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A review by eheslosz
Uncommon Arrangements: Seven Marriages by Katie Roiphe
2.0
2.5/5
The content was interesting enough for me to continue reading, but I really didn't like how this book was executed. Each of the seven relationships wasn't explored in enough detail, and it might have been better to focus on less or mix them all into one narrative because they were quite inter-linked, and the links were one of the aspects I really liked.
The writing was not to my taste, often being very hyperbolic or resorting to the same few phrases and figures of speech to seem talkative and readable. From what I have read of the letters and diaries of some of the figures discussed, Roiphe's presentation of them was reductive and conforming to stereotypes about those people that surely she would have been able to see past after actually delving into their lives through research. And I'm not saying this needed to have been a highly academic, dense book with a billion references in order to be of any value; this could have been much MORE gossip-laden and juicy to read, and STILL be excellently researched and executed. Even with all the twisting and simplifying that went on in these mini-biographies, there were still no distinctive characters built out of the narrative, and even a few days later they all seem to blend into one. Perhaps there was also an inherent problem with the seven-part form of the book which suggests a common theme and encourages you to compare/liken the seven "arrangements".
Then again the discussion set up around marriage and relationships was vaguely interesting. But it was nothing new, and could have been more developed. The premise of this book was very promising, but it was somewhat disappointing for me.
The content was interesting enough for me to continue reading, but I really didn't like how this book was executed. Each of the seven relationships wasn't explored in enough detail, and it might have been better to focus on less or mix them all into one narrative because they were quite inter-linked, and the links were one of the aspects I really liked.
The writing was not to my taste, often being very hyperbolic or resorting to the same few phrases and figures of speech to seem talkative and readable. From what I have read of the letters and diaries of some of the figures discussed, Roiphe's presentation of them was reductive and conforming to stereotypes about those people that surely she would have been able to see past after actually delving into their lives through research. And I'm not saying this needed to have been a highly academic, dense book with a billion references in order to be of any value; this could have been much MORE gossip-laden and juicy to read, and STILL be excellently researched and executed. Even with all the twisting and simplifying that went on in these mini-biographies, there were still no distinctive characters built out of the narrative, and even a few days later they all seem to blend into one. Perhaps there was also an inherent problem with the seven-part form of the book which suggests a common theme and encourages you to compare/liken the seven "arrangements".
Then again the discussion set up around marriage and relationships was vaguely interesting. But it was nothing new, and could have been more developed. The premise of this book was very promising, but it was somewhat disappointing for me.