Still Life with Husband
by Lauren Fox
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 162)
Read in April, 2008
Despite Knopf saddling this novel with an atrocious, obvious-as-hell marketing ploy of a cover, this novel wants to be taken seriously. I mean, Ms. Michiko Kakutani herself gives it her imprimatur (or at least Lauren Fox's writing), as the copy makes ample note of.
And, while I was reading this novel (as a much needed speed read break from W.G. Sebald's On the Natural History of Destruction) I did...more
And, while I was reading this novel (as a much needed speed read break from W.G. Sebald's On the Natural History of Destruction) I did...more
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Is it wrong not to want to do what everyone expects? To the world, thirty-year old Emily Ross seems to be happily married to Kevin, a sensitive guy, for nearly nine years. She knows that she should be yearning to get to the next stage in her life, a house in the suburbs and a baby in the near future, at least that’s what Kevin and her mother tell her. Lately, a strangling sense of suffocation in a marriage that seems to be getting tedious is all Emily feels. A chance meeting at a coffee shop...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
lustful urban housewives, fish-loving poets
Apparantly this is Chick Lit Month for me, a respite from my usual state of book snobbery. Lauren Fox writes winningly: I read this adultery drama in just four subway rides (two daily commutes). But I could have done without the ever-present Angel of Morality. Fox worries too much that we'll judge Emily (the main character) poorly and, in effect, ends up doing so herself. That said, Emily's relationship with her best friend Meg (who, thankfully, is no sidekick) is beautifully drawn; it's nice ...more
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Read in March, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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I won this book in my English class and I even got it signed by the author. We had an entire class with her and she seems like a really nice person. This book is even written in Milwaukee, so I thought I would be able to relate with it. However, it is written for women at a different stage of life than me, and the language itself wasn't good enough to keep me reading, so I found myself putting it down even when I was trying my hardest to get it finished. I would be interested to re-read this ...more
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Read in December, 2007
This wasn't bad, although it was a bit depressing and the narrator was a bit unlikeable. She certainly doesn't handle herself well, and she sort of gets what she deserves. The book, and the situation were realistic, if the male characters were a bit stereotypical. (The clueless, sweet husband who wants a house and family, the dashing stranger who arrives at just the right time.) I don't want to say I enjoyed it, because it wasn't a fun or a happy book, but it kept me reading all afternoon.
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Read in March, 2007
Average. Story is classic:(former) good girl cheats on husband, ruins marriage, loses lover, finds out she's pregnant... Didn't hold my interest for long reading sessions. I kept finding myself skipping ahead in the book to see what happened later. I was more interested in the best friend character that suffered through 2 miscarriages than the main character. Love the title, though.
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Read in August, 2008
Gripping because you don't read the journey of adultery and the inner turmoil or thoughts of the alleged. Fascinating and intriguing aspects of the consequences. Although I do wish who the father was in the end!
At times it made me want to explore my own options...but then reassured me of the regret and guilt that the protagonist had undergone throughout her episodes of defeat.
At times it made me want to explore my own options...but then reassured me of the regret and guilt that the protagonist had undergone throughout her episodes of defeat.
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Read in May, 2008
The plot is fairly unoriginal: 30-year-old woman feels stuck in a marriage and begins an affair. And yet, I couldn't put the book down. The writing is so beautiful - all the emotions are described with glorious accuracy and the characters are richly drawn. The author plops you in the center of Emily Ross's head (she's the main character). When it ended I wanted a sequel.
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the story is of an affair. the descriptions stay on the surface, which is sort of refreshing, but can get a little boring too. still, a semi-fun read. but, some of the intense moments could be described with more clarity--overall, this seems auto-biographical...maybe that accounts for some of the shyness in the writing. not sure.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
someone with a plane ride to occupy.
So after my intense love affair with the Phillipa Gregory Tudor books I needed a break about midway through The Queen's Fool. This was a nice chick-litty repreive, although it read like a bit of a morality tale with a ridiculously open-ended "ending." But it was a character I could relate to, which made it a quick, easy read.
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She has some really great lines....I love her description of how she felt when she first touched the other man - she felt "an elevator of lust in her stomach" - many lines like this make the book worthwhile. And the mystery ending makes it fun to guess...overall, an author to watch, definitely.
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Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
Women
This looks like chick lit but is darker than most stories about finding love, because it's about loving one's self. I was left with some questions about the narrator's character, but felt that the story played out well and wasn't too pat. Found similar themes in the memoir Eat, Pray, Love.
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Read in May, 2007
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in May, 2008
A fine, albeit probably superfluous, cautionary tale. I'll save you some time: if you cheat on your husband, he will be mad and your life will sustain some upheaval. Now, use the time I just saved you to read Mating by Norman Rush. Go! Do it!
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Read in August, 2008
This book was fair. I heard good things about it, but was pretty disappointed. It is pretty much about an unsatisfied married woman who has an affair. It is everything that is wrong with our society!!! So if I were you, I wouldn't bother.
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Read in November, 2006
The narrator/protagonist seems OK with having an affair but unwilling to own her actions or take responsibility, as if she is not complicit in someone seducing her. That really frustrated me about this novel.
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Suprisingly right on when expressing the inner workings of a young wife's mind. A little scary.
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
anywoman
This book is hysterical, it has been very enjoyable. Emily faces the questions every woman faces sooner or later. Marriage, suburbs and children. Erin, you have to read this one soon. Lisa
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Picked it up in the airport, read it on an airplane ride. By-the-numbers story of a young wife unhappy in her marriage and contemplating an affair. Some enjoyable parts, mostly forgettable.
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