Man and Wife – Tony Parsons
This is the sequel to Man and Boy, which I found disappointing. I actually thought this book was better, mainly because the characters felt more rounded – in particular, the ex-wife is less unremittingly unsympathetic.
The centre of the story in this book is the main character, Harry, running into problems in his relationship with his new wife. This was good, but I thought it raised a couple of questions that could have been explored a bit better. For example, the stresses of work and how that affects the relationship, and perhaps the different assumptions that apply when it’s the wife’s work as opposed to the husband’s work. There were points where I thought surely the characters would talk about this a bit more than they do.
I didn’t entirely believe in the man’s feelings when he was starting – or not quite starting – an affair. It all seemed very matter-of-fact, when I’d have imagined him agonizing a bit more, and probably having to feel more upset (or more enamoured) in the first place. I could sort of understand the reasons why the main character and his wife’s relationship starts to break down, but only sort of. Part of the motivation was jealousy, and I thought perhaps more could have been made of that too, where it comes from and how it affects the relationship.
Another topic the book skirted around was the question of whether an affair is an affair if it doesn’t involve sex. I thought the book could have made a lot more of that.
I was glad to find that the conclusion of the book was more positive than the first. It’s a shame that it takes a bit of a deus-ex-machina to get them back together, but at least they do get back together. I didn’t like the presumption that they needed to have children together in order to be a proper couple. (Worse, it’s reinforced by comparison with two other couples who are struggling to have children together).
I also thought it was interesting that a couple of fairly major story threads – his mum’s breast cancer, and his career – are not resolved. Ok, things don’t get neatly tied up in real life, but I’d have thought that in a book you either have to resolve them or at least somehow show that people are living with things as they are. Maybe Parsons was planning another sequel?
The centre of the story in this book is the main character, Harry, running into problems in his relationship with his new wife. This was good, but I thought it raised a couple of questions that could have been explored a bit better. For example, the stresses of work and how that affects the relationship, and perhaps the different assumptions that apply when it’s the wife’s work as opposed to the husband’s work. There were points where I thought surely the characters would talk about this a bit more than they do.
I didn’t entirely believe in the man’s feelings when he was starting – or not quite starting – an affair. It all seemed very matter-of-fact, when I’d have imagined him agonizing a bit more, and probably having to feel more upset (or more enamoured) in the first place. I could sort of understand the reasons why the main character and his wife’s relationship starts to break down, but only sort of. Part of the motivation was jealousy, and I thought perhaps more could have been made of that too, where it comes from and how it affects the relationship.
Another topic the book skirted around was the question of whether an affair is an affair if it doesn’t involve sex. I thought the book could have made a lot more of that.
I was glad to find that the conclusion of the book was more positive than the first. It’s a shame that it takes a bit of a deus-ex-machina to get them back together, but at least they do get back together. I didn’t like the presumption that they needed to have children together in order to be a proper couple. (Worse, it’s reinforced by comparison with two other couples who are struggling to have children together).
I also thought it was interesting that a couple of fairly major story threads – his mum’s breast cancer, and his career – are not resolved. Ok, things don’t get neatly tied up in real life, but I’d have thought that in a book you either have to resolve them or at least somehow show that people are living with things as they are. Maybe Parsons was planning another sequel?
Labels: Reading
posted by tomdg at 10:38 AM
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