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A review by morgs777
But You Seemed So Happy: A Marriage, in Pieces and Bits by Kimberly Harrington
3.0
Alright, friends, let’s buckle up on this review.
I would give it 3.5 if I could.
I loved the essays. It covered a lot of ground in a very easy to digest way.
The author grapples with her own unlikeableness, not in a way that I think she’s unlikeable, but in a very relatable way. She doesn’t approach this as holier than thou. It’s almost clinical. It adds to the work.
The writing is good. I love McSweeney’s.
I guess, though, I have questions…
She seems to live a really idyllic life in Vermont with a husband who seems to really love her.
I understand children are hard and ambitions are hard to navigate and being in the driver’s seat with a man can really suck, truly.
But as someone who has had her heart walked out on, stomped on, and stabbed, the gentle way he refurbished their house, stayed with her, fucked her two years after their separation, and agreed to all of her terms? Just hard for me to say “walk away from this.”
For both of them. She’s had a big safety net that most of us couldn’t dream of (that she also created and deserved, I’m not trying to pile on).
We do deserve happiness. We do deserve promise. We do deserve passion. I think she does a great job of making us all sit with that.
I just think it’s kind of easier to do when you still have familiar support.
Important book. Recommend. Well-written. My opinion could be wrong. A gorgeous book, too. I laughed. I cried. It’s good!
I would give it 3.5 if I could.
I loved the essays. It covered a lot of ground in a very easy to digest way.
The author grapples with her own unlikeableness, not in a way that I think she’s unlikeable, but in a very relatable way. She doesn’t approach this as holier than thou. It’s almost clinical. It adds to the work.
The writing is good. I love McSweeney’s.
I guess, though, I have questions…
She seems to live a really idyllic life in Vermont with a husband who seems to really love her.
I understand children are hard and ambitions are hard to navigate and being in the driver’s seat with a man can really suck, truly.
But as someone who has had her heart walked out on, stomped on, and stabbed, the gentle way he refurbished their house, stayed with her, fucked her two years after their separation, and agreed to all of her terms? Just hard for me to say “walk away from this.”
For both of them. She’s had a big safety net that most of us couldn’t dream of (that she also created and deserved, I’m not trying to pile on).
We do deserve happiness. We do deserve promise. We do deserve passion. I think she does a great job of making us all sit with that.
I just think it’s kind of easier to do when you still have familiar support.
Important book. Recommend. Well-written. My opinion could be wrong. A gorgeous book, too. I laughed. I cried. It’s good!