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This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage

Ann Patchett

really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 22,295 ratings · 3,309 reviews

The New York Times bestselling author of State of Wonder, Run, and Bel Canto creates a resonant portrait of a life in this collection of writings on love, friendship, work, and art.

"The tricky thing about being a writer, or about being any kind of artist, is that in addition to making art you also have to make a living." Bringing her narrative gifts to bear on her own ...more

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Published November 5th 2013 by HarperAudio (first published December 11th 2011)

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Nov 01, 2013 Diane rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, audiobooks, essays, writers-on-writing

O Ann Patchett, how I adore thee. This is a marvelous collection of essays from one of my favorite writers, most of which I had never read before.

Before becoming a bestselling novelist, Patchett made a living by writing articles for various magazines, including Seventeen, Vogue, Gourmet, Outside and The New York Times Magazine. Over the years, she stacked up a significant pile of essays, and a friend recently nudged her into putting her favorites into a collection. Pieces date from the 1990s up O Ann Patchett, how I adore thee. This is a marvelous collection of essays from one of my favorite writers, most of which I had never read before.

Before becoming a bestselling novelist, Patchett made a living by writing articles for various magazines, including Seventeen, Vogue, Gourmet, Outside and The New York Times Magazine. Over the years, she stacked up a significant pile of essays, and a friend recently nudged her into putting her favorites into a collection. Pieces date from the 1990s up until 2012, with topics on divorce, marriage, her dog, her grandmother, a Catholic education, opera, being a writer, censorship, solitude, bookstores, floods, Christmas, the Los Angeles Police Department, and driving a Winnebago around the American West. Something for everyone!

My favorite essay in the collection was "The Getaway Car," something every aspiring writer should read. Patchett lays down how she started writing, and gives some solid advice for anyone who wishes to be one. Another favorite was the titular essay, "This is the Story of a Happy Marriage," where she discusses why her first marriage ended in divorce and how she came to be happily married to her second husband. She has insights that any person should consider before getting married.

I struggled over which quote to share in this review, because truthfully, there are wise and beautiful sentences on every page. To pull one out of context is like plucking a rose from a flower bed -- yes, it looks pretty in a vase, but doesn't it look so much more lovely with its friends in the garden?

I finally chose a quote from "The Bookstore Strikes Back," about how she came to open and co-own an independent bookstore in Nashville after all the others had closed. She got a lot of press when the store opened, including making the front page of The New York Times.

"I have inadvertently become the spokesperson for independent bookstores. People still want books; I've got the numbers to prove it. I imagine they remember the bookstores of their own youth with the same tenderness that I remember mine. They are lined up outside most mornings when we open our doors because, I think, they have learned through this journey we've all been on that the lowest price is not always the best value ... Maybe we just got lucky. But my luck has made me believe that changing the course of the corporate world is possible. Amazon doesn't get to make all the decisions; the people can make them by how and where they spend their money. If what a bookstore offers matters to you, then shop at a bookstore. If you feel that the experience of reading a book is valuable, then read the book. This is how we change the world: we grab hold of it. We change ourselves."

If you are new to Patchett, this collection is a good place to start. I would also recommend her novels "Bel Canto" and "State of Wonder" -- she's written several others but those two are my favorites -- and the wonderful memoir "Truth and Beauty." Three cheers for Ann Patchett!

First read: December 2013
Second read: November 2016 ...more

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Apr 12, 2015 Glenn Sumi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, favorites

This is the story of a happy reader.

Ann Patchett is best known as a novelist (Bel Canto, State Of Wonder). But as she proves here and in her memoir Truth & Beauty , she’s also a brilliant non-fiction writer: sharply observant, warm, intelligent. She’s incapable of writing an awkward or dishonest sentence.

