My Husband: A Novel

Product Information

I loved the ending. What a twist! He's just taking advantage of how much she needs him. They are both so messed up they deserve each other. She’ loves Mondays. People have told her that loving Mondays is a brainiac thing— that only nerds are happy when the weekend is over. Ventura very cleverly explores themes of paranoia, class, and, above all, obsessive love through the couple’s everyday neuroses, building their significance (and their darkness) to keep readers in suspense. The translation by Ramadan adeptly conveys both the setting and the growing tension. Fans of Caroline Kepnes' You (2014) or Gillian Flynn will find My Husband to be a new, satisfying, and unnerving take on the relationship-suspense genre.”— Booklist (starred review)

My Husband is an amazing book that captures the essence of a wife's world revolving around her husband. This relatable story delves into the complexities of marriage and the insecurities that can plague a person's mind. Ventura tells me that the book caused a great deal of controversy in France: “It’s feminist; it’s not feminist. Some people hated the character; some thought it was funny; some cried at the end—but everyone was talking. It appealed to both men and women.”While I tend to be more obsessed with my husband’s exes than my husband himself, this book had me reeling, laughing and re-examining my life choices. I loved every minute.”— Jenny Mollen Biggs, New York Times bestselling author of City of Likes

In her world, everything must be perfect and she obsesses and over-analyzes every little thing people say, do, or look, most especially her husband. She* has specific rules about what happens on each one of these days or what each day symbolizes. And they all have a ‘color’.An unsettling novel about the ultimate unknowability of your spouse and a sure-footed addition to a canon that might include Jane Eyre and Gone Girl . . . Gripping reading.”— Sunday Times (London) Everything the narrator does accommodates his preferences: wearing her hair long, going without her glasses. She makes every effort to stay attractive: “I maintain my sculpted body with yoga and tennis. I learned elegance (which in the end comes down to three things: an overpriced coat, purse, and shoes. Once this holy trinity has been achieved, the rest is easy).”

Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, charting every mistake and punishing him accordingly to help him improve. And she tests him--setting traps to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met.A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. Is this how I sound when I over think everything in my relationship? When I am overly judging our relationship and everything is at an end even when nothing of substance has happened? The winner of France's First Novel Prize in 2021, My Husband builds on the premise of hits like Gone Girl and Fates and Furies—how well can you really know your spouse?—and adds the tension and creepy obsession of You. The result is a gripping read that is as fierce as it is funny—compelling, tense, and engaging, infused with sly subversive humor, and told in an utterly original voice that makes it unforgettable. About the book:At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she's never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. After all, would a truly infatuated man ever let go of his wife's hand when they're sitting on the couch together?