You've Changed
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 GILLER PRIZE
A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
The eagerly awaited follow-up novel from the Giller prize-winning author of Reproduction, You’ve Changed is a daring and clever dissection of a crumbling marriage between two people who are morphing in ways that confound each other.
Middle-aged and about to be dumped from his construction job, Beckett is not feeling his best—especially since his wife, Princess, is already pressuring him to improve himself. She’s a fitness instructor who spends a lot of time and energy finetuning every inch of her body. Still, they both think their marriage is basically fine, until a couple of friends show up for a visit, their mutual affection and sexual chemistry loudly on display. In one weekend, they upset the tenuous balance between Beckett and Princess, throwing them into parallel midlife crises.
Princess thinks the problem is physical, and attempts to revive Beckett's interest with relentless surgical alterations and bodily enhancements that have the opposite effect on her husband. Beckett tries to woo Princess back to him by relaunching his contracting business, laying his manly accomplishments at her feet. Then, while Princess is away pursuing even more drastic beauty measures, Beckett meets Gluten, an energetic and erratic man devoted to living in the moment, whom Beckett feels drawn to in ways that surprise him. Beckett is changing, Princess is changing: what will happen to their already stressed marriage?
Sharp, inventive and absurdly funny, You’ve Changed is a wild ride exploring identity, insecurity, intimacy and desire, and who individuals become when they unite, and how they change despite promising not to.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This tart, charged, often hilarious novel crackles like an overheard lovers’ spat at the next table. Beckett and Princess are comfortable in their suburban Vancouver marriage until a visit from Princess’ childhood best friend and her adoring husband reveals that maybe their spark is gone. As gym instructor Princess throws herself into a plastic-surgery-assisted self-improvement campaign, chronically morose carpenter Beckett becomes obsessed with growing his construction business—until an unexpected connection with a free-spirited man named Gluten complicates everything even more. As you can tell from a character named Gluten, Ian Williams (Reproduction) doesn’t shy away from the offbeat here. But these are realistic people who are deeply relatable in their flaws, and the story skilfully balances quirky humour with an unflinching look at intimacy under strain. You’ve Changed is perfect for fans of Sally Rooney and Dana Spiotta, and for anyone else drawn to raw, incisive portraits of modern relationships.
