Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Picador (2009), Edition: First, 195 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML: "We think we know the ones we love." So Pearlie Cook begins her indirect and devastating exploration of the mystery at the heart of every relationship: how we can ever truly know another person. It is 1953 and Pearlie, a dutiful young housewife, finds herself living in the Sunset District in San Francisco, caring not only for her husband's fragile health but also for her son, who is afflicted with polio. Then, one Saturday morning, a stranger appears on her doorstep, and everything changes. All the certainties by which Pearlie has lived and tried to protect her family are thrown into doubt. Does she know her husband at all? And what does the stranger want in return for his offer of a hundred thousand dollars? For six months in 1953 young Pearlie Cook struggles to understand the world around her, and most especially her husband, Holland. Pearlie's story is a meditation not only on love but also on the effects of war, with one war recently over and another coming to a close. Set in a climate of fear and repression�??political, sexual, and racial�??The Story of a Marriage from bestselling author Andrew Sean Greer, portrays three people trapped by the confines of their era, and the desperate measures they are prepared to take to escape it. Lyrical and surprising, The Story of a Marriage looks back at a period that we tend to misremember as one of innocence and simplicity… (more)
Media reviews
A timeless story of conflicting loyalties, “The Story of a Marriage” has roots in the fiction of Poe’s era, but, fittingly enough, its plot is firmly anchored in the vividly described America of the early 1950s — a seemingly serene era whose submerged social, racial and political tensions
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would soon create their own disruptions and upheavals. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member michrichmond
Andrew Sean Greer’s new novel, The Story of a Marriage, is the much-anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Confessions of Max Tivoli.
The setting is San Francisco, 1953, and the narrator is Pearlie Cook, whose lyrical opening words, a kind of soliloquy for her damaged marriage, set
As with Confessions, Greer has intricately drawn San Francisco in another time. Pearlie and her husband, Holland Cook, grew up together in Kentucky in the years leading up to World War II. Now, they are adults, parents to a young boy, living far from the homes of their childhood, making a life in San Francisco’s unfashionable Sunset District, once known as the Outside Lands. One day while Holland is at work, a stranger comes knocking on their door, identifying himself as Buzz Drummer, an old friend of Holland’s from the war years. Despite Pearlie’s initial wariness about him, they eventually become close friends, and Buzz becomes a part of their family.
One day, Buzz makes a startling revelation about the past, a revelation which forces Pearlie to make a life-altering choice. This happens at the end of Part One, around the same time we learn another fact about Pearlie Cook that complicates the plot even further. It’s difficult to write about The Story of a Marriage without giving anything away, given the delicate pace at which the plot proceeds. So I will say nothing more here by way of summary, other than that the rest of the book centers on this impossible choice, a choice that deeply complicates Pearlie’s relationship with both her husband and with Buzz. In the background, always, is Pearlie’s young son, his presence a reminder, both to Pearlie and the reader, of how much is at stake.
One of the most touching things about this novel is the sense one gets of the author’s total honesty, the feeling that the discoveries Greer has made in the process of writing the book have been shared, generously and unabashedly, with the reader. “This is a war story,” Pearlie says more than three-quarters of the way through the novel. “It was not meant to be. It started as a love story, the story of a marriage, but the war has stuck to it everywhere like shattered glass.” So while it is called The Story of a Marriage, it is also the story of a time in America’s history. The silences that divide one couple, the Cooks, serve here as a microcosm of a greater silence, an atmosphere of secrecy and divisiveness that falls over the whole of society.
There are surprises throughout, and, ultimately, there is hope. One night Pearlie stands outside a bar and observes, “Beyond the inscrutable movements of these men, the world they had built beneath the ordinary one; beyond the seedy lights and grimy hotels…it was a feeling, which I could not name at the time, of something awakening…It was as if part of the body was stirring, moving very slowly to rouse the rest.”
Admirers of Confessions may recall that one of Greer’s greatest gifts is his kindness to his characters; that same gift is on full display here. His characters fail and fumble, and ultimately, they find their way.
