This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett 3 stars

[Karin]

This was an interesting read, but as is so often the case, it has changed how I'll see Patchett's novels forever. Almost inevitably this happens if I do this--peek too far into an author's life. It's much better to read all of her novels first and then learn about the person who wrote them. That way I'm not distracted by thinking about what she was doing in her life when she wrote the book. I have this trouble whenever I watch my brother-the-actor on screen; I can never fully immerse myself in the movie or TV show. I also have this trouble with most actors if I know too much about their personal lives.

Back to the essays, etc. Most of these appeared in national magazines. A few were speeches or from other spoken forms. All were biographical to one degree or another, or at least that's how I remember it now. I read this over a week and was reading fiction at the same time and also listening to an audiobook while driving. This gave me ample time to forget if there was one or two in there not about her life or her dog.

It was interesting to learn about how she became a writer, of course, and many other things. The title essay comes near the end. However, I didn't love this book the way I loved the two novels I have read of hers.