Archive for the ‘marriage’ Tag
Set in 1960s in a northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., Marie Bostwick’s novel, The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a misnomer– at least by today’s standards.
The housing development where the women live is new, so none of the neighbors know one another well. After visiting the local bookstore, Margaret Ryan decides to form a book club. She invites three other women to discuss Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, which has just hit the shelves. The group calls itself The Bettys.
Bostwick ascribes interesting attributes to each woman. Marilyn, Viv and Charlotte are all married with children. Charlotte is brash and creative unlike anyone Marilyn has ever met. Bitsy, the youngest and married to a much older man, is desperate to get pregnant.
The novel focuses on the personalities and friendships, which are initially in line with the times in which they live. This is primarily focused on the sexism they face in their marriages and outside their homes. Slowly, and predictably, as the women grow closer they begin to change by challenging the norms of the day.
There’s plenty of humor and nostalgia, even for those who weren’t part of that era. The women’s frustrations at not being taken seriously are palpable, but so is their joy when they are.
The final chapter takes readers to the early 2000s. As for the title, these women aren’t troublesome; rather they’re brave, progressive and evolve to become defiant. There’s little that’s unexpected, but it’s a fun read nonetheless.
The Book Club for Troublesome Women
Almost four bookmarks
2025, Harper Muse
371 pages, including acknowledgements and Discussion Questions
Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst is a gripping account of Maralyn and Maurice Bailey’s* exploits at sea.
The subtitle reveals the main elements of the narrative; yet in no way diminishes the situation upon which Elmhirst’s work is based.
The book focuses on three aspects: the couple’s backgrounds, personalities and how they met; next, sailing, shipwreck and days adrift; finally, life after their rescue (this isn’t a spoiler).
Elmhirst first captures readers’ attention by describing how the two met. Despite have similarly unhappy upbringings, their personalities were very different. Maurice was adventuresome, methodical and obstinate in his ways. Maralyn was more carefree and logical. She readily joined Maurice in his daring undertakings.
They set sail from England for New Zealand in a boat they built themselves. This is, initially, the idyllic part of the story. It all dramatically changed after their boat was hit by a whale in the Pacific Ocean far from shore. They spent 118 days at sea, afloat in a dinghy attached to a life raft. Their rations were in short supply, they had no radio and had to rely on each other to survive. How they did so was a lesson in perseverance; primarily on Maralyn’s part. She became more resolute in surviving as Maurice fell into despair.
Elmhirst relied on Maralyn’s journals, newspaper accounts and interviews with those who knew the couple. This is fascinating look at relationships and adventure; the latter section is tiresome, though.
Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck
Almost-four bookmarks
Riverhead Books, 2025
256 pages
*Photo from nzherald.co.nz
Sarah and Adam Morgan have been married for 10 years. She’s a successful Washington, D.C., defense attorney; he’s a struggling writer. While professing their love to each other, it’s clear not everything is ideal. She works too much, often missing commitments made to Adam. He’s often on his own. So much, in fact, he’s having an affair. Sarah learns about Adam’s infidelity after he’s accused of murdering his paramour.
Author Jeneva Rose’s The Perfect Marriage has an abundance of twists and turns; in fact, there are too many. There are plenty of obvious suspects besides Adam; there are also characters who suddenly become suspects. The latter really weren’t necessary to add to the mix, but there they are.
Rose also requires her readers to suspend a lot of disbelief. First, Sarah insists on representing her husband. The likelihood of this being allowed is too slim to fathom. Then there’s Adam’s mother who worms herself into situations that also would be unacceptable in criminal cases. The most egregious element of all is the manipulation of the reader’s trust.
Initially, Rose’s characters, particularly Sarah and Adam, are sympathetically portrayed. It’s difficult not to root for them, even though they are far from perfect. Yet, Adam’s imperfections are the most detailed, so at some point it’s easy to wonder what Sarah sees in him.
The relationships with other characters, including the investigating officers, Sarah’s personal assistant and Sarah’s office nemesis all play into the blindsiding outcome.
The strikeout in the word perfect is intentional.
The Perfect Marriage
Three bookmarks
Blackstone Publishing, 2024
375 pages
I’ve struggled with how to review All Fours by Miranda July about a woman’s search for, well, more particularly when it comes to sex.
The unnamed narrator, an artist, by all accounts has a good, if not completely satisfying life with her husband and child. After receiving a large sum of money for the use of some of her work, she plans a trip to New York City. Rather than flying, she drives.
She stops 30 miles from her Southern California home, briefly meets Davy, learns his wife is an interior decorator stays at a nondescript motel. There she uses the money to hire the young man’s wife to redecorate the room.
