I recently read Fleishman is in Trouble, and while it wasn’t my favourite, I appreciated what the author was trying to achieve. Normally I really enjoy books which explore domestic relationships and marriage, so here’s a list of books I think you’d like if you enjoyed Fleishman is in Trouble.
Together by Julie Cohen
Synopsis: Robbie and Emily have been together for a long time, and have known each other even longer. They have a loving family, a home they love and cherish, and are as in love as the day they met. However, there are certain things they don’t talk about – secrets they’ve been keeping for years, and though they’ve got through most of their lives without addressing it, it threatened to break them apart more than once in the decades leading up to the present day. A love story told in reverse, each year that this story journeys back will give you another little insight into the truth, but when it’s finally revealed, you will see the story from a whole new perspective.
Robbie and Emily are the epitome of true love. Right from the first page, you can see how Cohen created characters willing to do anything for each other in order to protect their love and their family. As I learnt more about their story, I was fascinated by the lives they had led up until the day we meet them, when they’re both well into their eighties.
Overall this is a beautifully-written book which tells the story of two people just trying their best to find some peace. You will love Emily and Robbie right from the first page, but it’s your choice how you see them by the end. I think this book is clever in its ability to make the reader think about something and really ask themselves – if two people love each other that much, is it really anyone else’s place to break them apart?
Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
Synopsis: Henry, Lee, Kip, and Ronny are childhood friends who grew up together in Wisconsin. As they grew older, they grew apart as their lives took different turns, and each became their own person. A farmer, rodeo star, city high-flyer, and famous musician, those who didn’t stay are eventually drawn back to their hometown of Little Wing and question why nowhere else could ever be called home. When the four of them are back for a wedding, each has the opportunity to reminisce and compare their lives against their friends’, but for each of them there are regrets, heartbreaks, mistakes, and betrayals – Shotgun Lovesongs tries to address whether childhood friendships can stand the test of time and the strains that the trials and tribulations of life present.
The characters are really the heart of this book, and as much as there are moments of hurt and heartbreak, the love presented between all the characters ebbs reassuringly through just about every page. These friends have a lot of history behind them and while you can see how it weathered them, you can also see how it made their bonds stronger too.
Shotgun Lovesongs reminds its readers that we are all far from perfect, but that to love other people and the love they give you in return is something you should cherish, and something which will ultimately protect you and keep you sane. This book will resonate with anyone from a small town who dreamed big, or was just happy to get by and find their place in the world. It’s a small-time premise with a big-time message and I urge everyone to read it!
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Synopsis: Girl, Woman, Other is a collection of stories told from the perspective of 12 Black characters, mainly women, and their lives in Britain spanning almost a century. This eclectic mix of characters give us a perspective often not shown and simply portrays 12 lives and how they were lived. From a lesbian playwright and a non-binary Twitter influencer to those simply unhappy in their marriages and wanting something more than the hand they’ve been dealt, this book explores everything from systemic racism and gender identity to our sexual desires and the innate longing we all feel to fit in.
This book has moments of darkness, but it also has moments of immense joy. It’s quite simply a tableau of the rollercoaster that is life. Anma, Yazz, Dominique, Carole, Bummi, LaTisha, Shirley, Winsome, Penelope, Megan/Morgan, Hattie, and Grace are an interesting and varied group of people who, all in their own ways, prove how they’ve achieved in their lives, show their deepest desires, their regrets, and the people they love the most. It’s a raw and truthful account of 12 lives without a filter, showing the joys and struggles of their journeys, full of queer characters and formidable personalities shutting down the patriarchal norms – this is a powerful and empowering book. READ IT!
The Break by Marian Keyes
Synopsis:The Break tells the story of Amy and Hugh – they are an uncomplicated couple whose lives are suddenly made complicated when Hugh decides he wants to take a break. Struggling with the loss of his dad and friend, his relationship with Amy seems to have flatlined so he tells her he wants to go travelling; he’ll be back in 6 months, and before she knows it, he’s gone. Left with an unfathomable grief from Hugh’s absence, Amy must continue to navigate her life without him. But when she sees a picture of him with another woman in Thailand, it flips something in Amy, and suddenly she starts to see how she can be happy without him. But an eighteen year relationship is a big thing to just abandon…
I listened to this as an audiobook and the Irish narrator Aoife McMahon was just fantastic. From the different character voices to the raucous sex scenes, it made for an interesting and engaging listen. As there are snippets of Irish vernacular sprinkled throughout this book, I honestly think reading it as an audiobook heightens its impact because there’s no comparing reading “feckin eejit” compared with hearing it in an Irish accent!
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Synopsis: The Wife Between Us has two protagonists, the first a recently-divorced woman, Vanessa, who is trying to start her life again without her husband Richard, but struggles to find her feet now in a world – and class – that she is not used to anymore. The other, Nellie, a woman who is engaged to Richard and thinks it all seems too good to be true. But as we hear from these two women, two spookingly familiar tales begin to emerge, and at the centre, is the man they both love.
I’d seen this novel around for a while, and so when it was chosen for my book club, I was very exciting to start reading! Right from the beginning, the protagonists spark an intrigue of their lives. Both Vanessa and Nellie were interesting and complicated and I was turning each page in anticipation of one of them dropping some kind of bombshell, or doing something shocking or rash.
