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sophierayton's review
3.0
Quiet, devastating and beautiful. The writing is in the style of an internal monologue and skips about all over the place like real thoughts and memories do. Difficult topics are covered with the same weight as everything else, as if to say that when you get old, you realise that everything you worried about ceases to matter. I struggled with this idea but think the way it's done is profound.
pattireadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
Although this was a short novel (190 pages), this author's work will stick with me. It was equal parts sweet and sad, with a gorgeous way of describing a marriage that has come to an unexpected, abrupt end. The style was unique in that it truly seemed to capture how a lot of people think....one memory that evolves into a completely different thought, that may or may not come back to the initial memory. I also appreciated the poetry, it was really beautiful. I loved Philip's character, but was a little put off by Nina and her reckless behavior. I would love to delete a lot of her actions, but making everything perfect in a novel defeats the purpose of the message I suppose. Really glad I invested the time to read something completely different than I normally pick up...will add some more Lily Tuck to my bookshelf:-)
beckyreadsitall's review against another edition
3.0
The premise of this novel is Nina goes up to get her husband Phil before dinner one night (he was going to rest on their bed for a bit after work), and finds that he has passed away. She takes the evening and night to sit with him - before calling anyone to come get his body or all the logistics that come with death. As she sits with him, she thinks back on their marriage, so the story jumps from past to present.
When I first finished this book I didn't quite know how to feel about it. The beginning was lovely, and the pacing had almost a quiet dreaminess about it. There were parts of the story I didn't like or normally wouldn't like reading about, but tried to keep an overall perspective of how this was the reflection of an overall marriage, and of course you're only reading one person's view of it.
The fewer sittings you can read this in the better - there are no chapters, so while there are plenty of natural stopping points, each time I picked it up I had to remember characters previously referenced (maybe only once or twice), and that was an adjustment because it jumps back and forth so much - sometimes it took me awhile to sink back into the story.
This story is thought-provoking, and there are parts that will stay with me, but I'm not sure if they will all be in good ways. A quick read (less than 200 pages), but definitely one that's making me say "hmmm."
When I first finished this book I didn't quite know how to feel about it. The beginning was lovely, and the pacing had almost a quiet dreaminess about it. There were parts of the story I didn't like or normally wouldn't like reading about, but tried to keep an overall perspective of how this was the reflection of an overall marriage, and of course you're only reading one person's view of it.
The fewer sittings you can read this in the better - there are no chapters, so while there are plenty of natural stopping points, each time I picked it up I had to remember characters previously referenced (maybe only once or twice), and that was an adjustment because it jumps back and forth so much - sometimes it took me awhile to sink back into the story.
This story is thought-provoking, and there are parts that will stay with me, but I'm not sure if they will all be in good ways. A quick read (less than 200 pages), but definitely one that's making me say "hmmm."
featherbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Exquisitely written story of a mostly loving marriage through vignettes as the wife looks back on their years together while at her husband's deathbed - from National Book Award Winner Lily Tuck[b:The News from Paraguay|77691|The News from Paraguay|Lily Tuck|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348259939s/77691.jpg|1325348] He is a mathematician and the book is peppered with his explanations of probability, time, numbers, Einstein. Nina is an artist and their contrasting disciplines enliven the marriage (and the story)in this quiet dream of a novel.
brona's review against another edition
3.0
A quotation from Blaise Pascal acts as epigraph for the story,
We never keep to the present. We recall the past; we anticipate the future as if we found it too slow in coming and were trying to hurry it up, or we recall the past as if to stay its too rapid flight. We are so unwise that we wander about in times that do not belong to us…
Which sets the scene for this bitter sweet story beautifully.
Philip and Nina's history is told over the course of one night.
It's the night that Philip has died in his sleep after having a little lie down after work and just before dinner. Nina sits, shocked, with Philip's body, and throughout the long night, she remembers some of the moments that made their marriage what it was - their first meeting in Paris, the birth of their daughter, Philip's career as a mathematician, the flirtations, arguments and counselling, the jealousy, the secrets and, of course, their love, that endured it all.
Philip was a mathematician, so quite a lot of probability and philosophy was thrown into the mix. His rational nature often clashed with Nina's more artistic soul and their marriage, like most, I guess, became a compromise and dance around each other's emotional abilities and needs.
Tuck throws in the occasional harsh reality check - like Nina suddenly remembering a story about an elderly local woman who was brutally raped when her home was broken into, who subsequently died, not so much from the pain, but the shame.
This is where Tuck excelled. She showed us the complicated and sometimes random nature of grief. Weird trivial thoughts and practical matters often interrupted and intruded on Nina's ability to process what had happened. The reality of her loss would hit her anew, as another memory led her back to this present moment. And then off again.
Tuck used a fragmentary style of writing which suited the in and out, to and fro nature of Nina's thoughts. The writing was sparse yet delicate as Tuck explored the age-old tragedy of how one partner will eventually predecease the other in any marriage. And that even though we all know this harsh fact right from the start, it still catches us by surprise when it actually happens.
Full review here - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/i-married-you-for-happiness-by-lily-tuck.html
We never keep to the present. We recall the past; we anticipate the future as if we found it too slow in coming and were trying to hurry it up, or we recall the past as if to stay its too rapid flight. We are so unwise that we wander about in times that do not belong to us…
Which sets the scene for this bitter sweet story beautifully.
Philip and Nina's history is told over the course of one night.
It's the night that Philip has died in his sleep after having a little lie down after work and just before dinner. Nina sits, shocked, with Philip's body, and throughout the long night, she remembers some of the moments that made their marriage what it was - their first meeting in Paris, the birth of their daughter, Philip's career as a mathematician, the flirtations, arguments and counselling, the jealousy, the secrets and, of course, their love, that endured it all.
Philip was a mathematician, so quite a lot of probability and philosophy was thrown into the mix. His rational nature often clashed with Nina's more artistic soul and their marriage, like most, I guess, became a compromise and dance around each other's emotional abilities and needs.
Tuck throws in the occasional harsh reality check - like Nina suddenly remembering a story about an elderly local woman who was brutally raped when her home was broken into, who subsequently died, not so much from the pain, but the shame.
This is where Tuck excelled. She showed us the complicated and sometimes random nature of grief. Weird trivial thoughts and practical matters often interrupted and intruded on Nina's ability to process what had happened. The reality of her loss would hit her anew, as another memory led her back to this present moment. And then off again.
Tuck used a fragmentary style of writing which suited the in and out, to and fro nature of Nina's thoughts. The writing was sparse yet delicate as Tuck explored the age-old tragedy of how one partner will eventually predecease the other in any marriage. And that even though we all know this harsh fact right from the start, it still catches us by surprise when it actually happens.
Full review here - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/i-married-you-for-happiness-by-lily-tuck.html
lil's review against another edition
3.0
So desperately sad. A woman finds her husband dead in bed after he goes up for a nap. Some reviewers have called her cold but I thought "in shock" was a much better description of her state of mind.
hrhacissej's review against another edition
3.0
While not strictly written in stream of consciousness, this story glides between the past and present - often multiple times on one page. Tuck somehow makes it work with minimal confusion though I recommend reading this book in one sitting. Otherwise, you'll start to question Nina's reticence over her current situation and a past assault.