While the upscale redecorating takes place our narrator fantasizes about the man, the man and his wife and mostly the man being with her.
Rather than a road trip, the novel becomes a jaunt through sexual fantasies. Once the remodel is complete, the narrator and Davy routinely meet. He’s adamant about not having sex with the narrator, their relationship is a close to being unconsummated as it gets. This is only the first third of the novel.
The remaining thirds feature plenty of sexual escapades that do occur in the posh room, but all involve women. Once home again, the narrator’s marriage becomes a co-living, co-parenting relationship; and she returns weekly to the motel room where she meets other women.
There’s humor and sex so this may be for the faint hearted. There’s also a lot of repetition.
All Fours
Three Bookmarks
Riverhead Books, 2024
326 pages
Josie Fair meets Alix Summer on the night of their 45th birthday; they were born the same day, the same year in the same hospital.
In None of This is True, Lisa Jewell has crafted a dark thriller difficult to put down.
Alix is a popular podcaster and Josie leads a seemingly quiet, unassuming life. That is, until she convinces Alix to feature her as the subject of a podcast. As Josie shares her life story: meeting her husband, Walter when in her early teens. Despite the 27-year age difference, they marry and have two daughters who are now grown. One ran away from home when she was 16; the other stays closeted in her bedroom playing video games.
Alix is the mother of two school-age children and married to a successful businessman. They’re experiencing some rough spots, but she’s confident they will pass.
Chapters are identified by date beginning June 8, 2019, continuing to March 2022 – with a few gaps of weeks and months. Also interspersed in most chapters are the texts from the interviews Alix conducted with Josie and descriptions of a “Netflix Original Series” based on the interviews, and more, entitled “Hi! I’m your Birthday Twin.”
It’s evident early there’s something unsettling about Josie. It’s not just the story of meeting her husband at such a young age, there are also glimpses of odd, disconcerting behavior. Still, Alix is intrigued and ready for a new project.
As the narrative progresses, it’s difficult not to question who’s genuine.
None of This is True
Four Bookmarks
Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023
370 pages
Punctuation in Elizabeth’s Strout’s new novel, Oh William!, is important to note. There’s no comma after Oh and the exclamation mark is, indeed, a point of emphasis. Those who’ve read Strout’s previous works will be familiar with William’s ex-wife, Lucy Barton. If introduced here to Lucy for the first time, there’s enough about her past and how it factors into her relationship with William.
To say they’re cordial to one another is an understatement; though long divorced, they are friends, even confidantes, but certainly not lovers. They have two grown daughters, share holidays and are, simply, part of each other’s lives.
Each remarried years ago, although Lucy’s second husband is deceased and William’s third wife has recently left him.
Strout’s writing is terse, efficient and occasionally melancholy. Told from Lucy’s perspective, the narrative focuses on William and, significantly, his late mother. When William discovers a family secret he’s compelled to learn more. A road trip ensues and he asks Lucy to join him. She agrees.
Lucy notes early in the novel that William has always exuded confidence something that manifested itself in his position as a scientist and NYU professor. As a writer, Lucy is observant, attune to those around her. Through her eyes, the reader witnesses William’s certainty begin to diminish, while her own grows stronger.
The title can be read as both a lament (even sans comma) and celebration; both are fitting. Oh William! is a testament to the power of friendship, especially as one ages. Hurray Lucy!
Oh William!
Four Bookmarks
Random House, 2021
241 pages
As disturbing as The Push is by Ashley Audrain, it’s nearly impossible to put down. It’s not exactly like watching a disaster unfold before your eyes, but it’s close.
Blythe Connor’s mother was not an exemplary maternal role model; although they never met, neither was Blythe’s grandmother. Audrain offers some background about these women, which helps explains the younger woman’s anxiety about becoming a mother herself. The pressure is magnified by her husband, Fox, who’s certain she’ll be a Mother of the Year candidate.
After their daughter, Violet, is born, Fox is the parent of choice; Mother and daughter never bond. Initially, Blythe is certain it’s her fault; however, as Violet gets older, Blythe becomes convinced she’s not entirely to blame. Something isn’t right with Violet, and Fox refuses to acknowledge it.
Blythe and Fox’s marriage falls apart, something revealed early in the novel. Audrain uses a direct address approach to Fox for Blythe to explain her side of the story. She recounts falling in love with him in college, the early days of their marriage, and Violet’s birth which marks the beginning of problems. She tries to rationalize the issues with Violet are only in her imagination. When the couple has a second child, Blythe is surprised by her deep feelings for him.
