Matrimony – a giveaway

by Heidi on April 28, 2009

She’d never really given marriage much thought, and the more time passed the less seriously she took it, as if the fact that she was getting older, closer presumably, to actually getting married, no longer accommodated the fantasy. She’d read that most college students met their spouses in college, but “college students” included junior college students and state college kids from Oklahoma and Nebraska, and she understood that people like her, at schools like Graymont, didn’t marry their college boyfriend. Doing so seemed fantastical and quaint, not all that different from marrying the boy next door or even from the dimly exotic world of dowries and arranged marriages, of parents conscripting the town elders to marry their children off, as had been done for her great-grandparents in Eastern Europe. “What happens, happens,” she liked to say. But sometimes she wondered what was going to happen. With the exception of the year after she graduated from high school, the year she spent in France, everything she’d done had been a matter of course: school, school, and more school. It had always struck her as uninventive, all that studying, but now, finally, when she had to invent something, she wasn’t sure how to do it.” (Matrimony, page 63-64)

Recently, in my quest for 52 books (which I’m super far behind on might I add), I finished a book from the 2007 NY Times Notable Novels list -  “Matrimony” by Joshua Henkin.  The book itself was well written and I found the plot…relatable. It follows three characters – two of whom marry – through college and their adult life. They battle challenges, family tragedies and the tribulations of past wrong doings and learn the meaning of mortality.

The ending was slightly predictable – though that may be because of my bad habit to read ahead because I can’t wait to read 200 more pages – though that aside, I felt that after the climax, the resolution was too easy. I’m not going to give the ending away but that’s my largest criticism – the resolution happened too easily. I didn’t feel that the characters really learned from it or why they made the decisions they did. However, I kind of wonder if this was the author’s way of saying sometimes we do things for love that we can’t otherwise explain which I know that I can relate, I don’t know about you all.

If this all sounds intriguing to you – or if you want a chance to win a free signed copy of this novel from the author (nothing in for me! Just my HONEST thoughts on the book!) leave a comment here by Sunday May 3rd at noon EST with the title of a good book you’ve read recently.  I’ll draw the winner Sunday night.

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{ 1 trackback }

And the winner is… | Life in Pink
May 3, 2009 at 8:36 pm

{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Habbala April 28, 2009 at 5:00 pm

Sounds like an interesting book!

I just finished Dooce’s book “It Sucked and then I Cried”

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2 Mel April 28, 2009 at 5:36 pm

I am actually reading American Wife which was one of the books you have read last year so far so good.

Favorite Crazy Chick Book: She’s Come Undone. An oldy but a goody.

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3 Jennifer Black April 28, 2009 at 5:41 pm

I really need a new book to read for my vacay!

A good book I’ve read lately is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Very interesting, factual information. Not a fun, beach read, but it was interesting!

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4 Lindsay April 28, 2009 at 7:01 pm

I recently read “Little Bee” by Chris Cleave for book club and surprisingly really enjoyed it!! A lot of the other book clubbers were English majors and/or are in the journalism industry and I was kinda iffy about the book but now would definitely recommend it!

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5 Playful Professional April 28, 2009 at 7:22 pm

I enjoyed Faith and Honor by Robin Maderich.

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6 katelin April 28, 2009 at 7:25 pm

i’m still reading ‘the other boleyn girl’ and i sort of love it.

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7 Jackie April 28, 2009 at 8:53 pm

I have those shoes!! I met Alson in college, so I’m not sure whether I want to read this or not…

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8 Alison April 28, 2009 at 8:59 pm

I really liked Comfort Me With Apples by Ruth Reichl.

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9 Lexi April 28, 2009 at 11:01 pm

You know I love books :)

Not too long ago, I read “Firefly Lane” by Kristen Hannah, which I really enjoyed. It’s about two best friends and chronicles when they meet through adulthood. It was so, so good. I own it, if you want to borrow it! I’ve read a few of her others since then and they are also good.

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10 PomJob April 29, 2009 at 9:18 am

I’m currently reading “Last Man Standing” by David Baldacci. It’s really good, but at 600+ pages, it’s taking a lot longer than my traditional chick lit. Random info: My former roommate dated a guy who coached Baldacci’s son’s Little League team.

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11 Meg April 29, 2009 at 9:50 am

This books sounds really interesting! I recently finished reading Persuasion by Jane Austen and The Blonde Theory by Kristin Harmel. Both were great, for very different reasons, but I recommend them both!

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12 thatShortChick April 29, 2009 at 10:28 am

I finished Dooce’s book ‘It Sucked and then I Cried’ a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed reading it.

I also liked I’d Rather We Got Casinos by Larry Wilmore (aka the senior black correspondent on the Daily Show)

Matrimony sounds really interesting!

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13 Kim April 29, 2009 at 11:20 am

Matrimony sounds like an interesting read!

I am currently reading “The Reader” – I have really enjoyed it so far!

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14 Jess April 29, 2009 at 11:38 am

I read this book on my honeymoon! I had pretty much the same opinion of it as you.

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15 ashley April 29, 2009 at 11:48 am

Ooh sounds interesting! Always looking for a new book :)

I read 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcias Marquez and it was great!

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16 heidikins April 29, 2009 at 12:02 pm

“London is the Best City in America” by Laura Dave. Love, love and more love.

xox

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17 Suz April 29, 2009 at 12:21 pm

I’m a sucker for books about doing anything for love!

I am almost finished with American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield. I LOVED part one and was really enjoying it, but this last section is seeming to drag on too long. The last book I read that I loved was Milkrun. It was a quick, easy, fun read with a good storyline!

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18 Lauren April 29, 2009 at 12:24 pm

I’m trying to read 50 books this year and I’m at 14. We’ll see if I make it!

That book does sound good, though, and I’d love to check it out! The last good book I read was probably “The Time Traveler’s Wife” regardless of the fact that I didn’t like the ending. The rest of it was amazing, though.

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19 Julie Q April 30, 2009 at 10:29 am

I just jumped on the Emily Giffin bandwagon a month ago so my two good reads of the moment are ‘Love the One Your With’ and ‘Something Blue’

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20 Melanie April 30, 2009 at 1:01 pm

This is totally nerdy, but I just read Run Less Run Faster to get ready to start my Chicago marathon training. It’s one of the best running books I’ve read.

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21 working girl two April 30, 2009 at 1:48 pm

i just read american wife for book club by curtis sittenfeld. sooooooo good! much, much better than her other books!

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22 Hollie April 30, 2009 at 4:49 pm

Sounds like a good book! Count me in!

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23 bFlat April 30, 2009 at 11:38 pm

Please count me in!

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24 Joshua Henkin April 30, 2009 at 11:54 pm

Hi, everyone. Joshua Henkin here, the author of MATRIMONY. Thank you all for entering, and thank you to Heidi for running the giveaway. Good luck to everyone, and whether you’re the winner or not, I’d be delighted to join your book group for a discussion of MATRIMONY. If you’re interested, let me know. I’m at Jhenkin [at] SLC [dot] edu.

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25 tia May 1, 2009 at 3:03 am

i just read the “queen of babble” series by meg cabot.

it’s chick lit, but very smartly written!

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26 E.P. May 1, 2009 at 7:13 pm

Hmm, it sounds interesting! Also, I like the cover art. (I’m the person who finds a cover she likes first and then reads the back to see if the book is somewhat interesting. C’est la vie..)

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