The setting is San Francisco, 1953, and the narrator is Pearlie Cook, whose lyrical opening words, a kind of soliloquy for her damaged marriage, set
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the tone for this lovely, sensitive, thought-provoking novel. “Perhaps you cannot see a marriage. Like those giant heavenly bodies invisible to the human eye, it can only be charted by its gravity, its pull on everything around it.”As with Confessions, Greer has intricately drawn San Francisco in another time. Pearlie and her husband, Holland Cook, grew up together in Kentucky in the years leading up to World War II. Now, they are adults, parents to a young boy, living far from the homes of their childhood, making a life in San Francisco’s unfashionable Sunset District, once known as the Outside Lands. One day while Holland is at work, a stranger comes knocking on their door, identifying himself as Buzz Drummer, an old friend of Holland’s from the war years. Despite Pearlie’s initial wariness about him, they eventually become close friends, and Buzz becomes a part of their family.
One day, Buzz makes a startling revelation about the past, a revelation which forces Pearlie to make a life-altering choice. This happens at the end of Part One, around the same time we learn another fact about Pearlie Cook that complicates the plot even further. It’s difficult to write about The Story of a Marriage without giving anything away, given the delicate pace at which the plot proceeds. So I will say nothing more here by way of summary, other than that the rest of the book centers on this impossible choice, a choice that deeply complicates Pearlie’s relationship with both her husband and with Buzz. In the background, always, is Pearlie’s young son, his presence a reminder, both to Pearlie and the reader, of how much is at stake.
One of the most touching things about this novel is the sense one gets of the author’s total honesty, the feeling that the discoveries Greer has made in the process of writing the book have been shared, generously and unabashedly, with the reader. “This is a war story,” Pearlie says more than three-quarters of the way through the novel. “It was not meant to be. It started as a love story, the story of a marriage, but the war has stuck to it everywhere like shattered glass.” So while it is called The Story of a Marriage, it is also the story of a time in America’s history. The silences that divide one couple, the Cooks, serve here as a microcosm of a greater silence, an atmosphere of secrecy and divisiveness that falls over the whole of society.
There are surprises throughout, and, ultimately, there is hope. One night Pearlie stands outside a bar and observes, “Beyond the inscrutable movements of these men, the world they had built beneath the ordinary one; beyond the seedy lights and grimy hotels…it was a feeling, which I could not name at the time, of something awakening…It was as if part of the body was stirring, moving very slowly to rouse the rest.”
Admirers of Confessions may recall that one of Greer’s greatest gifts is his kindness to his characters; that same gift is on full display here. His characters fail and fumble, and ultimately, they find their way.
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LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
Pearlie Cook is a woman living with her husband and a four-year-old son in a small house in the Sunset district of San Francisco. She lives simply until she faces an unexpected visitor from the past. Suddenly, her marriage is shaken by its roots, and she is forced into making some radical decisions
Having read and loved Andrew Sean Greer's [The Confessions of Max Tivoli], I came into this book with high expectations. I found myself floundering through the first half of this book, being confused as to what was going on. The action moved between five main characters, but not as smoothly as I would have wanted. I proceeded slowly. Then suddenly, about two-thirds of the way through the book, I was pulled deeply into the story and swept up by its lyrical writing.
Of note is the fact that certain important traits of the characters were not revealed until later in the book. Those revelations (no spoilers here!) fit into the story in an interesting way, particularly in relation the time setting (1953). This jarred me into taking more notice of what the author was trying to say.
The end of the story was both beautiful and emotional. I had to stop along the way, though, to jot down some memorable lines. I even caught myself deciding exactly how I wanted the story to end before reaching its actual conclusion. I did appreciate how the author constructed the ending, reaching into many years later to see the outcome of decisions made a long time ago.
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about her life.Having read and loved Andrew Sean Greer's [The Confessions of Max Tivoli], I came into this book with high expectations. I found myself floundering through the first half of this book, being confused as to what was going on. The action moved between five main characters, but not as smoothly as I would have wanted. I proceeded slowly. Then suddenly, about two-thirds of the way through the book, I was pulled deeply into the story and swept up by its lyrical writing.
