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A Happy Marriage

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A Happy Marriage Cover

ISBN13: 9781439102312
ISBN10: 1439102317
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A Happy Marriage, Yglesias’s return to fiction after a thirteen-year hiatus, was inspired by his relationship with his wife, who died in 2004. Both intimate and expansive, it is a stunningly candid novel that alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of the courtship of Enrique Sabas and his wife Margaret and the final months of her life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, and children—and to Enrique. Spanning thirty years, this achingly honest story is about what it means for two people to spend a lifetime together—and what makes a happy marriage. “Anyone in a relationship will be able to relate,” said USA TODAY .

Told from the husband’s point of view, with revelatory and sometimes disarming candor, the novel charts the ebb and flow of marriage, illuminating both the mundane moments and the magic. Bold, elegiac, and emotionally suspenseful, Yglesias’s beautiful novel will break every reader’s heart—while encouraging all of us with its clear-eyed evocation of the enduring value of marital love.

Synopsis:

A Happy Marriage, Yglesias’s return to fiction after a thirteen-year hiatus, was inspired by his relationship with his wife, who died in 2004. Both intimate and expansive, it is a stunningly candid novel that alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of the courtship of Enrique Sabas and his wife Margaret and the final months of her life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, and children—and to Enrique. Spanning thirty years, this achingly honest story is about what it means for two people to spend a lifetime together—and what makes a happy marriage. “Anyone in a relationship will be able to relate,” said USA TODAY .

Told from the husband’s point of view, with revelatory and sometimes disarming candor, the novel charts the ebb and flow of marriage, illuminating both the mundane moments and the magic. Bold, elegiac, and emotionally suspenseful, Yglesias’s beautiful novel will break every reader’s heart—while encouraging all of us with its clear-eyed evocation of the enduring value of marital love.

Synopsis:

A Happy Marriage is both intimate and expansive: It is the story of Enrique Sabas and his wife, Margaret, a novel that alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of their courtship and the final months of Margaret's life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, and children — and to Enrique. Spanning thirty years, this achingly honest story is about what it means for two people to spend a lifetime together — and what makes a happy marriage.

Yglesias's career as a novelist began in 1970 when he wrote an autobiographical novel at sixteen, hailed by critics for its stunning and revelatory depiction of adolescence. A Happy Marriage, his first work of fiction in thirteen years, was inspired by his relationship with his wife, Margaret, who died in 2004. Bold, elegiac, and emotionally suspenseful, even though we know what happens, Yglesias's beautiful novel will break every reader's heart — while encouraging all of us with its clear-eyed evocation of the enduring value of marriage.

