Synopses & Reviews
In this new novel by the celebrated author of The Myth of You and Me, a young mother discovers that her husband's novel about infidelity might be drawn from real life.
Sarah Price is thirty-five years old. She doesn't feel as though she's getting older, but there are some noticeable changes: a hangover after two beers, the stray gray hair, and, most of all, she's called Mom by two small children. Always responsible, Sarah traded her MFA for a steady job, which allows her husband, Nathan, to write fiction. But Sarah is happy and she believes Nathan is too, until a truth is revealed: Nathan's upcoming novel, Infidelity, is based in fact.
Suddenly Sarah's world is turned upside down. Adding to her confusion, Nathan abdicates responsibility for the fate of their relationship and of his novel's publicationa financial lifesaver they have been depending uponleaving both in Sarah's hands. Reeling from his betrayal, she is plagued by dark questions. How well does she really know Nathan? And, more important, how well does she know herself?
For answers, Sarah looks back to her artistic twenty-something self to try to understand what happened to her dreams. When did it all seem to change? Pushed from her complacent plateau, Sarah begins to actfor the first time not so responsiblyon all the things she has let go of for so long: her blank computer screen; her best friend, Helen; the volumes of Proust on her bookshelf. And then there is that e-mail in her inbox: a note from Rajiv, a beautiful man from her past who once tempted her to stray. The struggle to find which version of herself is the essential oneartist, wife, or mothertakes Sarah hundreds of miles away from her marriage on a surprising journey.
Wise, funny, and sharply drawn, Leah Stewart's Husband and Wifeprobes our deepest relationships, the promises we make and break, and the consequences they hold for our lives, revealing that it's never too late to step back and start over.
Review
“Stewart creates a crisis of faith where adult reality collides with youthful dreams. The writing is tactile, elemental, even comical, providing readers with a situation that could so easily be their own.” Library Journal (starred review)
Review
“Hilarious, heartbreaking, and wise, Husband and Wife is a novel to savor. Stewarts bright heroine is faced with an impossible choiceand I couldnt put the book down until Id followed her story to the end.” Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Love Stories in This Town
Review
“Heartbreaking and darkly humorous. . . . [Stewart] is an acute social observer.” BookPage.com
Review
“Leah Stewarts brilliantly written novel Husband and Wife is a deeply human book: funny, tender, smart, self-aware. When you read it you will laugh, you will cry, you will recognize others, you will recognize yourself.” Elin Hilderbrand, author of < i=""> The Castaways and Barefoot <>
Review
“Stewarts book does what real life doesnt always allow: It gives the woman a voice.” Raleigh News & Observer
Review
“This narrative voice is so alive and specific that it moves past the idea of ‘narrative voice to become a human woman speaking to you. . . . I cherish this wry, funny, aching, intelligent character and this book!” Marisa de los Santos, author of < i=""> Belong to Me <> and < i=""> Love Walked In <>
Synopsis
Sarah Price has never regretted trading her MFA for a steady job so that her husband, Nathan, could write fiction. But at age thirty-five, her world is turned upside-down by a shocking revelation: Nathan's upcoming novel,
Infidelity, is based on fact. Reeling from his betrayal, Sarah is plagued by dark questions. How well does she really know her husband? More important, how well does she know herself?
For answers, Sarah looks back to her artistic twentysomething self to try to understand what exactly has happened to her dreams. And so begins her quest to discover which version of herself is the essential one—the artist, wife, mother, or someone else entirely—an eye-opening journey that leads Sarah hundreds of miles away from her marriage and back to herself.
Synopsis
“Leah Stewarts brilliantly written novel
Husband and Wife is a deeply human book: funny, tender, smart, self-aware. When you read it you will laugh, you will cry, you will recognize others, you will recognize yourself.” — Elin Hilderbrand, author of
The Castaways and
Barefoot From the highly acclaimed author of The Myth of You and Me comes a new novel about a young mother who finds her identity rocked to the core when her writer-husband reveals his next novel about infidelity isnt entirely fiction. Fans of Meg Wolitzer, Ayelet Waldman, and Marisa de los Santos, as well as memoirs like Happens Every Day and Perfection, will love Leah Stewarts Husband and Wife.
About the Author
Leah Stewart is the author of the novels The Myth of You and Me and Body of a Girl. A recipient of an NEA Literature Fellowship, she lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and their two young children. She teaches creative writing at the University of Cincinnati.