The title of this book is named after one of the essays, about her long-simmering but in the end inevitable and absolutely correct decision to marry her husband Karl, after a disastrous ...more

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Aug 29, 2013 Frances rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: grown-up-books, arcs, autobiography-and-memoir, read-in-2013

Disclaimer: after meeting Ann Patchett, I am head over heels. I've loved her writing since Bel Canto, but I've gained a new level of appreciation for her since hearing her speak. She is charming, gracious, and witty. Reading her essays is like spending more time with her, and I can't get enough. I found so many things that I relate to in these essays, and a few areas where we are different enough that I gained a new sense of perspective.

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May 15, 2019 Cathrine ☯️ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone

Recommended to Cathrine ☯️ by: Karen's review

Shelves: audiobook, biography-memoir-essays, earphones-award

I laughed, I cried, I pondered. I ended up feeling like my heart expanded. Read by the author in a warm, engaging, candid manner, in my opinion an audio book on my walks doesn't get better than this.

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Jan 08, 2014 Yaaresse rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: first-read-2014, non-fiction, memoir, essay-or-article-collections

I suspect the praise for this book comes from one (or both) of two camps:
1. Women who have read and loved Patchett's novels and are die-hard fangirls.
2. Women who desperately dream of being writers and are at that stage where they inhale any advice from any published writer that might tell them how to do it.

Sexist? Perhaps. Maybe there are men who love her work. I just doubt there are many of them.

I picked up this book because I heard a Fresh Air interview with Patchett in which she I suspect the praise for this book comes from one (or both) of two camps:
1. Women who have read and loved Patchett's novels and are die-hard fangirls.
2. Women who desperately dream of being writers and are at that stage where they inhale any advice from any published writer that might tell them how to do it.

Sexist? Perhaps. Maybe there are men who love her work. I just doubt there are many of them.

I picked up this book because I heard a Fresh Air interview with Patchett in which she described a touching story about caring for her grandmother and a funny story about how people kept misinterpreting her desire for (and overindulgence of) a dog for a ticking biological clock. As it turns out, those were two of the four stories in this collection that held interest for me. (The other two were the story about her father, a retired LAPD officer, and her experience applying to the LAPD Academy. I also enjoyed her essay on rural Tennessee.) She gave away half the good stuff from those in the interview, and what remained was far less interesting. The first 50 or so pages are taken up with advice to writers -- most of which comes across as self-congratulatory and certainly not encouraging. There's a thread of contempt and low-level anger throughout the entire book, but it really shows up when she shifts into "I am the writer, take heed of my wisdom" mode.

When she's writing about her father, grandmother, dog or hometown, Patchett can be funny, poignant, or amiable. (Sometimes more than one of those.) When she's writing about her career, the rest of her family or other relationships, more often than not she comes across as arrogant, defensive, entitled, and prickly. There's too much of the later and too little of the former for an entire book.

Would my opinion have been different had I first read one of her novels? I don't know. At this point, reading this book only reinforced my opinion that Terri Gross can make anyone look interesting in a Fresh Air interview; it did nothing to make me want more exposure to Patchett's other work. ...more

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Nov 26, 2013 Larry H rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Many people ask me how I select the books I read. Sometimes they've been recommended by someone else whose preferences are similar to mine, or I've read enthusiastic reviews about them. In other cases, I've been intrigued by the title or even the cover. (Never underestimate the power of a stroll through a bookstore when you can find one.) But quite often, I choose books written by authors whose books I've come to love. There is a growing list of authors I'm constantly looking up on Amazon to see Many people ask me how I select the books I read. Sometimes they've been recommended by someone else whose preferences are similar to mine, or I've read enthusiastic reviews about them. In other cases, I've been intrigued by the title or even the cover. (Never underestimate the power of a stroll through a bookstore when you can find one.) But quite often, I choose books written by authors whose books I've come to love. There is a growing list of authors I'm constantly looking up on Amazon to see when their next book will be released, authors whose books I read sight unseen, unless they're a major departure from their usual work.

Ann Patchett is definitely one of those authors. I first became familiar with her after reading the marvelous Bel Canto, then read her earlier books and have devoured all of the books she has written since then, fiction and nonfiction. So I was intrigued to read This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, a collection of articles and other writings she has published in a wide variety of media, from The Atlantic Monthly and The New York Times to Gourmet and Granta, even her introduction to the volume she edited for The Best American Short Stories collection.

