A riveting debut novel from a rising literary star about a young woman whose husband has fallen into a coma, and her discovery of evidence that ...
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Mar 13, 2008
Mo
rated it: 
Scenester NYC girl meets NYC artistboy, they fall in love and get married and then he falls in his studio while painting and ends up comatose in a long-term care facility. By the end of the book, I hate every single one of the characters, especially the comatose husband. They all manage to be precociously duplicitious in that contemporary, Mike-Nichols-Closer-ensemble-cast-of-fuck-ups-and-adulterers kind of way. And yet...I couldn't put it down. Any novel that makes me want to find out what happ
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Mar 13, 2008
Amy
rated it: 
Boy - there is not one likeable character in this book except possibly Missy who is a car service driver. The main character, Jarvis Miller, discovers her husband (who is in a coma and on life support) was tramping around during their marriage. She develops a relationship with a group of hipsters guys and they all hang out at a laundry mat, snorting lines of coke and getting blow jobs. The best part of this book was a very accurate portrayal of gentrification in Brooklyn. She has one line wh
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Sep 10, 2008
Laura
rated it: 
Beth K from amazon.com said easily what I think: "I felt no connection to the main character. She seemed utterly unbelievable to me and without any substance. Also, I found it hard to believe that 3 men in a laundromat (also wondered about the lack of laundry facilities in their well-coifed buildings) were so eager to befriend this woman and welcome her into their circle." To that I would add: Attenberg cites Dr. Alex Haynes on "educating me on matters involving coma victims and t
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Apr 02, 2008
Keris
rated it: 
Reviewed by Sarah Hague
How would you react if your loved one had a stupid domestic accident and ended up in a coma? Would you pull the plug or hold onto the hope that s/he would wake up? How long would you hold onto that hope? A few weeks? Few months? A year?
Jarvis Miller has been waiting for her beloved husband Martin, an artist, to wake up for six years. For six years she herself has been living in a limbo-land of visiting him, waiting, loving, and
To read the rest More...
How would you react if your loved one had a stupid domestic accident and ended up in a coma? Would you pull the plug or hold onto the hope that s/he would wake up? How long would you hold onto that hope? A few weeks? Few months? A year?
Jarvis Miller has been waiting for her beloved husband Martin, an artist, to wake up for six years. For six years she herself has been living in a limbo-land of visiting him, waiting, loving, and
To read the rest More...
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Jul 26, 2007
Samantha
rated it:
This book is well written. It has an interesting premise and the character development is excellent. Why three stars then, because towards the end of the book the story takes a turn for the topical. The battle between the wife and the in laws feels forced, tacked on and unnecessary. I'm all for social commentary in fiction, but while the rest of the book is subtle and well crafted, the end hits the reader over the head with the author's "message". I hope that Attenberg's next book
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Apr 03, 2010
I picked this up after seeing it on the shelf while looking for Margaret Atwood's books. It was well worth reading. The author is a friend of Neal Pollack, which makes me like her more. If it weren't for that I would be less warm - though the narrator complains about gentrification in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and though she claims she is not a hipster, I can't help but feel that both she and the author who wrote her are part of the community they are complaining about. My skepticism aside (doubtl
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May 16, 2009
liz
rated it:
Some books set in New York City really frustrate me. It's like the authors think that the simple fact of the story being set in NYC makes it fascinating. I'm sorry, but here's a news flash: The city of New York is not a substitute for having a PLOT.
So.
"Our heroine" is a former party girl who found reformation in her marriage to an artist, who's been in a coma for the past six years. Most of the book is her being self-indulgent and lusting after the minor atte More...
So.
"Our heroine" is a former party girl who found reformation in her marriage to an artist, who's been in a coma for the past six years. Most of the book is her being self-indulgent and lusting after the minor atte More...
Apr 28, 2009
Elevate Difference
rated it:
One thing I don't expect to find in a chick lit-type book* is a line like this: "The thing about fucking on coke is, afterward, there's no rolling over and going to bed." Oh. I'd never thought of that. In fact, much of this book elicits that response from me.
The premise of The Kept Man, when stripped of both clothing and flesh is, frankly, almost implausible: Jarvis Miller has been waiting for six years for her artist husband to either die or wake up from his coma. Ok, so tha More...
The premise of The Kept Man, when stripped of both clothing and flesh is, frankly, almost implausible: Jarvis Miller has been waiting for six years for her artist husband to either die or wake up from his coma. Ok, so tha More...
