Monogamy

Starred review from June 1, 2020
Miller (The Arsonist) delivers a robust, character-driven examination of the inner workings of a lengthy marriage. Domestic tranquility quickly totters into roiling turmoil as photographer Annie McFarlane struggles with grief after the sudden death of Graham, her bookstore-owning husband of almost 30 years. When Annie met Graham on the opening night of his shop in Harvard Square, each was coming off a disastrous first marriage. Annie never really loved Alan, a handsome preppy filled with contempt for others, including her, and she left him. Graham’s first marriage was an open one (“It had been that era”), but his prodigious affairs were too much for Frieda, who left him with their young son. Frieda and Graham remained friends after their divorce, “leading to the lasting complexity of their entwined lives.” Annie feels “doubly betrayed” when she learns that Graham had confided in Frieda about a recent affair. The novel takes on various configurations, swelling with recovered memories of childhood experiences and crackling with revelations of seductive temptations at an artist’s colony. Annie swirls through bitterness and missed opportunities on her way to an acceptance of a “new sorrow,” while Graham’s Rabelaisian, larger-than-life personality is felt even in his absence. The novel is grounded by vibrant prose, vividly portrayed secondary characters, and the resiliency of everlasting love. Miller’s fans will devour this spectacular, powerful return. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME.

June 15, 2020
What do we do with bad news of the dead? A near-perfect second marriage is disrupted--first by death, then by posthumous revelations. Boston bookstore owner Graham McFarlane is such a lovable and forgivable man that the ex-wife he cheated on, Frieda, and her replacement, a photographer named Annie, whom he is also cheating on, are close friends. Woman No. 3 is not going to make it into the circle, though, as Graham dies of a heart attack the day after he stops by her house to break up with her in a fit of uxoriousness and remorse. This death happens fairly early in the book, but since the reader knows about the affair and Annie does not, the first two-thirds of Miller's 13th novel are infused with a merry narrative tension. That energy dissipates somewhat when Annie eventually finds out about Graham's infidelity. At this point the novel becomes more meditative, sticking close to Annie as she deals with the disorienting feeling that she never really knew the man she deeply loved--and who so clearly loved her--for 30 years. As their daughter, Sarah, describes her "Rabelaisian" father, "He was big, in every way. A lover of life. And kind....He made people happy, without even trying." Of course the last thing Annie wants is for Graham's children, or anyone else, to know what she now knows. Miller's skill at depicting the intricacies of marriage, parenting, and domestic life, the atmosphere of the independent bookstore, and the pleasures of flowers, wine, and food (a craving for split pea soup with ham and dill, served with "a loaf of dark rye [from] Formaggio," lingers still) makes this book charming and inviting in a way that is somewhat at odds with its sorrowful impetus. A thoughtful and realistic portrait of those golden people who seem to have such enviable lives.

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Starred review from August 1, 2020
Both coming off failed first marriages, Annie and Graham were the loves of each other's lives. Graham was large and lusty, a hail-fellow-well-met whose Cambridge bookstore was a welcoming destination for the literary set. A professional photographer beginning to establish a reputation in the art world, Annie was diminutive and reserved, but only in comparison; her appetite for intimacy was as great as her husband's. So it was noteworthy when, after 30 years of marriage, Graham became preoccupied and remote. Before they could resolve whatever was coming between them, however, Graham died, leaving Annie with more questions than answers. Gingerly navigating her new role as widow, Annie relies on her unexpectedly close relationship with Graham's first wife, Frieda; their son, Lucas; and, to a lesser extent, Sarah, Graham and Annie's own daughter, for emotional support, which becomes critical when Annie learns that Graham was having an affair in the weeks before his death. Miller takes on and renews familiar themes of trust and betrayal between husbands and wives, parents and children, and does so with her signature crystalline focus and boundless empathy. The grieving process is hard enough to endure without having to question everything one ever knew about the deceased, an emotional minefield Miller traverses with grace and authenticity that are both haunting and vital.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-selling Miller's well-promoted latest will on many to-be-read lists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

August 1, 2020

In the late 1970s, Graham's first marriage had long ago imploded when his then-wife Frieda decided the open-marriage concept was not for her. Still, they have remained friends, for their own sake, as much as for their child, Lucas. Meanwhile, after Annie's own seven-year marriage ended, she embarked on a long, eventually unsatisfying run of endless casual encounters while pursuing a career in photography. When Annie and Graham meet at the opening of Graham's Cambridge bookstore, the connection is immediate and intense. Tired of their nonmonogamous ways, they marry within the year. Fast-forward to 2008. Their marriage, which was blessed with daughter Sarah, who now lives in California, has been a happy one, filled with joyful intimacy. Then in a careless moment of weakness, Graham embarks on a brief affair that he immediately regrets. Extricating himself isn't going well, as the woman has fallen in love and imagines a future together. Suddenly, before he can make things right, Graham dies. Annie, paralyzed by grief and disbelief at this unexpected loss, is nearly crushed when she accidentally learns of the affair while still in mourning. VERDICT Best-selling novelist Miller (While I Was Gone) unflinchingly examines the scorching pain of love, betrayal, raw grief, and the slow slog to forgiveness and healing. An eyes-wide-open look at the cost of commitment in all its messy permutations. [See Prepub Alert, 3/11/20.]--Beth Andersen, formerly with Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI

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