Contrary to the title, this isn't just a book about marriage, although several of the articles touch on different aspects of her relationship with her husband Karl through the years. But many of the articles touch on other relationships—her brief, disastrous first marriage; her friendship with the late poet Lucy Grealy (which Patchett so lovingly recounted in her book Truth & Beauty; her grandmother; her dog; one of the nuns that taught her in Catholic school; even her relationship with her work. And still other articles talk about her need for and love of the occasional solitary vacation; her experiences trying out for the LAPD and getting to understand the RV culture; becoming the co-owner of an independent bookstore in Nashville; and her love of short stories.

"Many of the essays I'm proudest of were made from the things that were at hand—writing and love, work and loss. I may have roamed in my fiction, but this work tends to reflect a life lived close to home."

As always, Patchett's writing is thought-provoking, humorous, and, at times, tremendously moving. The articles aren't arranged in chronological order in the book, and they're written for different purposes, so it may take a minute to get your bearings for you to realize where in Patchett's life a particular essay is taking place. (In some she's married, in others she's dating her future husband; in some her dog is a puppy and in some her dog is elderly.) But Patchett always provides context for what she's talking about so it's interesting to get so many different perspectives.

There were so many instances in which I marveled at what Patchett had to say. Her use of language is so dazzling at times I had to re-read paragraphs or sentences to get the full extent of their power. In the title essay, for example, when she recounts the tumultuous relationship she and her husband had in the years before they were married: "I try to study our happiness so that I will be able to remember it in the future, just in case something happens and we find ourselves in need. These moments are the foundation upon which we build the house that will shelter us into our final years, so that when love calls out, 'How far would you go for me?' you can look it in the eye and say truthfully, 'Farther than you would ever have thought was possible.'"

And one other example, from "Dog Without End," a beautiful tribute to her dog: "Sometimes love does not have the most honorable beginnings, and the endings, the endings will break you in half. It's everything in between we live for."

I loved this book as much as I've loved Patchett's fiction. I feel tremendously fortunate to have gotten so much insight into her life, her mind, and her heart, and I think this will help enhance my enjoyment of her future work even more. If you like her writing, definitely pick this up. It's tremendously captivating, even if you choose to read it a little at a time rather than all at once. Don't miss out. ...more

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Nov 23, 2013 Debbie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-memoirs, best-reads-2012-through-2019, almost-all-time-faves, favorite-authors, writing

Since “State of Wonder” is one of my absolute favorite books, I of course had to read this new book of essays. It did not disappoint; her way with words makes me feel all happy and fulfilled. She writes with candor, humor, and warmth, and she is oh so perceptive and wise.

One essay, called The Getaway Car, which I had read as a Kindle single and loved, is about writing. It grabs you and keeps you glued to the page as if it were fiction. I love the history of this essay title: She worked as a ...more

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Mar 31, 2017 ☮Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: overdrive, short-stories, audio, read-in-2017, nonfiction, 4000-books, favorites

I've something of a curiosity about what makes writers tick, from where do they get their inspiration. Like Anna Quindlen, Ann Patchett not only writes tremendous fiction, she gets an A+ for her non-fiction as well. These are her personal experiences. It was great getting to know her, as I think she'd make a great friend.

This is not just the story of a happy marriage. It also covers her very unhappy first marriage, her mother's marriages, and her father the cop (the latter two being major ...more

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Dec 31, 2016 JanB rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

The title is a tad misleading. This is a compilation of various articles the author has written over the years for various publications. The first few were about her experiences on becoming an author. I'm not an author, nor do I have plans to become one, but I enjoyed the conversational tone and the insights into a profession I know little about.

The remaining essays are on a variety of subjects and the author can be quite funny and self-deprecating. Nor does she leave out the unflattering ...more

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Oct 08, 2014 Mona rated it liked it · review of another edition

Not my cuppa

This collection of essays, many of them written for "The Atlantic" or "The New York Times" sometimes left me feeling bored and cold, although there were exceptions.

