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A review by kaitlynmccully
I Give My Marriage a Year by Holly Wainwright
4.0
I Give My Marriage A Year was an absolute page-turner. Usually I am not one to enjoy third person novels, but this one was a major exception. I found myself being absolutely drawn in by the humour, writing style and characters. The chapters which revisit Lou & Joshes young love are absolutely incredible, they gave me goosebumps.
I will say, I struggled to like Lou. Her character felt mean, manipulative & cynical. Her voice never felt logical to me, and she was spiteful of her husband who - in my opinion - did not do anything near as bad as she did. I am NOT usually one to side with a man on a good day, however, I felt Josh was a lot more understanding and likeable as a character. I thought maybe as I got further into the book, I would find myself warming up to Lou, however that just never happened. In fact, by the end of the novel, I found myself rooting for divorce.
Wrainwright has a fantastic voice and has conveyed Australian life immaculately. I grew up in Broken Hill and her descriptions of my small hometown were incredible. Her writing authentically portrayed young love, married love, questionable love, and gave me an incredible journey along the way. I would recommend to anyone.
I will say, I struggled to like Lou. Her character felt mean, manipulative & cynical. Her voice never felt logical to me, and she was spiteful of her husband who - in my opinion - did not do anything near as bad as she did. I am NOT usually one to side with a man on a good day, however, I felt Josh was a lot more understanding and likeable as a character. I thought maybe as I got further into the book, I would find myself warming up to Lou, however that just never happened. In fact, by the end of the novel, I found myself rooting for divorce.
Wrainwright has a fantastic voice and has conveyed Australian life immaculately. I grew up in Broken Hill and her descriptions of my small hometown were incredible. Her writing authentically portrayed young love, married love, questionable love, and gave me an incredible journey along the way. I would recommend to anyone.