A review by alovelettertoliterature
The Beauty of the Husband by Anne Carson

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Beauty of the Husband by Anne Carson tells 29 tangos (poems) of John Keats’ idea of ‘beauty’ equalling ‘truth’ and the concept of marriage. 

The story begins with the ‘wife’ and ‘husband’ being told that marriage is not as good as they think, and it follows along their journey through a marriage that is falling apart. It focuses on the emotion and thought behind a doomed marriage and what it follows. 

The beauty of the husband isn’t physical. His beauty relies on his ability to shape words so convincingly that it creates a hold on her wife of his so-called love. 

Carson brilliantly visualizes the scene, atmosphere, emotions, and story of a dissolving marriage with her rhythmic rhymes and style. Though this book may be fiction, the intensity of emotions projected through these essay-styled poems is real. You can feel every heartbreak and wound created from love and the power it holds over someone.