Audrain has crafted a profound, often dark, family portrait. Blythe is a sympathetic character, but the haunting question is whether or not she’s a reliable narrator. The result is compelling.
The Push
Four-and-a-half Bookmarks
Pamela Dorman Books, 2021
307 pages
It’s difficult not to marvel at Marie Benedict’s how’d-she-do-it in The Mystery of Mrs. Christie which takes the famous mystery writer’s disappearance as inspiration while adding a twist the title character would surely applaud.
Agatha Christie did, indeed, disappear resulting in an extensive search, massive media coverage and abundant speculation – something that continued long after she was found. When her car was discovered abandoned in early December 1926, the worst was feared. The explanation, when she reappeared 11 days later, was amnesia.
Benedict divides the chapters in her novel into two sections: The Manuscript and Days after the Disappearance – beginning with Dec. 4 to Dec. 14. The former recounts the relationship between Agatha and her husband, Archie, from courtship to his later infidelity and demand for a divorce. The alternating chapters describe Archie’s reactions, suspicions toward him and efforts to find the renowned writer.
References to Christie’s early works are made and Benedict provides a glimpse as to how mysteries became the genre of choice for the British author. The writing is engaging and the characters are vibrant. Archie, for example, is portrayed as a complete cad. He’s selfish, cold and calculating. However, when it comes to calculating, Agatha Christie, literally, wrote the book – several of them, in fact. Something Archie’s self-centered personality keeps him from recognizing, let alone appreciating.
Admittedly, the initial significance of the manuscript and its tie to the mystery eluded me. I’d likely be a disappointment to Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot; Marie Benedict would not.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
Four-and-a-half Bookmarks
Sourcebooks, 2021
264 pages plus Reading Group Guide and “A Conversation with the Author”
I knew a couple who, after becoming empty nesters, announced they now live in “Naked City.” I appreciated this for its literal and figurative meanings. Not only could bodies be bare, so could parental responsibilities (of course, these never fully disappear, only their dominance over daily life). For many couples the milestone raises the question: what next?
Kim Brown Seely addresses this in Uncharted: A Couple’s Epic Empty-Nest Adventure Sailing from One Life to Another. I learned about it from a friend’s podcast, nuWriters. The hosts discussed the book one week and interviewed Seely the next. Both episodes intrigued me. Seely shares the emotions associated with a new phase of life with honesty and humor, she also provides vivid descriptions of the journey she and her husband, Jeff, undertook aboard a 54-foot sailboat through the Salish Sea and Inside Passage to the Great Bear Rainforest.
The Seelys are successful professionals, married for nearly 30 years when their two sons are both soon to be in college; their youngest as a freshman. As if launching him isn’t enough of a new experience, they magnify it by embarking on a sailing expedition, which serves multiple purposes including to reconnect as a couple and to seek the elusive white bear (known as the spirit bear).
Although her husband had some sailing experience, Seely did not. This doesn’t deter them, and the two learn to, literally, navigate together. It’s not always easy, but even as their relationship is stretched, so does it become stronger.
Unchartered: A Couple’s Epic Empty-Net Adventure Sailing from One Life to Another
Four Bookmarks
Sasquatch Books, 2019
275 pages
A Long Petal of the Sea – the title of Isabel Allende’s new novel, refers to Pablo Neruda’s poem describing Chile. It’s an absorbing story about love, country and belonging.
When introduced, Roser is a young shepherd girl with an impressive ear for music. This provides opportunities far beyond expectations – including an education leading to a music scholarship at university in Barcelona. The Spanish Civil War is well underway.
Roser falls in love with the younger son of her music mentor, but it’s the older son, Victor, with whom she spends most of her life. From Spain, Roser and Victor arrive in France separately as refugees. They reconnect and, with the onset of World War II, realize they need to leave Europe and seek passage to Chile. Naruda led the charge getting Spanish refugees to his country. However, Roser and Victor must marry in order to travel together. What begins as a marriage of convenience slowly evolves into something much deeper.
As they settle into their new lives in Santiago, Roser pursues her music career and establishes a name for herself in South America. Victor continues his medical studies and becomes a doctor. He also has a brief liaison with the daughter of an upper class family.
Each chapter begins with a verse from a Naruda poem. The narrative moves through civil unrest in Chile, moments of professional success, parenting, another exile and love. Allende makes it clear, belonging is not just fitting into a place, but being with the right person.
A Long Petal of the Sea
Four Bookmarks
Ballantine Books, 2020
314 pages
The Blue Page Special 