The piece in which Ann takes the rigorous entrance exams for the LA PD police academy is quite interesting. So too is the essay about how she was picketed at Clemson University when she went to speak there, because certain local conservatives thought her book, "Truth and Beauty" contained too many sex and drug scenes. ...more

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Jan 02, 2014 Jennifer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, essays

How is it possible that Ann Patchett and I are not BFFs? Reading this book of essays was like catching up with a girlfriend over a glass of wine and several pounds of cheese. My intention was to read this sparingly, interspersed between other books like a palate cleanser, but instead I kept saying, "I'll just read one more...". Ann (I feel like we should be on first name basis at this point) has certainly lived a life. I loved the story of her bid to get into the police academy - not only ...more

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Jun 12, 2017 Debra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is OFFICIALLY my favorite Ann Patchett book!!!!! (I put "OFFICIALLY" in BIG print thus making my statement really official!)

I am actually surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. I am not a short story, essay, article type of gal. I like novels - novellas are fine but I'm not a short story or article reader. Having said that, Ann Patchett may have changed things for me because as I mentioned, I loved this book i.e. collection of articles/essays. I love how she blended the events This is OFFICIALLY my favorite Ann Patchett book!!!!! (I put "OFFICIALLY" in BIG print thus making my statement really official!)

I am actually surprised that I liked this book as much as I did. I am not a short story, essay, article type of gal. I like novels - novellas are fine but I'm not a short story or article reader. Having said that, Ann Patchett may have changed things for me because as I mentioned, I loved this book i.e. collection of articles/essays. I love how she blended the events of her life with literature.

This book consists of essays/articles that have been published elsewhere. The essays can be read in any order the reader chooses. Previous books I have read by Patchett have earned 3 to 4 star ratings from me. This book has eclipsed the other books I have previously read. I love that this book deals with the real person- with her life. This book feels more "real"evicting words such as "honest" and "raw". We see her as a child, then at college, on a book tour, being married, her dog Rose, her bookstore, to name a few of the times she lets the reader into her life. Don't let the word "Marriage" fool you in the title...this book is about her two marriages but it is also about so much more. This book also deals with friendship, writing, family, loss, working, having a pet, etc. The result of this look back on her life is moving, entertaining, enlightening, and insightful (who knew she tried out for the LAPD police academy?). We not only get to see and digest her words, we get a glimpse into her life through her perspective.

I really enjoyed getting to "know" this Author a little better. I wish I could thank her for allowing me to walk down her memory lane. Not only is it quite lovely to learn about her life, the reader gets to do so in such a wonderful way! Patchett has a gift. Her writing seems effortless. Her prose is beautifully, emotionally moving and actually puts the reader into the action. Her writing is succinct and thought provoking.

See my reviews at www.openbookpost.com ...more

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Aug 21, 2013 PorshaJo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: challengereads

I loved this book. So many different essays here and after reading them I think I know a lot more about Anne Patchett. I had to think about my rating on this one. Anytime I read anything by this author I always compare the book to Bel Canto, which is an amazing book and one of my favorites. But I must stop doing this. This book was so different and you just can't compare the two. I think my favorite story, which is was hard to choose one, was regarding the police academy. The wonderful thing ...more

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Sep 08, 2013 Elyse Walters rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is a collection of mostly prior magazine articles that Ann Patchett had done during her lifetime. She tells us from the beginning. How fun... To collect your life essays... then gather them... (Work out the details), to create a book. Perfect for this established author.
The title story is simply one story, ( a touching story), but not the overall theme.
From the start, we read about Ann's years of working for Seventeen Magazine. She also did freelance work... And submitted essays to other ...more

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Sep 09, 2013 Melanie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wonderful four-star collection that gets five stars because of the essay "The Getaway Car" (a must read for all writers out there). This book made me want to read all of Ann Patchett's previous works, especially "Truth and Beauty" and "State of Wonder". I'm also dying to visit her famous Parnassus bookstore in Nashville.

