Scenes From a Marriage
February 5, 2011 1:05 PM Subscribe
What are some novels in which the plot primarily revolves around a marriage?
I just finished reading Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and I'm looking for more novels that involve marriages- but not necessarily about suburbia or discontent. Just marriages in general, in which both partners are involved in the plot- happy marriages, sad ones, shallow, deep, anything goes.
I'm less interested in novels that only briefly handwave a bad marriage and move right into infidelity or divorce. (Although that can be part of the plot, certainly) Also not terribly interested in novels in which the plot doesn't get much farther than a wedding or proposal- I'd like to really get into "scenes from a marriage" so to speak. Are there any good ones out there?
I just finished reading Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates and I'm looking for more novels that involve marriages- but not necessarily about suburbia or discontent. Just marriages in general, in which both partners are involved in the plot- happy marriages, sad ones, shallow, deep, anything goes.
I'm less interested in novels that only briefly handwave a bad marriage and move right into infidelity or divorce. (Although that can be part of the plot, certainly) Also not terribly interested in novels in which the plot doesn't get much farther than a wedding or proposal- I'd like to really get into "scenes from a marriage" so to speak. Are there any good ones out there?
Mr. Bridge & Mrs. Bridge
posted by mozhet at 1:09 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by mozhet at 1:09 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
I just read "Mr. Peanut" by Adam Ross. It focuses on the complexities of three marriages, mainly from the husbands' perspectives. It's pretty dark. I enjoyed it.
posted by ashputtel at 1:13 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by ashputtel at 1:13 PM on February 5, 2011
Anne Tyler's "Breating Lessons"
posted by kristymcj at 1:22 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by kristymcj at 1:22 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Brightness Falls and The Good Life, both by Jay McInerney.
posted by ewiar at 1:23 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by ewiar at 1:23 PM on February 5, 2011
The Portrait of a Lady
Anna Karenina, which begins with that most famous line "happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
posted by alms at 1:24 PM on February 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
Anna Karenina, which begins with that most famous line "happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
posted by alms at 1:24 PM on February 5, 2011 [3 favorites]
Though I have not read it (yet), the middle book of the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy might fit the bill.
posted by jquinby at 1:30 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 1:30 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
I like alms' suggestions. Gonna continue with the classics: "Middlemarch," "Babbitt" and "Far From the Madding Crowd."
posted by laskagirl at 1:31 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by laskagirl at 1:31 PM on February 5, 2011
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan follows a young couple through the early phases of their marriage.
posted by roomwithaview at 1:34 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by roomwithaview at 1:34 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've been on a Jane Austen kick lately. There are a lot of books about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in the next year after they got married in Pride and Prejudice. Some of them show the couple madly in love and read like soft porn; others show that he really shouldn't have married below his station and now he's paying for it (such as The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet by Colleen McCullough - I highly recommend this one).
Here's a whole list of them.
posted by CathyG at 1:35 PM on February 5, 2011
Here's a whole list of them.
posted by CathyG at 1:35 PM on February 5, 2011
Wedding Crashers
posted by dougrayrankin at 1:36 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by dougrayrankin at 1:36 PM on February 5, 2011
A happy marriage -- Anne's House of Dreams from the Anne of Green Gables series; also many significant scenes in Anne of Ingleside (mostly about her children) and Rilla of Ingleside, in which the protagonist is Anne's youngest daughter during WWI, but you see Anne and Gilbert coping with a lot of traumatic things as a couple.
(My husband points out that I'm always mentioning when I see a realistic, happy marriage in fiction or on TV, but now that I'm on the spot I can't think of any! I'll have to have a stare at my bookshelf later.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:52 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
(My husband points out that I'm always mentioning when I see a realistic, happy marriage in fiction or on TV, but now that I'm on the spot I can't think of any! I'll have to have a stare at my bookshelf later.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:52 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
(And it's not a novel, but I found "The Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage" absolutely riveting. Un-put-down-able.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:54 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 1:54 PM on February 5, 2011
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier,
Double Fault by Lionel Shriver
What I loved by Siri Husvedt
Mon by Natsume Soseki
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Tender is the Night, by F Scott Fitzgerald
posted by smoke at 1:54 PM on February 5, 2011
Double Fault by Lionel Shriver
What I loved by Siri Husvedt
Mon by Natsume Soseki
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Tender is the Night, by F Scott Fitzgerald
posted by smoke at 1:54 PM on February 5, 2011
A lot of Lionel Shriver's books fit the bill - and they are all excellent:
So Much for That
The Post-Birthday World
We Need to Talk About Kevin
posted by something something at 1:58 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
So Much for That
The Post-Birthday World
We Need to Talk About Kevin
posted by something something at 1:58 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Another one that comes to mind is Being Dead by Jim Crace. It's got what seems like a morbid premise, but is very well executed.
