The Husbands
A Novel
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3.9 • 28 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK | AN NPR BOOKS WE LOVE PICK FOR 2024 | A CHATELAINE BEST BOOK OF SPRING 2024
This exuberant debut, praised by Gabrielle Zevin as a "time-bending gem," asks: how do we navigate life, love and choice in a world of never-ending options?
When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.
As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Video game designer Gramazio debuts with a charming speculative novel about a woman's difficulty settling on a mate. When Lauren, in her early 30s and decidedly single, returns one night to her London flat from a boozy evening out, she's greeted by a total stranger who says he's her husband, a claim mysteriously borne out by her photographs and texting history. This is alarming enough, but things get weirder still after Lauren's supposed husband climbs up the attic ladder to change a light bulb and a different man descends, one who also claims to be her husband. This revolving door of spouses persists for months, and Lauren discovers that various circumstances of her life—her circle of friends, her fashion sense, her career choices, even her apartment decor—alter with each change of partner. Gramazio's inventiveness and humor save the Groundhog Day–esque plot from tedious repetition (Lauren rejects one man immediately for wearing shoes with individual toes, another for filling a room with Funko Pops). Though Lauren's drastic action near the novel's conclusion feels a bit out of sync with the rest of the story, there's plenty of intelligence and candor in the author's creative spin on the conundrum of commitment. Gramazio is worth keeping tabs on.
Customer Reviews
Fast paced book about what if’s
The book starts strong, but what was at first a compelling storyline, gets tiresome quickly. For me, there were too many husbands.