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Jan 20, 2015 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: essays, memoir, nonfiction

More than halfway through this collection of essays I begin to think that one of the most important characteristics for a successful memoirist must be good humor. Patchett wrote most of this collection of nonfiction essays earlier in her career for different publications. She supplemented those with a couple longer, deeper pieces written later: “The Getaway Car” and “This is the Story of a Happy Marriage,” “Dog Without End,” and “The Mercies,” all stories about the great loves in her life.

More than halfway through this collection of essays I begin to think that one of the most important characteristics for a successful memoirist must be good humor. Patchett wrote most of this collection of nonfiction essays earlier in her career for different publications. She supplemented those with a couple longer, deeper pieces written later: “The Getaway Car” and “This is the Story of a Happy Marriage,” “Dog Without End,” and “The Mercies,” all stories about the great loves in her life.

Together the essays comprise a history. We meet her dog, her grandmother, her husbands, her father. She recalls Lucy Grealy, the subject of her story of friendship called Truth and Beauty. We keep reading because she is a nice person and we like her. She writes well, but that isn’t all. She is irrepressible. She has character.

I am finished with the book of essays now, and I have to say I am relieved. I am relieved that her title story, “This is the Story of a Happy Marriage,” is in fact, not only about her happy marriage, but also of her earlier failed marriage, a marriage that shook her—shook some sense into her. I used to be sad that such spectacular failures were necessary, but most of us have them hidden away in a closet somewhere, ready to be unearthed and examined again for any further shards of wisdom. Mine doesn’t hurt as much now, but there is usually still an involuntary tightening of my lips before I smile, with chagrin.

Which makes me think again of Ann Patchett and her good humor. The stories she tells in this collection remind us that there are moments in a life we wish we could share with others. Patchett is not just sharing her story, she is showing us how it is done. Readers, real readers, are always going to be interested in writers. We yearn to know how they do what they do, even if it would never occur to us to do the same. But Patchett is so generous with what she knows and what she does that we can see how she does it. One thing that runs through the whole book, every essay, is that she does not take herself too seriously. She takes her craft seriously, but she tends to forgive herself and others when we don’t quite live up. Or she makes a funny joke about it.

When she mentions her mother was beautiful, the kind of beautiful that made people stop her in the street to compliment her, I had to find a photo online. I feel like I haven’t seen beautiful, naturally beautiful, in such a very long time I don’t even trust myself to know it when I see it anymore. Her mother is beautiful, it’s true. She has the kind of effortless-looking beauty that doesn’t pain one to look upon. But it didn’t make her nicer or wiser than anyone else. None of us gets it all.

Oh yes, Ann Patchett can write. This is a magnificent collection, and I recommend it heartily to everyone, anyone. It is for teens, it is for adults, it is for readers, it is for writers. It is the condensation of a life into vivid prose.
...more

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Jul 26, 2013 Julie Ehlers rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone except for tiresome snobs who think Ann Patchett is beneath them

Shelves: essay-collections, books-about-books, books-about-creativity, books-that-are-awesome

While I was reading this, I was already anticipating giving the book five stars, with four stars based on the book's merits and one star based on the fact that I'm kind of obsessed with Ann Patchett and want to be her friend. However, by the time I got to the title essay, I'd decided the book deserved five stars regardless of my slightly demented feelings toward its author. After all, I'd already read one of the book's long-form essays, "The Getaway Car," in electronic form and gave it five While I was reading this, I was already anticipating giving the book five stars, with four stars based on the book's merits and one star based on the fact that I'm kind of obsessed with Ann Patchett and want to be her friend. However, by the time I got to the title essay, I'd decided the book deserved five stars regardless of my slightly demented feelings toward its author. After all, I'd already read one of the book's long-form essays, "The Getaway Car," in electronic form and gave it five stars all on its own--it's one of the best texts on fiction writing out there, in my opinion. Just having that in a print form I can hold in my hand makes the whole book worthwhile. I cried a little while reading the title essay, a fact that will surprise anyone who knows about my decades-long skepticism about marriage (Ann shares those feelings, which makes her story of how her mind was changed more persuasive for me than I was expecting). I also cried a lot at "Dog Without End," a fact that will surprise no one who knows me and my own experiences with pets. Her essay about the controversy Truth & Beauty caused at Clemson University, and her convocation address at that school, are extremely valuable (not to mention interesting), and her piece on her bookstore, which I'd already read online several times and will probably never get tired of, is heartening for anyone who likes bookstores and actual physical books. Really, every essay in this collection is valuable--there are no weak links. I do wish she had included her cute article about her mother's publishing her first novel and immediately attaining the sort of commercial success that up until then (pre-Bel Canto) had eluded Ann--maybe the paperback version will have room for a few more essays? But that's just greed--the book is perfect as is. I feel like I'm a better person for having read it (too much?). Would make a fabulous holiday gift for the book lovers on your list, too--there's something here for everyone. What I'm trying to say is, I liked it. ...more

