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Book Summary and Reviews of The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

The Husbands

A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

by Holly Gramazio

  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2024, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The Husbands delights in asking: how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options? ("A bottomless champagne flute of a novel." —The Washington Post)

When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There's only one problem—she's not married. She's never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they've been together for years.

As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can't remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you've taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Lauren finds that she's quite a different person in some of the versions of her life. What changes surprised you the most? Do you think that most people would change so dramatically if they were with different partners or in different jobs, or is Lauren more easily changed by her situation than you would be?
  2. Do you have a favorite among Lauren's husbands? And is it the same answer if you're choosing a partner for Lauren as it would be if you were choosing for yourself?
  3. Lauren sends a lot of husbands back into the attic for pretty trivial reasons. Do you have any irrational red flags like that? If you have that sort of ugh, no feeling about someone right away, even if it's petty, does that mean the relationship is doomed, or is it ...
Please be aware that this discussion may contain spoilers!

See what our members are saying about this book in our Community Forum.

Overall, what did you think of The Husbands? (no spoilers, please!)
Only a short way into the book I decided, at 83 years of age, that I was never going to relate to Lauren – even though my daughter had just finished the book and liked it (which really surprised me because it didn't seem her kind of book at all). She thought I would like the ending. My apologies ...
-Cecelia_J


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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Charming...there's plenty of intelligence and candor in the author's creative spin on the conundrum of commitment." —Publishers Weekly

"The plot allows the author to explore current attitudes and approaches to dating and mating from a fresh perspective... A fun take on a big question." —Kirkus Reviews

"Delightfully addictive ... a bottomless champagne flute of a novel." —The Washington Post

"The Husbands is a wily and wonderful exploration of modern decision-making, kaleidoscopic and bright and very, very funny." —Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had

"Richly characterized, philosophical, and funny. I enjoyed all the husbands, even (especially?) the terrible ones. A time-bending gem about the way we live now." —Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

This information about The Husbands was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Sandi

When is 'this' husband the one?
I really enjoyed this book. Very unique premise. But you must let your imagination go and suspend real life for this story. Because once you enter the 'magic attic' nothing will be the same. It seems husbands - new husbands - pop out of the attic each time a current husband goes up there. (Not a spoiler - detailed in synopsis). So we go along with Lauren on her husband exchange throughout the book. But when does she stop? When is 'this' husband the one?

This is a light funny read. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. Often we meet the men in Laurens life - even the one who knows what is happening and is a reoccurring character. But often with only a sentence or two, as to why they were sent right back up in the attic, we move along quickly.

I think if there is a negative to this book it is a bit repetitive in the middle. Husband upon husband, some in the same day, can get old. Can you even imagine?? But in my opinion this cute story is still very readable, plus enjoyable.

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Author Information

Holly Gramazio

Holly Gramazio is a writer, game designer and curator from Adelaide, currently based in London. She founded the experimental games festival Now Play This, and wrote the script for the award-winning indie videogame Dicey Dungeons. She's particularly interested in rules, play, cities, gardens, games that get people acting creatively, and art that gets people interacting with their surroundings in new ways. The Husbands is her first novel.

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