Of note is the fact that certain important traits of the characters were not revealed until later in the book. Those revelations (no spoilers here!) fit into the story in an interesting way, particularly in relation the time setting (1953). This jarred me into taking more notice of what the author was trying to say.
The end of the story was both beautiful and emotional. I had to stop along the way, though, to jot down some memorable lines. I even caught myself deciding exactly how I wanted the story to end before reaching its actual conclusion. I did appreciate how the author constructed the ending, reaching into many years later to see the outcome of decisions made a long time ago.
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LibraryThing member Rubbah
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as i did. it's a slim novel and so quick to read, yet it leaves you thinking for some time about the nature of marriage, love and relationships, as well as the the war and how it affects life, even years after.
LibraryThing member DevourerOfBooks
Pearlie Cook is a housewife in San Francisco post-World War II. She lives in a small house with her husband Holland and young son who has polio. Pearlie knew Holland when they were both growing up in the South, was his girlfriend back home before he went into the war. When she arrived in San
I was a bit apprehensive when Pearlie married Holland, because it really didn’t seem that she knew him at all, which given the rest of the book is probably exactly what I should have been feeling. Holland doesn’t talk much about his time in the war, so Pearlie really is not expecting it when Buzz comes to their front door, claiming to be a friend of Holland’s from when he was in the army. Even less expected than Buzz’s presence, however, is what he will tell Pearlie and the sacrifice he will ask of her.
Initially I wasn’t quite sure how I would feel about this book. There is a sort of dreamy, far-off quality about the story, particularly in the beginning and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to identify with any of the characters because of it. However, Greer’s beautiful, lyrical writing soon drew me into the story. It made sense for the novel to have such a dreamy quality, because much of what happened seemed surreal to Pearlie.
This is a wonderfully done work of literary fiction. If you stick primarily with contemporary fiction and don’t venture much into literary fiction this may not quite work for you, but if you enjoy literary fiction I highly suggest you give this a read.
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Francisco, she met him again entirely by accident, and it was not long before he told her that he needed her to marry him.I was a bit apprehensive when Pearlie married Holland, because it really didn’t seem that she knew him at all, which given the rest of the book is probably exactly what I should have been feeling. Holland doesn’t talk much about his time in the war, so Pearlie really is not expecting it when Buzz comes to their front door, claiming to be a friend of Holland’s from when he was in the army. Even less expected than Buzz’s presence, however, is what he will tell Pearlie and the sacrifice he will ask of her.
Initially I wasn’t quite sure how I would feel about this book. There is a sort of dreamy, far-off quality about the story, particularly in the beginning and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to identify with any of the characters because of it. However, Greer’s beautiful, lyrical writing soon drew me into the story. It made sense for the novel to have such a dreamy quality, because much of what happened seemed surreal to Pearlie.
This is a wonderfully done work of literary fiction. If you stick primarily with contemporary fiction and don’t venture much into literary fiction this may not quite work for you, but if you enjoy literary fiction I highly suggest you give this a read.
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LibraryThing member bobbieharv
Well, it wasn't as good as I expected based on the reviews. A white man shows up at the door of a married black woman's house in the 1950s claiming to have fallen in love with her husband during the war. They enter into some sort of unclear arrangement to cede the husband to him, for unclear
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reasons, and to steer him away from the young daughter of his employer with some sort of unclear letter. It's written like an elegy, lovely writing at times and at others annoyingly over-written. Show Less
LibraryThing member AlRiske
This is a hypnotic period-piece of a novel with a series of twists that shift the reader's perceptions.
LibraryThing member 60GoingOn16
This was the first book I received as an Early Reviewer and I could not have had a better introduction to librarything reviewing! From its memorable opening line - which I'm afraid I'm not allowed to quote as this was an uncorrected proof - I was drawn into this bittersweet love story and my
But there are other surprises for the reader too, including one so profound that it's hard to see how the signs can have been missed. Greer certainly challenges our perceptions and our assumptions.
