On Jack’s fifteen birthday, Hector takes him to a prostitute, so he can lose his virginity. He refuses and his father is not happy with him. Jack learns that his father cheats on his mom all the time.
Jack wants to save himself for the right partner. In a twist of fate, Jack loses his virginity to Eve. So Eve will always be special to him, even in death.
Libby discovers that Hector is quite cruel. She makes the mistake of telling him that she has Eve’s diary. Hector sends thugs to intimidate her, and he visits their home when he knows that his son is at work. He threatens her, but Libby receives a phone call from Jack while his father is there. Using the opportunity, Libby outmaneuvers her father-in-law. The story has a surprising finish, but when the reader thinks about, it’s not so surprising at all.
Conclusion: The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson
The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson is a page turner, and is a book you will love.
The Woman He Loved Before
Dorothy Koomson Collection 4 Books SetDorothy Koomson 7 Books Collection Pack Set
