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A review by jordanian_reads_
My Husband by Maud Ventura
5.0
My Husband — written by Maud Ventura and translated by Emma Ramadan
This was a WTF book in the best of ways. Some have described it as a mashup of Gone Girl + Fates and Furies and that’s not a bad description. On the one hand, it’s a domestic psychological drama that is as twisty and twisted as the best of the genre. But on the other hand, this translated novel was so full of interesting observations about human behavior and relationships that I found myself highlighting passages on every other page.
This is a book about a Parisian woman who is so madly in love with her husband that thoughts of him and their relationship dominate her life. She is also an English teacher and a translator— and while these activities feel like just a way for her to pass the time until she next sees her husband, ideas of language and translation also drift through the book.
Plot-wise, I think it’s better to go in knowing less, but if you enjoy psychological dramas and/or translated lit, don’t miss out on this new release!
Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the ARC. My Husband is out now!
“Among all the rituals of shared life, the very regulated choreography of the family meal is the one that annoys me the most. This afternoon, we were two lovers sitting on a restaurant terrace; passersby could have taken us for two coworkers burning with desire for each other who have not yet dared make the first move, or two former lovers trying to say goodbye for good (impossible to know for certain from the outside). Tonight, however, the roles we perform are unambiguous: we are two parents having dinner with their children, a classic family portrayal. I play the mother and he the father. And I miss my husband.”
This was a WTF book in the best of ways. Some have described it as a mashup of Gone Girl + Fates and Furies and that’s not a bad description. On the one hand, it’s a domestic psychological drama that is as twisty and twisted as the best of the genre. But on the other hand, this translated novel was so full of interesting observations about human behavior and relationships that I found myself highlighting passages on every other page.
This is a book about a Parisian woman who is so madly in love with her husband that thoughts of him and their relationship dominate her life. She is also an English teacher and a translator— and while these activities feel like just a way for her to pass the time until she next sees her husband, ideas of language and translation also drift through the book.
Plot-wise, I think it’s better to go in knowing less, but if you enjoy psychological dramas and/or translated lit, don’t miss out on this new release!
Thank you to HarperVia and NetGalley for the ARC. My Husband is out now!
“Among all the rituals of shared life, the very regulated choreography of the family meal is the one that annoys me the most. This afternoon, we were two lovers sitting on a restaurant terrace; passersby could have taken us for two coworkers burning with desire for each other who have not yet dared make the first move, or two former lovers trying to say goodbye for good (impossible to know for certain from the outside). Tonight, however, the roles we perform are unambiguous: we are two parents having dinner with their children, a classic family portrayal. I play the mother and he the father. And I miss my husband.”