I grew up in the 1950s, when this novel is set and, although my childhood was spent on the other side of the world from San Francisco, The Story of a Marriage evokes that strange time extremely well. The Cold War was at its height and the fearfulness of citizens in the West constantly reinforced by politicians - the trial and execution of the Rosenbergs act as a chilling counterpoint to the story of Pearlie and Holland's marriage; former servicemen who had fought in World War II and the Korean War had returned home to bury their memories; the spectre of devastating diseases such as polio haunted our growing up, and social divisions based on class and race were rigid.
The Story of a Marriage is recounted with great tenderness and poignancy but this never detracts from the underlying tension of the plot. And, yes, the author, through Pearlie's voice, keeps us guessing - until the final pages - how the story ends.
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attention never wavered. At the heart of The Story of a Marriage is a variation on the eternal triangle, which is gradually revealed; even if you correctly anticipate the nature of the triangle, Andrew Sean Greer's writing is so subtle that he still manages to convey the full emotional impact on Pearlie when the truth about the other significant relationship in her husband's life is revealed.But there are other surprises for the reader too, including one so profound that it's hard to see how the signs can have been missed. Greer certainly challenges our perceptions and our assumptions.
I grew up in the 1950s, when this novel is set and, although my childhood was spent on the other side of the world from San Francisco, The Story of a Marriage evokes that strange time extremely well. The Cold War was at its height and the fearfulness of citizens in the West constantly reinforced by politicians - the trial and execution of the Rosenbergs act as a chilling counterpoint to the story of Pearlie and Holland's marriage; former servicemen who had fought in World War II and the Korean War had returned home to bury their memories; the spectre of devastating diseases such as polio haunted our growing up, and social divisions based on class and race were rigid.
The Story of a Marriage is recounted with great tenderness and poignancy but this never detracts from the underlying tension of the plot. And, yes, the author, through Pearlie's voice, keeps us guessing - until the final pages - how the story ends.
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LibraryThing member lukespapa
The Story of a Marriage is one of those rare books where the prose outshines a very good plot. Simply put, Greer's writing is why people read (or should read). Post WWII America, complex relationships, and sexuality are entertwined in this novel as the author takes the reader on a emotionally
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complex roller coaster of a ride. Like all good roller coasters, you hate for the ride to end. What is love? What is the price of love? Do actions speak louder than words? These are the kinds of superficial questions that are probed much deeper through this impactful book. I am glad to add a new favorite writer to my "must read" list. Show Less
LibraryThing member pdebolt
This is a well-written book that contains many surprises and an insight into the dark side of the innocence of the post-WWII world. The three main characters are an enigma to me, especially Holland. After the premise of the relationships among the three is revealed, I wondered repeatedly why
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Pearlie didn't simply talk wtih Holland for confirmation or denial. I didn't see any depth to these characters or any development of the relationships. That said, it is well written and an interesting view of the 1950s. Show Less
LibraryThing member byzanne
I am struggling to come up with my reactions to this novel. I don't think I would have finished it except that I was reviewing it. I am glad I finished it, as it ended differently to how I thought it would, and because it wasn't a bad book. Which is sort of damning by faint praise...
It is the story
Her tone is a very detached one, which is contagious. I found that my experience of reading it was quite detached too. I didn't really care what happened, though I was curious. This detachment isn't what I read fiction for, so I only gave it a two-and-a-half stars rating.
However, it is well written and gave me plenty to look up about the second word war years in the USA, something I only know a little about. Now, to find a novel which covers WW2 and the post-war experience in San Francisco and which makes me care about the characters...
It is the story
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of a marriage, told by Pearlie, the wife. So everything is seen through her eyes, and you only know what she lets you know. It is hard to know how reliable she is, how things appeared to the other characters, and throughout the novel, I kept wondering "is this what really happened?"Her tone is a very detached one, which is contagious. I found that my experience of reading it was quite detached too. I didn't really care what happened, though I was curious. This detachment isn't what I read fiction for, so I only gave it a two-and-a-half stars rating.
However, it is well written and gave me plenty to look up about the second word war years in the USA, something I only know a little about. Now, to find a novel which covers WW2 and the post-war experience in San Francisco and which makes me care about the characters...