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About the Author

Rafael Yglesias is an American novelist and screenwriter. He dropped out of high school upon publication of his first novel in 1972 at age 17.  He is the author of nine novels, including Dr. Neruda’s Cure For Evil and Fearless, which he adapted for the screen.  He also wrote the screenplays for Death And The Maiden, Les Miserables, From Hell, and Dark Water.  He has two grown sons and lives in New York’s Greenwich Village.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
Megan Keach, January 1, 2011 (view all comments by Megan Keach)
Loved It.
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Laurie Blum, September 25, 2010 (view all comments by Laurie Blum)
"A Happy Marriage" by Rafael Yglesias tells the story of a mostly companionable 27 year marriage of Enrique & Margaret Sabas. The novel is very autobiographical—Enrique, like Yglesias, is a literary prodigy, having quit school @ 16 after the publication of his first novel. The story opens five years later, and Enrique, now 21 years old, is living the despondent life of the "midlist" novelist in a fifth-floor walk-up in Soho (which was a fun "virtual visit" to NYC). Through an aspiring writer friend, Bernard, he meets the lovely Margaret Cohen (Yglesias’s wife in "real life" was named Margaret as well), a cheerful playful young lady with whom Enrique falls abruptly & agonizingly in love. Each tiny step toward intimacy—a late night spent talking until dawn, a phone call that yields not a date but an invitation to a large holiday dinner at Margaret’s studio apartment, a meal on the cheap at a neighborhood dive—moves them closer to happy relationship.
You can parctically "feel" the characters thinking & developing, such vivid descriptions which are interwoven with merciless details of Margaret's untimely passing from symptoms of bladder cancer complete with surgeries & treatment. I was reminded of my dear ones who suffered with similar agonies, knowing that usually cancer wins. I wept but am celebrating this courageous literary masterpiece which should be "required reading" for all couples ... in sickness & in health!
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(7 of 14 readers found this comment helpful)
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Laurie Blum, September 25, 2010 (view all comments by Laurie Blum)
"A Happy Marriage" by Rafael Yglesias tells the story of a mostly companionable 27 year marriage of Enrique & Margaret Sabas. The novel is very autobiographical—Enrique, like Yglesias, is a literary prodigy, having quit school @ 16 after the publication of his first novel. The story opens five years later, and Enrique, now 21 years old, is living the despondent life of the "midlist" novelist in a fifth-floor walk-up in Soho (which was a fun "virtual visit" to NYC). Through an aspiring writer friend, Bernard, he meets the lovely Margaret Cohen (Yglesias’s wife in "real life" was named Margaret as well), a cheerful playful young lady with whom Enrique falls abruptly & agonizingly in love. Each tiny step toward intimacy—a late night spent talking until dawn, a phone call that yields not a date but an invitation to a large holiday dinner at Margaret’s studio apartment, a meal on the cheap at a neighborhood dive—moves them closer to happy relationship.
You can parctically "feel" the characters thinking & developing, such vivid descriptions which are interwoven with merciless details of Margaret's untimely passing from symptoms of bladder cancer complete with surgeries & treatment. I was reminded of my dear ones who suffered with similar agonies, knowing that usually cancer wins. I wept but am celebrating this courageous literary masterpiece which should be "required reading" for all couples ... in sickness & in health!
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(7 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
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Product Details

ISBN:
9781439102312
Subtitle:
A Novel
Author:
Yglesias, Rafael
Publisher:
Scribner
Subject:
Marriage
Subject:
Spouses
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2010
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
20100810
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
384
Dimensions:
8.44 x 5.5 in 11.515 oz
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Related Subjects


Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » Biographical
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » Sale Books

A Happy Marriage New Trade Paper
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Product details 384 pages Scribner Book Company - English 9781439102312 Reviews:
"Synopsis" by , A Happy Marriage, Yglesias’s return to fiction after a thirteen-year hiatus, was inspired by his relationship with his wife, who died in 2004. Both intimate and expansive, it is a stunningly candid novel that alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of the courtship of Enrique Sabas and his wife Margaret and the final months of her life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, and children—and to Enrique. Spanning thirty years, this achingly honest story is about what it means for two people to spend a lifetime together—and what makes a happy marriage. “Anyone in a relationship will be able to relate,” said USA TODAY .

Told from the husband’s point of view, with revelatory and sometimes disarming candor, the novel charts the ebb and flow of marriage, illuminating both the mundane moments and the magic. Bold, elegiac, and emotionally suspenseful, Yglesias’s beautiful novel will break every reader’s heart—while encouraging all of us with its clear-eyed evocation of the enduring value of marital love.

"Synopsis" by , A Happy Marriage is both intimate and expansive: It is the story of Enrique Sabas and his wife, Margaret, a novel that alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of their courtship and the final months of Margaret's life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, and children — and to Enrique. Spanning thirty years, this achingly honest story is about what it means for two people to spend a lifetime together — and what makes a happy marriage.

Yglesias's career as a novelist began in 1970 when he wrote an autobiographical novel at sixteen, hailed by critics for its stunning and revelatory depiction of adolescence. A Happy Marriage, his first work of fiction in thirteen years, was inspired by his relationship with his wife, Margaret, who died in 2004. Bold, elegiac, and emotionally suspenseful, even though we know what happens, Yglesias's beautiful novel will break every reader's heart — while encouraging all of us with its clear-eyed evocation of the enduring value of marriage.

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