No affairs. I’m over the whole “he cheated and I’m so broken” and the “he’s a jerk, I deserve better” books.
I want to read about married couples where the “problem” or conflict isn’t their marriage but something else.
Or maybe it’s about them getting closer after years apart, and trying to relight the passion.
I hope this makes sense.
As far as setting, anything 1860 and later is fine. It also doesn’t have to be historical. I’d like at least a little romance. And either set in America or UK.
by Godsgrace2212
7 Comments
What came to mind for me, oddly, was The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio. It’s quite an unusual conceit. >!A happily married woman has an attic in her flat. Her husband goes up to the attic to get something and… comes down a completely different person. Every time her husband goes to the attic, he returns as a new man and also pulls her into a different reality.!<The husband drama is VERY MUCH “something else” in this case!
Also I know you want 1860+, but the Outlander books are basically Relationship Goals for me.
You might enjoy Patti Jane’s House of Curl, by Lorna Landvik.>! There is a truly lovely marriage story arc, and while there is a setup of an absentee husband, it’s just in service of the greater story that champions loving relationships.!<
I’ve been recommending this a lot lately, but Shark Heart. >!A man has a disease that slowly turns him into a Great White Shark.!<The central relationship is very heartfelt, and the drama is external to marital conflicts.
I’d argue *The Time Traveler’s Wife* by Audrey Niffenegger fits this description.
Heartburn by Nora Ephron
wellness by nathan hill
Straight couples only? Sheesh. I’ll take Homophobia for $500 please Jack.
I’ll see myself to the door.
Hi – I need a book about married couples. No blacks please, no Jewish people either. And no Latinx, or left handed people. And no red heads. God hates them. And no democrats- no immigrants, no married couples with higher education either. No short people, unless they’re white. No vegans, no artists, even if they’re married. No… wait. I don’t want a book. I just want to stare in a mirror and gaze upon myself and not learn anything new! Thanks for your suggestions!
The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning fits your spec.