Welcome to Litsy!

I couldn‘t put this one down and read it in an evening, which never happens. I was expecting more of a “thriller” than what this is: a critique of the patriarchy. I‘m not saying all men are as horrible as the husband in this, but Manguso got so many things right—it‘s horrible but comical, a train wreck. I loved the relationship and inner thoughts Jane (wife) had with and about her son. This portrait of a marriage is one of my new favorites.

This book chronicles a woman‘s relationship from beginning to end of the man who becomes her husband then her ex. He‘s a rage-inducing, entitled man-child, which made the whole thing beyond frustrating (I could never understand why she was with him in the first place). It‘s hard to say I “liked” this, but it‘s really well done.

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Audio narration definitely not working on this one. 😒

This book is not for everyone but I thought it did a great job of summing up an abusive marriage. The entire book is told in the narrator‘s thoughts, one thought at a time. Her husband does so many jerky things which she balances out with the nice things. And of course she hangs on to those nice things, allowing herself to ignore or explain away the bad things. Well worth reading as it really rings true.

Loved this book about the anger that‘s boiling inside a wife and mother who is putting her family‘s needs before her own. Very relatable.
Thanks to NetGalley and the for the advance copy.

I have no words to describe how much this book enraged me…So I believe that it served its purpose.

Jane and John‘s relationship is full of red flags from the start. But they persist, get married, have a child…

And what Manguso does is take you along through a horrible roller-coaster ride that you don‘t want to get down from (because the writing is THAT good!).

Read this!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pub Date: 7/23/24 #NetGalley

Started this book today and read 25% in one sitting. Happy that I gave Mancuso another chance! #arc #NetGalley

Got approved for this e-ARC through #NetGalley today. I tried reading Very Cold People by this author, but ended up DNFing…This looks more up my alley so I‘m excited to read another Manguso.