A review by breanneporter
My Husband by Maud Ventura

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Le sigh. I listened to this one on audio and stuck with it even as the protagonist's endless monologue drove me crazy because it was short and I hoped it was going somewhere interesting. Unfortunately it just wasn't for me. It follows one week in the life of a 40-year-old French woman who is single-mindedly concerned, distressingly and obsessively so, with whether her husband is going to leave her. She claims to be desperately in love with her husband even as she punishes him for small indiscretions and sleeps with other men - it's an incredibly toxic and disturbing relationship and her relentless questions to herself about what her husband is feeling and thinking in any given moment were grating and hard to get through. The only way she refers to her spouse is "My husband," a phrase she says no less than 1,000 times over the course of this very short novel. The ending was not as interesting as I'd hoped and didn't lead, in my opinion, to any thoughtful commentary about heterosexuality. Would not recommend.