posted by something something at 2:01 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by something something at 2:01 PM on February 5, 2011
If Love Were Oil, I'd Be A Quart Low by Lewis Grizzard.
posted by 4ster at 2:04 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by 4ster at 2:04 PM on February 5, 2011
Carol Shields' Happenstance is two novels in one about the same weekend, one from the perspective of the wife, the other the husband's.
posted by ldthomps at 2:19 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by ldthomps at 2:19 PM on February 5, 2011
The Bridge Across Forever, A True Love Story and One - both by richard bach. personally, i'd suggest you start with Illusions, Confessions of a Reluctant Messiah but there is no marriage in that one, it just sets the stage.
there's a lot of anger towards these books by fans because they're semi-autobiographical and his real life doesn't have a "happily ever after" for the couple, but i still like the books. as a warning, they are a bit new-age-y.
posted by nadawi at 2:21 PM on February 5, 2011
there's a lot of anger towards these books by fans because they're semi-autobiographical and his real life doesn't have a "happily ever after" for the couple, but i still like the books. as a warning, they are a bit new-age-y.
posted by nadawi at 2:21 PM on February 5, 2011
Empire Falls by Richard Russo shows two former spouses navigating their relationship post-divorce (as well as looking back on their marriage), if that's not too much of a departure from the premise of your question. The ex-husband is the central character in the book; his ex-wife is more of a supporting character, and feels like a bit of a caricature for a good part of the novel, but I still found their relationship interesting and she becomes more fully drawn toward the end.
posted by scody at 2:21 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by scody at 2:21 PM on February 5, 2011
Cancel All Our Vows - John D. MacDonald
The End of The Road - John Barth
posted by yclipse at 2:22 PM on February 5, 2011
The End of The Road - John Barth
posted by yclipse at 2:22 PM on February 5, 2011
Oh my God--even if the very name of George Eliot inspires terror, go on and read "Middlemarch," which contains a sophisticated understanding of what marriages can seem like from the inside. See Dorothea aspire to be an intellectual helpmate and have her hopes dashed by a controlling, dust-dry scholar of dead things who values obedience and order over love. Watch as Dr. Lydgate is slowly seduced away from his scholarly pursuits by a flit of a girl bent on owning the right things and being seen in the right dresses. Feel with the decent Mr. Garth, as he follows his conscience despite his wife's misgivings.
Or you could just watch the beautiful BBC adaptation instead...
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:23 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
Or you could just watch the beautiful BBC adaptation instead...
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:23 PM on February 5, 2011 [2 favorites]
Atmospheric Disturbances, by Rivka Galchen. Marriage as the set for a mental breakdown.
posted by troywestfield at 2:55 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by troywestfield at 2:55 PM on February 5, 2011
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is one of my favorites--it deals with fidelity.
posted by fyrebelley at 3:07 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by fyrebelley at 3:07 PM on February 5, 2011
The Museum of Innocence revolves entirely around a marriage that didn't take place...
posted by MisterMo at 3:51 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by MisterMo at 3:51 PM on February 5, 2011
How To Be Good by Nick Hornby? Mixed reviews out there, but I enjoyed it.
posted by palacewalls at 3:53 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by palacewalls at 3:53 PM on February 5, 2011
A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias is a tough read but an illuminating one.
Scenes from Married Life, Scenes from Later Life, and Scenes From Life and Death by W. S. Cooper are all amazing books. The last one is also a tough read, as the autobiographical protagonists face serious health challenges in their old age, but the portrait of their connection is inspiring.
Patience and Sarah by Isabelle Miller is one of the great books about a relationship out there, but the protags aren't formally married (seeing as they are both women in the 19th century).
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:55 PM on February 5, 2011
Scenes from Married Life, Scenes from Later Life, and Scenes From Life and Death by W. S. Cooper are all amazing books. The last one is also a tough read, as the autobiographical protagonists face serious health challenges in their old age, but the portrait of their connection is inspiring.
Patience and Sarah by Isabelle Miller is one of the great books about a relationship out there, but the protags aren't formally married (seeing as they are both women in the 19th century).