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Aug 30, 2013 Sarah Beth rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: harpercollins-advance-reader-copies

I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from HarperCollins.

I've read one of Ann Patchett's novels, Bel Canto, and her first memoir, Truth and Beauty, and know her to be someone capable of both smart and beautiful writing, so I was naturally excited for the chance to read her latest memoir, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. The title led me to believe that this would largely focus on her marital relationship, but instead this is a very personal look at the mainstays of Patchett's I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from HarperCollins.

I've read one of Ann Patchett's novels, Bel Canto, and her first memoir, Truth and Beauty, and know her to be someone capable of both smart and beautiful writing, so I was naturally excited for the chance to read her latest memoir, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. The title led me to believe that this would largely focus on her marital relationship, but instead this is a very personal look at the mainstays of Patchett's life, the people and things that make her who she is: her writing, her marriages, her family, her dog. Rather than a continuous work, it is a collection of short essays that were mostly published elsewhere first including in the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Vogue, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post Magazine, and others.

Patchett's intro to the book entitled "Nonfiction, an Introduction" does a great job of tying all the essays of the novel together, and give background on her own life and her history of writing articles to make a living for, as she says, "The tricky thing about being a writer, or about being any kind of artist, is that in addition to making art you also have to make a living. My short stories and novels have always filled my life with meaning, but at least in the first decade of my career, they were no more capable of supporting me than my dog was" (1). So I suppose we have the slow take off of her fiction to thank for this wonderful collection of essays written over the years, that perfectly illustrate who Ann Patchett is and what she lives for.

Although I'm not a writer myself, I especially loved the portions of this book to describe her process of writing and her own advice to other writers (i.e. don't go into debt to get a MFA). In the same way that I was captivated by Annie Dillard's description of her own writing process in The Writing Life, I loved hearing Patchett's version of events: "Imagine running over a butterfly with an SUV. Everything that was beautiful about this living thing - all the color, the light and movement - is gone. What I'm left with is the dry husk of my friend, the broken body chipped, dismantled, and poorly reassembled. Dead. That's my book" (25). I was also struck by her ability to distance herself from her books and recognize that, in the end, they are what the reader makes of them. "Chances are I can explain, in the course of a Q&A, my novel's dissatisfying ending or my character's cloudy motivations, but who's to say I'm right? Once the book is written, its value is for the reader to decide, not for me to explain" (168).

But in addition to her writing revelations, I was enamored by the person Patchett appears to be, someone who cares for her grandmother until the end of her life, who reunited with the nun who taught her grade school and was her arch enemy and ends up caring for her in her old age, how she isn't afraid to also reveal her faults - the mistakes that led to the end of her first marriage, how she conned a little girl into giving her the puppy that became her beloved dog Rose. Patchett is wise about love - "Sometimes love does not have the most honorable beginnings, and the endings, the endings will break you in half. It's everything in between we live for" (284).

I was impressed by Patchett's ability to convey herself and her life's passions into the written word. And to do so in a way that does not come across as self-indulgent or cliche. Instead she sounds like a flawed individual who is learning from her mistakes and wants to share both her triumphs and defeats with the reader in a very honest, direct way. ...more

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Nov 23, 2013 Cher rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, memoir-bio

4 stars - It was great. I loved it.

