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A review by ptstewart
The Husbands by Chandler Baker
4.0
I was intrigued the whole way, which is no small feat. The Husbands characterizes the challenges feminism attempts to confront in an intricate and deeply relatable manner—it would be difficult to not sympathize with Nora. She’s thoughtful, her train of thought is believable, and her struggle is palpable.
Based on the narration alone, the writing is strong, the voice is engaging, and there’s a quality to Nora that makes the reader stand by her, even if her logic is sometimes flawed.
Admittedly, I think it is possible that the book could have been shorter; the final reveal, explained in a cliche villainous monologue, comes after a longwinded series of events, which I’m not sure the plot needs. That said, I was never yearning to skip ahead, and I was always trying to pick up important clues (turns out that while I identified some of them, I failed to connect them to the story), so Baker had my attention.
I personally love a devious villain, and I love a sophisticated woman, so to put them together is extra exciting for me. But I also feel a twinge of boredom at the “violence for the sake of feminism” type, especially when better communication and divorce really are options. Allowing your partner to steamroll you until you break and being unwilling to have an actual adult conversation, which seem to both be the case for Nora, feels a bit like lazy motivation.
Based on the narration alone, the writing is strong, the voice is engaging, and there’s a quality to Nora that makes the reader stand by her, even if her logic is sometimes flawed.
Admittedly, I think it is possible that the book could have been shorter; the final reveal, explained in a cliche villainous monologue, comes after a longwinded series of events, which I’m not sure the plot needs. That said, I was never yearning to skip ahead, and I was always trying to pick up important clues (turns out that while I identified some of them, I failed to connect them to the story), so Baker had my attention.
I personally love a devious villain, and I love a sophisticated woman, so to put them together is extra exciting for me. But I also feel a twinge of boredom at the “violence for the sake of feminism” type, especially when better communication and divorce really are options. Allowing your partner to steamroll you until you break and being unwilling to have an actual adult conversation, which seem to both be the case for Nora, feels a bit like lazy motivation.