The Beauty of the Husband
Magnetic
Layered

The Beauty of the Husband A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos

Anne Carson2002
This clear-eyed, brutal, moving, darkly funny book tells a single story in an immediate, accessible voice–29 “tangos” of narrative verse that take us vividly through erotic, painful, and heartbreaking scenes from a long-time marriage that falls apart. Only award-winning poet Anne Carson could create a work that takes on the oldest of lyrical subjects–love–and make it this powerful, this fresh, this devastating
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Reviews

Photo of lauren amitirigala
lauren amitirigala@laureniscompletelyfine
4.5 stars
Feb 11, 2025

horrifying in the best way possible. suddenly you realize that this story has you in a chokehold.

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Helena@helenagher
3 stars
May 5, 2024

3.5*

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vanessa@ps_itsvanessa
4 stars
Feb 29, 2024

An interesting concept. I don’t know why I keep reading things about failed marriages but here we are.

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iamazoo@iamazoo
3 stars
Jan 6, 2024

usually i find this type of cerebral / experimental(?) poetry too impenetrable to enjoy, but the “narrative” here was compelling enough to make this a thrilling read.

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madina@humaintain
4.5 stars
Oct 4, 2023

i think this is such a good deconstruction to the materialism vs idealism of "love", of heterosexual romance, of man's dominion over woman in a heteronormative society. the pull of beauty to a man by this woman rather than the vice versa - i couldn't help it even if the world told me he was bad news.

+2
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Emily Morgan@e333mily
4 stars
Jun 15, 2022

I must revisit this book, it feels like something for a different time. But I loved it and I love Anne Carson, eternally. “On a June evening. Here’s my advice, hold. Hold beauty.”

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Prashant Prasad@prashprash
4 stars
Nov 2, 2021

“Desire doubled is love and love doubled is madness.”

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Anna Talbot@sontagspdf
5 stars
Sep 20, 2021

I am so completely in love with Carson’s work, and every book by her i read affirms this. This book is no exception.

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Laurel S.@palefire
5 stars
Nov 26, 2024
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Alithea@alithea
3 stars
Oct 2, 2024
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Infamous Millimetre@infamous_millimitre
3.5 stars
Jul 5, 2023
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Kayla Mroch@kaylam
5 stars
Jul 18, 2022
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Antonia Folch@sneakydragon
4 stars
Jul 5, 2022
Photo of Terry Nguyen
Terry Nguyen@nguyenterry
5 stars
Jan 23, 2022
Photo of Lina.
Lina.@murmuration
5 stars
Jun 8, 2024
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Luis Ponce@luispoooonce
4 stars
Mar 17, 2024
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Elena Kuran@elenakatherine
5 stars
Feb 7, 2024
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lena@lenaaaa
4 stars
Jan 10, 2024
Photo of Madison Storm
Madison Storm@cntemporary
5 stars
Jan 6, 2024
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lili🎐@loverkived
3 stars
Jan 4, 2024
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Infamous Millimetre@infamous_millimitre
4 stars
Jul 7, 2023
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Ana Hein@anahein99
3 stars
Jan 5, 2023
Photo of Caitlin Bohannon
Caitlin Bohannon@waitingforoctober
5 stars
Jan 5, 2023
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sofia@valentinetx
4 stars
Nov 2, 2022

Highlights

Photo of lauren amitirigala
lauren amitirigala@laureniscompletelyfine

“Why did nature give me over to this creature—don't call it my choice,

I was ventured:

by some pure gravity of existence itself,

conspiracy of being!

We were fifteen.”

she understands like no other

Photo of Terry Nguyen
Terry Nguyen@nguyenterry

Note these two people who are not yet married stand embedded in the destiny of husband and wife as firmly as any two contiguous molecules in a chain reaction and he is whispering into the place on her neck that he shaved with his own razor an hour ago — It is very hard to be erotic with you.

Tango XVIII