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:55 PM on February 5, 2011
A lot of Margaret Atwood's novels are about marriages & other long-term relationships, particularly Life Before Man and (to a lesser extent) The Blind Assassin.
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:27 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Assay at 5:27 PM on February 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Love in the Time of Cholera
posted by elizardbits at 5:50 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by elizardbits at 5:50 PM on February 5, 2011
I liked American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld, a novel in which the main character's life is largely based on that of First Lady Laura Bush. Much of the book deals with her relationship and married life with her husband, including the conflicts between them due to their radically differing political views and personalities.
posted by datarose at 7:33 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by datarose at 7:33 PM on February 5, 2011
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers is ostensibly a murder mystery but is really the story of how two intelligent, independent people, recently married, navigate obstacles encountered on their honeymoon (a body in the basement!) and by doing so set the terms for the rest of their married life. Although Lord Peter and Harriet Vane are barely married, they are mature characters with great empathy and self-awareness, and a long history together full of mutual respect, so you get a sense that the understandings they come to in the course of the book will characterize their marriage.
posted by acanthous at 8:54 PM on February 5, 2011
posted by acanthous at 8:54 PM on February 5, 2011
Talking It Over by Julian Barnes is an insightful yarn about the mechanics of marriage and attraction...
While there is a divorce early on, when artist Gillian divorces stuffy banker Stuart for his bohemian best friend, each character's narrative details why they've made the choices they have in marriage and love, and what the outcomes are. Gillian and Stuart's marriage is dissected detail by detail, and as you've asked, for the most part, it was a happy marriage. So why did it fail?
It's a great book, and there's a sequel out now as well.
posted by indienial at 11:03 PM on February 5, 2011
While there is a divorce early on, when artist Gillian divorces stuffy banker Stuart for his bohemian best friend, each character's narrative details why they've made the choices they have in marriage and love, and what the outcomes are. Gillian and Stuart's marriage is dissected detail by detail, and as you've asked, for the most part, it was a happy marriage. So why did it fail?
It's a great book, and there's a sequel out now as well.
posted by indienial at 11:03 PM on February 5, 2011
Oh please read Christina Stead's painfully beautiful The Man Who Loved Children.
Here's Jonathan Franzen's praise for it, but I wouldn't read the essay until after you've read the book.
posted by Paris Elk at 3:46 AM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
Here's Jonathan Franzen's praise for it, but I wouldn't read the essay until after you've read the book.
posted by Paris Elk at 3:46 AM on February 6, 2011 [2 favorites]
By Bapsi Sidhwa
-The Croweaters
-The Bride
By Monica Ali
-Brick Alley
By Jhumpa Lahiri
-The Namesake
By Kamila Shamsie
-Kartography
It's pretty hard to set a novel in the subcontinent and not have scenes from a marriage in it, so you'll find glimpses of what you're looking for in virtually all decent literature coming out of South Asia.
posted by bardophile at 3:59 AM on February 6, 2011
-The Croweaters
-The Bride
By Monica Ali
-Brick Alley
By Jhumpa Lahiri
-The Namesake
By Kamila Shamsie
-Kartography
It's pretty hard to set a novel in the subcontinent and not have scenes from a marriage in it, so you'll find glimpses of what you're looking for in virtually all decent literature coming out of South Asia.
posted by bardophile at 3:59 AM on February 6, 2011
Oh, yes yes YES on The Namesake. (I liked the movie too!) I recommend it to my world religions students who get hung up on the idea of arranged marriages and how they must be "bad," because it's such a gentle and generous portrait of an arranged marriage that grows into love, and one totally accessible to a Western audience.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:38 AM on February 6, 2011
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:38 AM on February 6, 2011
Response by poster: Thanks so much to everyone for their great recommendations! There are more here than I could have hoped for. MeFi, you rock!
posted by Nixy at 3:44 PM on February 7, 2011
posted by Nixy at 3:44 PM on February 7, 2011
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut deals primarily with necessary secrets kept and unconditional love within a marriage, set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany.
posted by jitterbug perfume at 10:12 PM on February 18, 2011
posted by jitterbug perfume at 10:12 PM on February 18, 2011
I haven't read this one myself, but I like Dillard's writing and the subject matter's exactly what you're looking for: The Maytrees by Annie Dillard.
posted by cheshirecat718 at 4:29 PM on March 28, 2011
posted by cheshirecat718 at 4:29 PM on March 28, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
There were a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I personally liked it, with reservations. But the marriage plot-line was the strongest one for me.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:09 PM on February 5, 2011 [5 favorites]