Much like with her fiction, in this memoir-ish collection of essays, Ann Patchett has a truly lovely way with words. The book starts off with a heavy focus on writing and being an author. While that is not a career I am particularly interested in, I still found those essays to be interesting. From there, however, the book branches off into much more fascinating topics, primarily relationship dynamics of all kinds.

Prior to reading this I did not know that she ...more

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Dec 31, 2013 Snotchocheez rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

(This really shouldn't have been a shock to me, given two of my GR friends extolling its virtues, but)

I have not really been a avid Ann Patchett "fan" per se, but I liked the three novels of hers I've read so far (her first, The Patron Saint of Liars, Run and her most recent State of Wonder) and thought I'd give this collection of essays a try. Let's just say I can now say after reading This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage that I am unquestionably a fan, and plan to read all of her back ...more

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Nov 19, 2013 Alena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Already a huge Patchett fan, after reading these essays I want to get in my car, drive to Parnassus Books and convince her that we should be great friends. And, yes, I know it's a little creepy, but that's how much I love her non-fiction voice. These essays cover the gamut, from books to friendship, to relationships and religion -- all my favorite topics. She inspired me to add some titles to my to-read and reminded me why I fell in love with her in the first place.
Just a fine, fine read.

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Apr 02, 2017 Lisa Montanaro rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: writing, personal-development, memoir

This is the sixth Ann Patchett book that I have read, and the second one that is nonfiction. She has an extraordinary gift for writing both fiction and nonfiction, and is, quite simply, my favorite author living today. I feel like she writes only for me, which I know is ridiculously silly, but feels like the truth when I'm devouring the words nonetheless.

"This is the Story of a Happy Marriage" is a compilation of personal essays written by Ann over many years, spanning various subjects, ...more

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Sep 17, 2013 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 I have read Ann Patchett's books for a long time now, long enough that I can see her improving in her craft, book by book. This grouping of essays cover a wide range of subjects that she has written throughout the years.

So interesting how she started her writing career and how she approaches her writing now, the care she puts into her research. Very informative Marriage, her Catholic faith, RV travel, and of course her dog Rosie. Loved how she talked about her dog, can tell she is madly in ...more

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Dec 27, 2016 Nusrah Javed rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction-read

These are the kind of essays I love to read. I have left this book with an even deeper love for Patchett! Highly recommended

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Jan 22, 2018 Trish rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, short-story

Sometimes love does not have the most honorable beginnings, and the endings, the endings will break you in half. It's everything in between we live for.

This was my first encounter with Ann Patchett and her writing and I must say I'm thoroughly impressed. In reading this collection I've realized that there are so many authors whose works I love but whom I do not know at all. The only other book I can think of that provided such a window into the author's soul was Jeannette Walls's The Glass ...more

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Sep 29, 2018 Anna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ge-nonfiction, re-america-n, st-audio, 2018, ge-essey-short-storry, in-english, st-must-have-on-paper, on-shelf-2018

This collection of essays was my first encounter with Ann Patchett and I am absolutely delighted. The texts are of various length and character, some are articles, other lectures, all strongly autobiographical - and so very readable. A perfect complement for anyone who loves her novels. But apparently also a great introduction to a new author whom I have to admit I was a bit hesitant to approach. The hesitation - might be due to the hype - since, as any contrarian knows only too well, many good ...more

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May 12, 2012 Karolyn Sherwood rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

It's no wonder I like Ann Patchett's novels so much; our lives seemed to have mirrored each other's in many ways.

This is an audiobook which Ms. Patchett (I wish she'd finally say to me, "Please, call me Ann.") narrates as a brief memoir about her current marriage, but explains that she must first tell the tale of her lineage: four generations of failed marriages. (Ironically, for me, she begins the story by saying that she was never fond of audiobooks until she heard the fantastic Jeremy Irons It's no wonder I like Ann Patchett's novels so much; our lives seemed to have mirrored each other's in many ways.

