This book isn’t my usual type of book. It’s entirely about a family and the drama that occurs between them, the emotions they each struggle with because of that drama (and their own issues) and how the family shifts and changes over time.
Our main characters are Graham, a bookshop owner and Annie, his second wife and a photographer. The two seem to have a rock solid relationship and have been together for decades. They have one child together and Graham has another son from a previous marriage. Graham is a large person and personality, and all the other characters seem to orbit him, forever caught in his gravitational pull. But he is also at the centre of all the trauma and pain each of the other characters around him suffers, and often the cause of it. He’s not an intentionally bad person, but he doesn’t think his actions through, doesn’t have enough awareness of the feelings of the people around him, and manages to selfishly follow his desires and appetites, leaving a lot of messy confusion in his wake.
His death (not a spoiler – it’s in the blurb) sends ripples out through the whole family. It unearths old and new wounds, and leaves everyone questioning their life choices and place in the world. But it also allows for truth to come out and be reckoned with, for difficult emotions to be faced, and for his family to learn about themselves and their relationships with one another.
This book is beautifully written. The writing, more than the plot, had me fully drawn in pretty much right away and kept me wanting to find out what happened next. The characters are complex and evolving, the settings are vivid and the characters’ reactions are believable and honest. Surprisingly, Lucas’ cool actress wife who starts off the book as the odd one out of a large, warm, raucous family ends up being a vital member who helps mend hearts and hold the family together. She’s also tough and not willing to compromise her beliefs. She’ll risk hurting feelings to stand up for the people she loves, and she is, as it turns out, a force to be reckoned with.
The book does go on, though. There were several points when I knew the book wasn’t over yet because there was still a lot of time left in the audiobook, but it really felt like that could (and possibly should) be the end. There are a few twists towards the end that I didn’t feel were necessary, and some parts of it could have been tightened up a bit. But it wasn’t so bad that I abandoned it or got overly annoyed. I just felt like I was meandering some side roads for a little while. But they were mostly nice roads, with interesting views, so it was okay in the end.
If you’re a fan of complex family dramas, this will definitely be a book that will appeal to you. It isn’t hard to get into, and you’ll definitely feel connected to this messy family. Though the extra length of the book took a couple of points off for me so it won’t be in my favourites of the year, it is definitely one I’m glad I got to and I enjoyed it while I was reading!
Graham and Annie have been married for nearly thirty years. A golden couple, their seemingly effortless devotion has long been the envy of their circle of friends and acquaintances.
Graham is a bookseller, a big, gregarious man with large appetites—curious, eager to please, a lover of life, and the convivial host of frequent, lively parties at his and Annie’s comfortable house in Cambridge. Annie, more reserved and introspective, is a photographer. She is about to have her first gallery show after a six-year lull and is worried that the best years of her career may be behind her. They have two adult children; Lucas, Graham’s son with his first wife, Frieda, works in New York. Annie and Graham’s daughter, Sarah, lives in San Francisco. Though Frieda is an integral part of this far-flung, loving family, Annie feels confident in the knowledge that she is Graham’s last and greatest love.
When Graham suddenly dies—this man whose enormous presence has seemed to dominate their lives together—Annie is lost. What is the point of going on, she wonders, without him?
Then, while she is still mourning him intensely, she discovers that Graham had been unfaithful to her; and she spirals into darkness, wondering if she ever truly knew the man who loved her. – Goodreads
Book Title:Â Monogamy
Author:Â Sue Miller
Series:Â No
Edition:Â Audiobook
Published By:Â Harper
Released: September 8, 2020
Genre:Â Fiction, Family, Relationships
Pages:Â 338
Date Read:Â February 14-15, 2021
Rating: 6/10
Average Goodreads Rating:Â 3.62/5 (10,432 ratings)