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LibraryThing member clarkeek
I could never quite decide if I liked this book or not. I found it difficult to engage with the characters and hard to grasp their feelings. I couldn't believe that Pearlie would give up on Holland so easily and hand him over to Buzz for a plot of land and some dollars. Yet it is quite moving,
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especially Pearlie's description of the last night with Holland and the following morning. Greer makes us feel the moment of truth when the planning is over and Holland must leave. This is a novel where there is as much hidden as revealed and we are drip-fed information. It tackles many subjects: racism, sexuality, post-war America, relationships, war and how they all combine to shape the lives of the characters. By the end of the book I was won over by it. Show Less
LibraryThing member crazy4novels
If you're looking for a short, atmospheric novel to read this summer, I recommend Andrew Greer's latest book, "The Story of a Marriage," which recounts the story of one family's domestic crisis in post-war California, 1953.
Greer's tale, which follows the lives of the Cook family (Pearl, Holland,
Greer weaves the darker threads of the 50's -- polio outbreaks, communist witch hunts, the Korean War, and the ever present threat of nuclear annihilation -- into his story with language that is evocative, yet understated. He is at his best when he addresses societal restrictions that suppressed personal freedom and dignity. Pearl and Holland live in a world where elegant grandmothers in their Sunday hats, eager to celebrate a special occasion, must request directions to the "special area" of the tea room reserved for blacks. Gay men are rounded up in private club raids and imprisoned for criminal indecency. Interracial couples must assess when and where they can be seen in public without risking physical injury. Conscientious objectors and draft dodgers are run out of their hometowns and forced to relocate in order to reclaim any semblance of a normal life. Next door neighbors spy on each other and suppress their political opinions. Unhappy wives and husbands consider clandestine murder as a preferable alternative to the public shame of a divorce. A repressed blanket of desperation smothers Pearl and Holland's suburban neighborhood as thoroughly as the fog that rolls in from San Francisco Bay each morning.
As indicated by the book's title, Pearl and Holland's marriage crisis forms the crux of the novel. Pearl, Holland, and some integral third parties are all casting about for some measure of freedom, some unfettered definition of their own personhood, throughout the book. Although the novel is written in Pearl's voice, I think that Greer's depiction of Holland's internal struggle offers the more subtle and deep exploration of human nature. Holland is portrayed as a handsome man -- the stunning kind of "handsome" that necessarily affects every aspect of his existence. It is his gift, and his curse. Greer writes (in Pearl's voice): "By being what everyone wanted him to be -- being the husband, the flirt, the beautiful object, and the lover -- by pleasing us all in giving us his gracious smile, he had tortured each of us when it did not turn our way. Beauty is forgiven everything except its absence from our lives, and the effort to return all loves at once must have broken him."
Other characters in the novel seem to have some idea of who they want to be and how they want to escape the box that the mid-20th century has constructed around them. Holland, on the other hand, has lost all sense of himself after years of existing as no more than a mirror image of other people's desires. Everyone has attempted to employ his beauty and use it to actualize their own "dream narrative." He has been a chameleon for so long that he is hard pressed to know his own heart's desire, and the choice he eventually makes may surprise you.
This is a good book on many levels -- I recommend it.
Greer's tale, which follows the lives of the Cook family (Pearl, Holland,
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and their young toddler, Sonny) as they settle into the newly developed Sunset district of San Francisco, contains several well-placed surprises that I won't give away here. In the course of the story, the author makes it abundantly clear that the 1950's appear "golden" only if they are viewed through the rosy lens of selective memory. If you enjoyed membership in a favored class -- white, politically orthodox, and heterosexual -- the decade had its high points. Otherwise, not so much.Greer weaves the darker threads of the 50's -- polio outbreaks, communist witch hunts, the Korean War, and the ever present threat of nuclear annihilation -- into his story with language that is evocative, yet understated. He is at his best when he addresses societal restrictions that suppressed personal freedom and dignity. Pearl and Holland live in a world where elegant grandmothers in their Sunday hats, eager to celebrate a special occasion, must request directions to the "special area" of the tea room reserved for blacks. Gay men are rounded up in private club raids and imprisoned for criminal indecency. Interracial couples must assess when and where they can be seen in public without risking physical injury. Conscientious objectors and draft dodgers are run out of their hometowns and forced to relocate in order to reclaim any semblance of a normal life. Next door neighbors spy on each other and suppress their political opinions. Unhappy wives and husbands consider clandestine murder as a preferable alternative to the public shame of a divorce. A repressed blanket of desperation smothers Pearl and Holland's suburban neighborhood as thoroughly as the fog that rolls in from San Francisco Bay each morning.
