Maud Ventura

In this suspenseful and darkly funny debut novel, a sophisticated French woman spends her life obsessing over her perfect husband--but can their marriage survive her passionate love? 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? 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. Until one day she realizes she may have gone too far . . . 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 an irresistible read--compelling, tense, and engaging, infused with sly subversive humor, and told in an utterly original voice that makes it unforgettable. Translated from the French by Emma Ramadan

A Novel

My Husband

I LOVED THIS??? the prose is so gorgeous and the twist ?? oh my god i love it

chloe

catherine jill

my friends act like this over some guy in a manbun and a toyota

baku

Helena Herruzo

Alex S

3.75/5 

It was great, but I'm somehow I'm disappointed. The rest of my review seems very negative, but it's really just because I was expecting a 5 star read.

I love a crazy obsessive bitch, and I got that, so what's the problem? It was just too monotonous. If a woman is this obsessive, why doesn't it bleed over into more aspects of her life? I wanted more crazy, more obsessive thoughts that weren't just about her husband. Her obsession with colors was a highlight for me, and added a layer to her psyche. I just wanted more character development, but I also understand that the point of the story was singular; to highlight her infatuation with her husband.

(Also, the epilogue was heavy-handed imo)

Essence

when y’all both crazy but in love

(also are the french like okay???)

         This is my first Bellatrist book club selection!  A lot of the bookstagrammers I follow read the Bellatrist books, so I thought I would add that book club to my monthly rotation, and this is the first one since that addition.  I was excited!  It’s billed as a horror and it was translated.  In my experience, foreign horrors have a tendency to be a bit more provocative than American horror.  I started this book wishing the rest of the world would just go away so I could focus entirely on this story.

            This book is entirely from the wife’s point of view until the epilogue, so we get a deep dive into the mind of an very disturbed woman.  She was obsessed with her husband to such an extreme it was super creepy.  Every minute of every day was devoted to making sure she kept her husband happy, down to what she was wearing and even what book she was reading when he got hope from work.  She would pick a book to pretend to read in an effort to send her husband a message, then became silently irate when he failed to pick up on said silent message.  She kept journals of these types of “slights” and then a separate journal outlining the punishments she would dole out.  As someone who also keeps a journal, I almost decided I had no desire to write in it anymore.  I even went back to read some of my more recent entries, hoping my own journals didn’t sound as menacingly creepy as this woman’s. 

            The way that Venture was able to create this dynamic character, making my skin crawl as the book progressed, was pretty impressive.  When I first finished, I was appalled at how horrible this character was and I fully planned on giving this book 2 stars…because just EW.  However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Ventura gets a big gold star for being capable of crafting such a thought-provoking novel.  There are quite a few triggers in this one, so don’t seek it out if that’s a soft spot for you.  However, if you’re a fan of narcissistic obsessions, this book is right up your alley. 

Kristen Claiborn

         This is my first Bellatrist book club selection!  A lot of the bookstagrammers I follow read the Bellatrist books, so I thought I would add that book club to my monthly rotation, and this is the first one since that addition.  I was excited!  It’s billed as a horror and it was translated.  In my experience, foreign horrors have a tendency to be a bit more provocative than American horror.  I started this book wishing the rest of the world would just go away so I could focus entirely on this story.

            This book is entirely from the wife’s point of view until the epilogue, so we get a deep dive into the mind of an very disturbed woman.  She was obsessed with her husband to such an extreme it was super creepy.  Every minute of every day was devoted to making sure she kept her husband happy, down to what she was wearing and even what book she was reading when he got hope from work.  She would pick a book to pretend to read in an effort to send her husband a message, then became silently irate when he failed to pick up on said silent message.  She kept journals of these types of “slights” and then a separate journal outlining the punishments she would dole out.  As someone who also keeps a journal, I almost decided I had no desire to write in it anymore.  I even went back to read some of my more recent entries, hoping my own journals didn’t sound as menacingly creepy as this woman’s. 

            The way that Venture was able to create this dynamic character, making my skin crawl as the book progressed, was pretty impressive.  When I first finished, I was appalled at how horrible this character was and I fully planned on giving this book 2 stars…because just EW.  However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Ventura gets a big gold star for being capable of crafting such a thought-provoking novel.  There are quite a few triggers in this one, so don’t seek it out if that’s a soft spot for you.  However, if you’re a fan of narcissistic obsessions, this book is right up your alley. 

a bit triggering for a reformed anxious lover lol

jackie

Sonia Grgas

Rounded down from 3.5 cause I didn’t enjoy it as much as appreciate it. Good twist at the end.

If loving a man (and the state of mania associated with it) could ever be compiled into a book it would be this. The narrator has the most severely anxious-leaning attachment style I’ve ever seen in my life but because of that, the ending was both shocking and validating. For the sane woman reading this book, consider it a piece of misandrist literature. 

Rana Sulieman

Kendall

never been so anxious while reading a book, it was incredible

Grace M

“No one can see my neuroses except me. The way I see myself is not how other people see me. Everything is okay. I belong here.” 

Another absurd woman centered narrative for the shelves, a whirlwind of a book WOW. DYNAMIC super intriguing read I think the dynamic between the husband and wife is really interesting and strange. I could not but this book down, the sense of outrageousness and obsession and frustration from the protagonist is just brilliant. I don’t want to spoil it but the epilogue is what really made it for me

Hannah

“No one can see my neuroses except me. The way I see myself is not how other people see me. Everything is okay. I belong here.” 

Another absurd woman centered narrative for the shelves, a whirlwind of a book WOW. DYNAMIC super intriguing read I think the dynamic between the husband and wife is really interesting and strange. I could not but this book down, the sense of outrageousness and obsession and frustration from the protagonist is just brilliant. I don’t want to spoil it but the epilogue is what really made it for me

Love an unhinged woman and a twist at the end 

Allie Serrano

Teba nabeel

I want to give this book 1 star and 5 stars at once.
I hated this book and loved it as well.
I see myself in her, and i hate the i see myself in her.
Almost everything in this book is so relatable and in the most disgusting way.
I don’t want to talk about the plot nor the writing style, i only want to talk about her and him, and how much i see myself in it.
This was a book that made me get emotional, and possibly the only one that made me sit silently and just think.

My Husband A Novel

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