Sep 17, 2009
Cindy
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 19, 2011
Kate
rated it:
having read attenberg's short story collection, i had a feeling i would like this book. i'm surprised how much i liked it. it has a very different feel from "instant love" -- it's very mature for a first novel. you'll get caught up in it quick and then race to finish in order to spell out all the secrets. i eagerly await her next book.
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Dec 29, 2007
Monica
rated it:
An introspective, moody look at a certain demographic--the rich, the idle, the heartbroken and creative. This book is richly textured, easy to sink into. There's a luxury to hanging out with these characters. Smart stuff here, too.
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Jun 13, 2011
April
rated it:
The writing was lovely, but it did not really go anywhere. Overdone with the descriptions and underdone with the plot. The ending was too convenient to believe, the artist husband has been in a coma for six years and Jarvis, the wife, plans to pull the plug. However, her in-laws protest big time over her decision. But then, as she visits him one last time, he just dies. After six years? Come on now. The basic plot of having a husband in a coma, and the half-widowhood and waiting was portrayed w
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Feb 26, 2009
Chrissy
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I randomly picked this one up and I'm not really sure why I finished it - maybe because I had a cold and spent the day in bed. There are some lovely descriptions, but for some reason it reminds me of grad school writing - very self-conscious and not really going anywhere. Also, sort of very particular at points, and way too vague at others (should that make sense). In some ways, I like it a bit more now that it's done, though it was not all that profound and the climax was a little bit over-the-
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May 26, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
Jarvis Millers husband was an up and coming artist. He has a brain aneurysm and falls into a deep coma. For 6 years Jarvis sells off his paintings to pay for medical bills, rent etc. She sees him every week, trying to find hope. After 6 years she finally admits she wishes he would just die.
One day she meets three men, "the Kept Man" club. their high power wives wear the pants and pay the bills in the family and they stay at home. tehy meet ocne a week and talk, gossip, or hav More...
One day she meets three men, "the Kept Man" club. their high power wives wear the pants and pay the bills in the family and they stay at home. tehy meet ocne a week and talk, gossip, or hav More...
May 28, 2009
mark
rated it:
"The Kept Man" is a story about a young woman lost in a relationship to a famous (well paid) painter-of-people who falls off his ladder and becomes comatose. The young woman, Jarvis Miller, has lots of money from the sale of the artwork, but no friends or life. She is isolated in New York with her only companionship her husband's agent, Alice, and sidekick, Davis - neither of whom she much likes. When her washing machine breaks, she goes to the neighborhood laundromat and meets three
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Feb 21, 2008
melanie (lit*chick)
rated it:
I loved the writing. The author has a way of getting to the heart of a situation with both eloquence and efficiency.
I liked the story. Jarvis is a half-widow, her artist husband has been in a coma for 6 years. She leads a very sheltered life having withdrawn into her loft, only leaving to visit her husband and interacting only two other people (the art dealer, and the husband's best friend).
After her dryer breaks, she is forced to enter the outside world and go to the laundroma More...
I liked the story. Jarvis is a half-widow, her artist husband has been in a coma for 6 years. She leads a very sheltered life having withdrawn into her loft, only leaving to visit her husband and interacting only two other people (the art dealer, and the husband's best friend).
After her dryer breaks, she is forced to enter the outside world and go to the laundroma More...
Oct 20, 2009
Jill
rated it:
"I have been waiting for my husband to die for six years." How can you not be sucked into a book that starts like that?!
I thought there were some real moments in this book that made me wonder how I would react if my husband were in a coma for 6 years. It makes you realize just how stuck you would be--how do you live your life? Do you go on as if nothing happened? Do you hole up in your house and not move forward? This books really makes you realize just how much of a limbo More...
I thought there were some real moments in this book that made me wonder how I would react if my husband were in a coma for 6 years. It makes you realize just how stuck you would be--how do you live your life? Do you go on as if nothing happened? Do you hole up in your house and not move forward? This books really makes you realize just how much of a limbo More...
Aug 02, 2008
Gabrielle
rated it:
Here's my review for People magazine, issue 12/17/07:
Jarvis Miller has been languishing ever since her successful artist husband, Martin, went into a coma six years ago. Before the accident (aneurysm, ladder, can of paint), life had been good. Marriage to the charismatic painter had transformed the Manhattan party girl into a happily sedate, devoted Brooklyn wife. Now she spends her days clinging to memories, visiting Martin and contending with his rapacious art dealer and letch of a More...