As indicated by the book's title, Pearl and Holland's marriage crisis forms the crux of the novel. Pearl, Holland, and some integral third parties are all casting about for some measure of freedom, some unfettered definition of their own personhood, throughout the book. Although the novel is written in Pearl's voice, I think that Greer's depiction of Holland's internal struggle offers the more subtle and deep exploration of human nature. Holland is portrayed as a handsome man -- the stunning kind of "handsome" that necessarily affects every aspect of his existence. It is his gift, and his curse. Greer writes (in Pearl's voice): "By being what everyone wanted him to be -- being the husband, the flirt, the beautiful object, and the lover -- by pleasing us all in giving us his gracious smile, he had tortured each of us when it did not turn our way. Beauty is forgiven everything except its absence from our lives, and the effort to return all loves at once must have broken him."
Other characters in the novel seem to have some idea of who they want to be and how they want to escape the box that the mid-20th century has constructed around them. Holland, on the other hand, has lost all sense of himself after years of existing as no more than a mirror image of other people's desires. Everyone has attempted to employ his beauty and use it to actualize their own "dream narrative." He has been a chameleon for so long that he is hard pressed to know his own heart's desire, and the choice he eventually makes may surprise you.
This is a good book on many levels -- I recommend it.
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LibraryThing member jules72653
What a wonderful book! I recommended this book to my mother and found I really couldn't say what it was about because to describe the story line is to give away the heart of the book. I simply said it's a story of Pearlie and Holland Cook's marriage set in San Francisco in the 1950s and it contains
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more than a few worthwhile surprises. To say this is about racism or sexuality is to strip it of it's grace. Show Less
LibraryThing member lydiasbooks
This is an incredibly well written book. It reads like lyrical fiction and feels like a biography. I couldn't believe it was a novel rather than an actual autobiography. The storylines are complex and expertly developed, and it gives insight to a period most people here in the UK have little
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consideration for. Really interesting and excellent reading. It took me time to get into it and I read it piecemeal over a few months. I would recommend it to everyone. Show Less
LibraryThing member debnance
I chose this book originally because of all the positive buzz I heard about it. I was happy to see when I received it that it was set in San Francisco. Consequently, I saved it for a month so that I could take it along with us on our anniversary trip to SF. We are here in SF now. I started it
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yesterday on the plane and finished it last night.It was the perfect book for this trip. Of course its setting in SF is fun, as we visited some of the places mentioned in the book. But, more than that, the book looks at the idea of marriage and love and relationships and commitment. Greer is a master of ambiguity, as is life, so his book perfectly reflects both the despair and the joy that marriage and relationships can bring. Show Less
LibraryThing member stonelaura
“We think we know the ones we love.” That is the first sentence in The Story of a Marriage, and it captures the essence of the book. We may love wholly, devote our lives, spend endless moments with and around our loved ones, but, in the end Greer tells us, we will never really be able to
Tony winner Merkerson’s careful and precisely modulated reading exactly reflects the tone of the book.
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predict their behavior or anticipate their choices. The three central characters, Pearlie and Holland Cook, and Buzz Drumer revolve around each other like planets or satellites, occasionally shedding luminous light on each other and at other times, casting dark shadows and infectious doubt. The story of how these three basically good and solid individuals struggle to really know each other, takes place during the repressive and suspicious 1950’s at the end of one war and the beginning of another. Greer captures the essence of the times -- the communist fear, the nuclear threat, and the segregationist movement. We do not learn that Pearlie is “colored” until the last line of the first chapter. Greer wants us to think of her first as a reflective and somber individual. Do we know the ones we love? Can we make choices based on what we think they want or desire? Can we make good choices if we love too much? Mistakes are made, some are corrected, and in the end we do our best. While not as imaginative and unique as The Confessions of Max Tivoli, The Story of a Marriage confirms Greer’s talent as a thoughtful, precise writer who is able to create deep emotional moments and fully-realized characters.Tony winner Merkerson’s careful and precisely modulated reading exactly reflects the tone of the book.
