The Woman Upstairs

I just started reading The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud.  It was recommended by Good Reads as one of the nominees for best books of 2013 and the plot description sounded intriguing to me.  My mom also started reading it last week and told me she couldn't put it down.  We typically share the same taste in books so I decided I would start it after finishing The Accidental Mother.

Here is a basic plot summary from Good Reads:

"Nora Eldridge, a 37-year-old elementary school teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is on the verge of disappearing. Having abandoned her desire to be an artist, she has become the "woman upstairs," a reliable friend and tidy neighbour always on the fringe of others' achievements. Then into her classroom walks a new pupil, Reza Shahid, a child who enchants as if from a fairy tale. He and his parents--dashing Skandar, a half-Muslim Professor of Ethical History born in Beirut, and Sirena, an effortlessly glamorous Italian artist--have come to America for Skandar to teach at Harvard.

But one afternoon, Reza is attacked by schoolyard bullies who punch, push and call him a "terrorist," and Nora is quickly drawn deep into the complex world of the Shahid family. Soon she finds herself falling in love with them, separately and together. Nora's happiness explodes her boundaries--until Sirena's own ambition leads to a shattering betrayal."

This description immediately drew me in for several reasons:
1) I am a teacher and it is amazing how quickly you can connect to some students and how much you feel responsbile for helping them.
2) I felt like Nora was well-described and I felt like I could empathize with her.

The plot intrigued me.  I wanted to know how Nora's influence helped Reza and his family; I also wanted to know why she was "disappearing" and if she came back from being "the woman upstairs."

So far, I really like the writing style.  Claire Messud has done a nice job of establishing Nora's voice and I really feel connected as a reader.  I am only 12% in right now though, so I have a ways to go.  The only thing that makes me a bit leery are some of the reviews on Good Reads (see link above).  Several were fairly negative, but I will continue to have an open mind as long as I'm still enjoying the book.  And so far, I am.