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bookishlibrarian 's review for:
How to Sleep at Night
by Elizabeth Harris
Ethan and Gabe are a married couple with a child. Gabe is a progressive, but over time Ethan's views have gradually shifted rightward until he decides to run for office as a Republican. Gabe wants to be supportive of his partner, but doesn't want to be publicly associated with his views and especially not the views of the Republican party. The campaign itself also puts a toll on the couple. Kate is Ethan's sister, a political journalist who is not allowed to cover Ethan's campaign. Her life is also upended by the reappearance of her former flame Nicole, a bisexual woman married to a man.
Both storylines had a lot of potential, and I was really interested in reading about how a couple navigates political differences in a marriage. I never got any sense of Ethan as a person at all, why his views shifted, how he reconciles being a gay Republican when much of the party's platform is hostile to LGBTQ+ people. As a result, I also didn't have much connection to Gabe and Ethan as a couple. Nicole's experience as a bisexual woman married to a man and how that impacts her identity had potential as well, but she was a pretty awful and selfish character. I think the novel (or this reader anyway!) would have been better served to focus on one storyline and greater development of the characters and relationship involved.
Both storylines had a lot of potential, and I was really interested in reading about how a couple navigates political differences in a marriage. I never got any sense of Ethan as a person at all, why his views shifted, how he reconciles being a gay Republican when much of the party's platform is hostile to LGBTQ+ people. As a result, I also didn't have much connection to Gabe and Ethan as a couple. Nicole's experience as a bisexual woman married to a man and how that impacts her identity had potential as well, but she was a pretty awful and selfish character. I think the novel (or this reader anyway!) would have been better served to focus on one storyline and greater development of the characters and relationship involved.