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LibraryThing member 1morechapter
It seems this story has polarized readers. Some love it, while others intensely dislike the book. I fall into the latter camp. I thought I was really going to like it initially, but then the story went way over the top into unbelievability for me. I found myself disliking it more and more as the
Holland and Pearlie Cook are childhood sweethearts with a son and a dog that doesn’t bark. Everything is going along fine until one day Buzz, a man from Holland’s past, shows up at the door and changes everything. Set in the 50’s and San Francisco.
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pages progressed. It’s really almost impossible to speak about the issues I had with the book without giving away some huge spoilers, but I will give you a taste of what it’s about.Holland and Pearlie Cook are childhood sweethearts with a son and a dog that doesn’t bark. Everything is going along fine until one day Buzz, a man from Holland’s past, shows up at the door and changes everything. Set in the 50’s and San Francisco.
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LibraryThing member Elphaba71
The story begins with Pearlie looking after her husband, Holland, & their disabled son Sonny, going about her daily housewife's chores & building their life together after WW II in 1950's San Francisco. Until one day Charles 'Buzz' Drumer arrived on Pearlie's doorstep, throwing their lives into
I have to say this is a wonderfully written novel, & I fell completely into it from the beginning. It's an eye opening look into how well we know other people in our lives.
Through the book you get to know Pearlie quite well, though Holland remains a bit of a mystery. I liked the secondary characters of the Old Aunts, they knew far more about Holland, and tried to advise Pearlie, and warn her off marrying Holland, with out actually telling all, eventually though as the book draws to it's conclusion, Pearlie begins to see what they were doing & how much the must have known. The novel didn't finish as I though it would, never the less a good ending. A very enjoyable read.
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turmoil. I have to say this is a wonderfully written novel, & I fell completely into it from the beginning. It's an eye opening look into how well we know other people in our lives.
Through the book you get to know Pearlie quite well, though Holland remains a bit of a mystery. I liked the secondary characters of the Old Aunts, they knew far more about Holland, and tried to advise Pearlie, and warn her off marrying Holland, with out actually telling all, eventually though as the book draws to it's conclusion, Pearlie begins to see what they were doing & how much the must have known. The novel didn't finish as I though it would, never the less a good ending. A very enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member Sararush
“Holland and I had talked about our friends and our childhoods and movies and books and politics—we had agreed and disagreed and had our fights and merry moments over a beer—but I think it’s fair to say we had never spoken honestly in all ours lives.” This quote from A Story of a Marriage
It does the novel a disservice to reveal any more about the plot, as its secrets are revealed in well timed waves. In fact the book’s only draw back is its brevity as its simple prose endears readers page by page. It’s an unconventional love story written with graceful restraint and vibrant characters.
The Story of a Marriage is as perfect a novel as any I've read.
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by Andrew Sean Greer prettily sums up the story’s central conflict. The narrator, Pearlie a young mother and wife to her high school sweetheart, Holland grapples with her marriage in 1950’s San Francisco. She says, “I loved you like a field on fire,” in reference to Holland, and yet her marriage and commitments are tested by the appearance of a dapper stranger.It does the novel a disservice to reveal any more about the plot, as its secrets are revealed in well timed waves. In fact the book’s only draw back is its brevity as its simple prose endears readers page by page. It’s an unconventional love story written with graceful restraint and vibrant characters.
The Story of a Marriage is as perfect a novel as any I've read.
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LibraryThing member GreyMoggie
Read this book with a notebook and pen handy! There were so many phrases I wanted to capture, but the story moved along so quickly, I never wanted to put the book down to record them. Excellent, quick read that offers a lot to think about when it is over.
