A review by leerazer
I Married You for Happiness, by Lily Tuck
3.0
Enjoyable but probably forgettable quicker read. Plot is nothing original of course: woman's spouse dies after a long marriage and she reminisces about their past together. You've seen this in memoir and fictional forms plenty.
Tuck has not made the wife character here very compelling or sympathetic, aside from being deeply shaken by finding her husband passed away. She's a painter, though she has only ever sold a few paintings to friends. She was raped by her husband's cousin, but never says anything about it. She has had an affair for unclear reasons but that may have had to do with resentment over her husband's professional success. He's the far more interesting character. A mathematics professor, Tuck works in references and explanations of some mathematical and philosophical topics into the book which for me were something approaching its saving grace.
Tuck has not made the wife character here very compelling or sympathetic, aside from being deeply shaken by finding her husband passed away. She's a painter, though she has only ever sold a few paintings to friends. She was raped by her husband's cousin, but never says anything about it. She has had an affair for unclear reasons but that may have had to do with resentment over her husband's professional success. He's the far more interesting character. A mathematics professor, Tuck works in references and explanations of some mathematical and philosophical topics into the book which for me were something approaching its saving grace.