This is an audiobook which Ms. Patchett (I wish she'd finally say to me, "Please, call me Ann.") narrates as a brief memoir about her current marriage, but explains that she must first tell the tale of her lineage: four generations of failed marriages. (Ironically, for me, she begins the story by saying that she was never fond of audiobooks until she heard the fantastic Jeremy Irons read Lolita; I had just finished listening to that very recording. Kismet, don't you think?) (I also agreed with her wholeheartedly.)

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage is deeply personal and told in a calm but not syrupy voice. It would be tempting, I think, to just talk about her current husband and why it is so strong that one of Ms. Patchett's friends implores her: Tell the tale of your happy marriage. But she is bravely honest and reveals in seemingly great detail (who knows how much she left out?) how unhappy her first marriage was at age 23, and then her second major relationship (they were engaged but never married), also very dysfunctional, and she admits to a few loves along the way before she finally meets Carl, the love of her life and how she finally (after 11 years) agrees to get married again.

From her own dysfunctional upbringing, to her relationships with her (divorced) parents, her step-parents and step-siblings, it's easy to see where the depth comes from for her novels. The best line in the book was the question a friend asked her when she was contemplating leaving her second relationship. In order to help Ms. Patchett make her decision, Edra (sp?) asks, "Does he make you a better person? If yes, then work out the problems. If no, then you'll know whether or not to stay."

The audiobook is only 1 hour 18 minutes long, a bittersweet true story that goes a long way to make the rest of us realize that everyone has a story.

I see no reason not to give this Five Stars. ...more

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Oct 26, 2013 Rebecca H. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: essays

I didn’t realize when I first picked up this book that it’s a collection of essays; I thought instead that it was a memoir. But I didn’t mind — I like both genres. And, as it turns out, the essays are mostly autobiographical, so I learned a lot about Patchett’s life by reading them. Patchett is a good writer, and I liked all of the essays, some more than others, of course. The most memorable one for me wasn’t the title essay, although that was very good, but “The Bookstore Strikes Back,” about ...more

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Mar 04, 2014 Lise rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I've realised after reading this that a book of essays is just not my cup of tea. State of Wonder, Bel Canto and The Magician's Assistant are among my favourite books. I didn't really care for Truth and Beauty..... maybe it's just non-fiction by Patchett that I'm not wild about. I found myself flipping to the end of each essay to see where it was published because I was more interested in the audience than the story itself. The Wall tells the story of Patchett applying to the LAPD (her Dad was a ...more

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Jun 13, 2014 Terry rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction

I just don't know why, but I have some weird compulsion to force myself to read, if not like, Ann Patchett. I don't know where that comes from. Some of it is my snotty deigning to read what the masses are reading, according to bestseller lists; some of it is that I know people whose taste I respect and admire who are fans, and I am trying to both be one and figure out a reason to be one (heh). Anyway. I just don't like Patchett's fiction. I'm not a huge fan of Alice Sebold's or Jonathan ...more

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About Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett

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Patchett was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother is the novelist Jeanne Ray.

She moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was six, where she continues to live. Patchett said she loves her home in Nashville with her doctor husband and dog. If asked if she could go any place, that place would always be home. "Home is ...the stable window that opens out into the imagination."

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“Listen she said, everything ends, every single relationship you will ever have in your lifetime is going to end.... I'll die, you'll die, you'll get tired of each other. You don't always know how it's going to happen, but it is always going to happen. So stop trying to make everything permanent, it doesn't work. I want you to go out there and find some nice man you have no intention of spending the rest of your life with. You can be very, very happy with people you aren't going to marry.” — 73 likes

“People seem able to love their dogs with an unabashed acceptance that they rarely demonstrate with family or friends. The dogs do not disappoint them, or if they do, the owners manage to forget about it quickly. I want to learn to love people like this, the way I love my dog, with pride and enthusiasm and a complete amnesia for faults. In short, to love others the way my dog loves me.” — 55 likes

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