LibraryThing member peachnik
I gave this book an extra half-point for effort in introducing a broad number of issues in post-WW II society. Discrimination was a fact of life and the book covers the topic on many fronts including racial, sexual orientation, McCarthyism (political), and pacifism (conscientious objectors). It
I didn't give the book a higher rating because the prose doesn't flow well, there are some simply awful metaphors, and in an effort to keep the books secrets unexposed, the reader can feel lost at times.
I work in a library, and when the book "The Great Starvation Experiment" came across my desk, I decided to read it since I felt Greer had certainly used this as one reference for his novel's background. It turned out to be an interesting read and indeed, elaborated one of the novel's more interesting and less known historical themes.
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also shows that a marriage can hide many secrets and need not be perfect to be in many way, a good marriage.I didn't give the book a higher rating because the prose doesn't flow well, there are some simply awful metaphors, and in an effort to keep the books secrets unexposed, the reader can feel lost at times.
I work in a library, and when the book "The Great Starvation Experiment" came across my desk, I decided to read it since I felt Greer had certainly used this as one reference for his novel's background. It turned out to be an interesting read and indeed, elaborated one of the novel's more interesting and less known historical themes.
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LibraryThing member SmithSJ01
This was absolutely dire. On many many occasions I would have loved to step into the book and given the characters a good hard slap across the face for being so stupid. Then I would like to go back and actually find out what on earth the writer was doing when he wrote this - was he drunk? It's just
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non stop drivel. It was such a chore to read, it has no pace or excitement, no hooks are used to keep the momentum going - or in this case actually keep me awake. I'd give this a wide berth and find something more entertaining or shorter. Show Less
LibraryThing member mamashepp
This book has more surprises in the first 50 pages than I have read in a very long time. This is the unique story of Holland and Pearlie Cook, set primarily in California beginning just at the end of WWII. Very unique, compelling. Asks the question, how well do we really know the people we love?
LibraryThing member alphaorder
Every once in a while a book comes along that is so good but packs so much surprise that you don't want to even talk about what it is about. You just want to say 'READ THIS!' and thrust it into your friends' hands. Greer recounts this story of a marriage and so much more with poignancy and
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beautiful turn of phrase. Yet this does not detract from the underlying tension carried throughout his novel. Go get your copy, your sunscreen, lawn chair and beverage. The book will grab you from the first sentence and not let you go until the last. Then march over to your neighbor's house and say 'READ THIS!' I guarantee you will want them to, so that you can talk about this fantastic book. Show Less
LibraryThing member arkgirl1
I received this book to read and review last weekend and found it a quick read but have needed time to reflect on my views. It takes us into the heart of a marriage between Pearlie and Holland in a time of change and reflection. It gives us a short intense look at a marriage which I found sometimes
Having expressed my reservations I do feel that the writer caght some of the essence of those times and the struggles for a voice that minorities often felt and still feel. The plot development did make me want to know what happened, and there are twists, but I feel that the novel, for me, doesn't quite achieve what the premise and ideas behind it might have.
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struggles with the number of different issues it is trying to reflect. I found the concept intriguing - a marriage described by a young wife in post WWII America where: racism; draft dodging; conscientious objectors; homosexuality; and disability are thrown together in a melting pot [sorry a bit cliched!] ... but I found the intensity of the issues prevented me from engaging in depth with the characters. We don't get a sense of any passion and the relationship between Pearlie and Holland is very hard to gauge; in fact her relationship with a rival for his affections is fleshed out much more.Having expressed my reservations I do feel that the writer caght some of the essence of those times and the struggles for a voice that minorities often felt and still feel. The plot development did make me want to know what happened, and there are twists, but I feel that the novel, for me, doesn't quite achieve what the premise and ideas behind it might have.
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Subjects
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2010)
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction — 2009)
Dayton Literary Peace Prize (Longlist — Fiction — 2009)
Deutscher Hörbuchpreis (2010)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008-04-29 (1e édition originale américaine, Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
2009-02-12 (1e traduction et édition française, Editions de l'Olivier)
2010-02-11 (Réédition française, Points, Seuil)
ISBN
0312428286 / 9780312428280