Jarvis Miller has been languishing ever since her successful artist husband, Martin, went into a coma six years ago. Before the accident (aneurysm, ladder, can of paint), life had been good. Marriage to the charismatic painter had transformed the Manhattan party girl into a happily sedate, devoted Brooklyn wife. Now she spends her days clinging to memories, visiting Martin and contending with his rapacious art dealer and letch of a More...
Dec 29, 2008
Courtney
rated it:
I really crawled through this one. The majority of the narrative is the thoughts of the main character, so I went pages without their being any dialogue. Usually that's not a problem for me, but I felt I really had to concentrate and pay attention to what was going on. I would say once I got a hundred pages into it, I felt more invested with the characters and wanted to know what would happen. I just feel that the book could have been shorter. I liked it, but really struggled.
Feb 03, 2008
Victoria
rated it:
Attenberg is a promising writer. I read this book because it was one of my book club's selections. My greatest struggle in the book was caring for the main character, Jarvis. I kept trying to understand her and have compassion for her, but I ended up being frustrated with her most of the time. I did think it was an interesting exploration of the issue of what to do when someone is in a coma; how lives become suspended; how grief goes on and changes; how judged some one can be for their choices a
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Mar 04, 2008
Kathy
rated it:
Awesome book....About letting go and moving on. Jarvis, the main character, is a young woman who's artist husband has been in a coma for 6 years. She loves him obsessively, and even visits him just to sleep next to him.
She accidentally makes her first friends in 6 years when her washing machine breaks down and she has to go to a laundromat. She meets 3 men who are in the "Kept Man Club"--they have breadwinner wives. She also is dealing with her husband's best friend and his More...
She accidentally makes her first friends in 6 years when her washing machine breaks down and she has to go to a laundromat. She meets 3 men who are in the "Kept Man Club"--they have breadwinner wives. She also is dealing with her husband's best friend and his More...
Oct 04, 2009
Sandee
rated it:
What would you do if your husband/partner was injured and now in a coma? That premise sucked me right into the storyline with a strong start. I really liked this literary chicklit story about Jarvis, who has been pretty much living in that same in between state along with her husband. It follows her as she takes baby steps to living again when she meets 3 married men in the laudromat and is surprised to be interested in their stories.
Apr 18, 2008
Jim
rated it:
A woman comes home from a walk to find her artist husband in a coma after falling off a ladder. It’s been several years since the accident, but as her husband’s agent pushes her to assist in putting together a retrospective of his work, more details come to light about her husband’s life -- a life she knew nothing about. It’s a pretty remarkable book because the protagonist’s situation – or rather her husband’s – never changes, yet there’s a great deal of tension and conflict. The novel is set i
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Nov 22, 2008
Carol
rated it:
A woman those husband has been in a coma for 6 years finally tries to get on with life. It took me awhile to get into it. The first third of the book is too expository, I wanted her to get on with the story, but it finished up as a pretty good book.
Feb 06, 2010
I read it to page 27, from the Fiction Book Club. I don't like the character's voice, though the story is mildly interesting with a mystery about the husband's past.
Mar 16, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
I read this book in two days. Definitely a page turner. Made me want to visit NYC, Brooklyn specifically. I agree with Beth that the end was a total cop out, and I think Attenberg has the skills to have done better.
Apr 24, 2009
Sabine
rated it:
For a first-person narrator, the protagonist remains oddly detached from all the emotional drama she's a part of. Characters and locations are flat, despite some really good ideas and subplots. It's like the author's holding back what would have given the novel life.
Apr 01, 2009
Danielle
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Another incredible tale of overcoming death and disaster well discovering shocking secrets. Jami Attenberg's writing is just as incredible as it was in "Instant Love". Both books are a must read!
Mar 21, 2009
Maggie
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I liked this book because it wasn't predictable and it wasn't pretentious and it was a nice, easy done-in-a-week read. I liked all of the flawed characters and loved the unconventional story.
Mar 22, 2009
Amy
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The kept man in the title refers to the main character's husband who has been in a coma for the last 6 years. I think the theme in this story is it is dangerous and destructive to let a man define you so when he leaves(or is in a coma) your life stops because you don't know how to be without his direction. Be strong and independent girls!
