My Husband: A Novel

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Any little slight from her husband results in her version of punishment. If he didn't say goodnight to her then no cuddles for him in the morning. If he didn't hold her hand while watching a movie then she'll misplace his wallet or keys somewhere causing him to run late. If she suspects he's flirting with someone then she'll sleep with some unsuspecting man in retaliation. She does all these things from a place of love.

The winner of France's First Novel Prize in 2021, My Husband builds on the premise of hits like Gone Girl and Fates and Furies--how well can you really know your spouse?--and adds the tension and creepy obsession of You. The result is an irresistible read--compelling, tense, and engaging, infused with sly subversive humor, and told in an utterly original voice that makes it unforgettable. While I am finishing my coffee, my husband leans toward me and whispers into my ear, ‘We need to find a moment to talk’. Then, after a short pause, he adds, ‘It’s important’.” At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she's never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. I also have a notebook dedicated to romantic vocabulary, with words that pertain to meeting someone, relationships, separations, and every variation of feeling. Certain recurring expressions give shape to the romantic imagination of the English language—and, by extension, to that of the Irish novelist. (There’s no way to prove it, but it seems to me that she blames herself for the devastating loss of her first love, and believes she must pay the price of her past mistakes for her entire life.) For example, the phrase “let you go” is everywhere in her book. “Let you go” is in the mouth of every character and used in every situation: I shouldn’t have let you go, I will never let you go, don’t let me go, etc. The expression is often used as a form of regret: I’m angry at myself for having let you go, I should have made you stay. We think it’s our fault if the other person leaves us, that we could have done something to stop it. We imagine that we could have acted in such a way as to preserve their desire to be together. The idea behind “let you go” is pleasant; there’s even something reassuring about it. It’s a fiction that I, too, would like to believe in. Absorbed in my translation, I wonder if that expression, so difficult to translate into French, testifies to the fact that English-speakers love differently than us. Do they make more effort? For them, is it possible to make love last? To reignite a desire that’s been extinguished? How do they do it? What tender song, new outfit, irresistible perfume, or vacation to the other ends of the earth allows them to hold on to someone on the verge of leaving?This darkly humorous novel of obsession is psychological fiction at its best. I didn’t guess the answer to the original question or the phenomenal twist! One of the most daring, provocative, unnervingly intimate thrillers I've read in years. Few writers besides Ruth Rendell and Patricia Highsmith can evoke domestic unease with such sangfroid; fewer still can make it such delirious fun' A. J. Finn, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Woman in the Window An unsettling novel about the ultimate unknowability of your spouse and a sure-footed addition to a canon that might include Jane Eyre and Gone Girl . . . Gripping reading.”— Sunday Times (London) Over the course of one week in the narrator's life, we witness her obsessive, oppressive, and jealous love of her husband, 'My husband has no name; he is my husband, he belongs to me'. Over the course of their marriage, she has constantly strived to perfect her relationship by being perfect, 'Otherwise, I will only have myself to blame if my husband stops wanting to come home.' But she is no cowering walk-over. In fact, she keeps a journal citing all of her husband's infractions and their resulting punishments. As the book progresses through the week, you begin to question just what's going on. Is she the predator or the prey? Is she unhinged or simply neurotic? Does her husband love her or is she trying to force him to love her? Every day offers a new perspective.

Even though the book is about a woman obsessed with her husband, it's still weirdly feminist in a sense. She openly laments her all-consuming passion and wishes she were more independent, a trait that she tries to pass on to her daughter. She deliberately left a past lover who loved her more for her husband despite knowing that she's agreeing to a permanent power imbalance because she always loves him more, so in a way, she chose this dynamic and that gives her a bit of power, a bit of agency. She also rectifies the power imbalance by punishing her husband when she feels like he's not showing her enough attention, like denying morning cuddles when he doesn't hold her hand during a movie. Obviously, their relationship is unhealthy af and she desperately needs a therapist to deal with her issues, but it's fascinating to see how she claws power for herself in a skewed dynamic that she purposefully chose. He must be tested. He must follow her (unspoken) rules or there will be (extreme passive-aggressive) consequences.I’ve always found tranquil, partnerships uninteresting. Couples that don’t ever argue come off as inferior, and I’ve always suspected they love each other less. But I’ve also always refused to engage in ordinary squabbles. That my husband doesn’t do the dishes after dinner, or doesn’t know how to iron a shirt is annoying, but those are obstacles I can overcome; on the other hand, I don’t know that I would be able to bear such a banal argument for such trivial a reason”. Living inside this woman’s head was both exhausting and fascinating. Her obsession with her husband, which swings from passion and love to deep revulsion and resentment depending on the day of the week and the color of the day, put me through all the moods. She is utterly fixated and codependent on him and lives to please (and punish) him. Her inner monologue and thought processes about whether her husband loves her, is cheating on her, wants to divorce her, or has discovered her secrets, were almost tipped over the edge into paranoia. For example, she agonizes over his love for their children and friends because spreading his love dilutes his love towards her; she is horrified by his romantic belief of falling more in love daily because it means he doesn’t love her fully at her present. About the book:At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she's never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. After all, would a truly infatuated man ever let go of his wife's hand when they're sitting on the couch together? My husband turns on Brazilian music that pairs perfectly with the smell of toasted bread and a peaceful Sunday morning atmosphere”. At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she’s never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated.