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My Husband
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
In this suspenseful and darkly funny debut novel, a sophisticated French woman spends her life obsessing over her perfect husband--but can their marriage survive her passionate love? At forty years old, she has an enviable life: a successful career, stunning looks, a beautiful house in the suburbs, two healthy children, and most importantly, an ideal husband. After fifteen years together, she is still besotted with him. But she's never quite sure that her passion is reciprocated. After all, would a truly infatuated man ever let go of his wife's hand when they're sitting on the couch together? Determined to keep their relationship perfect, she meticulously prepares for every encounter they have, always taking care to make her actions seem effortless. She watches him attentively, charting every mistake and punishing him accordingly to help him improve. And she tests him--setting traps to make sure that he still loves her just as much as he did when they first met. Until one day she realizes she may have gone too far . . . The winner of France's First Novel Prize in 2021, My Husband builds on the premise of hits like Gone Girl and Fates and Furies--how well can you really know your spouse?--and adds the tension and creepy obsession of You. The result is an irresistible read--compelling, tense, and engaging, infused with sly subversive humor, and told in an utterly original voice that makes it unforgettable. Translated from the French by Emma Ramadan
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Lesliereadsalot
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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1. I get dressed in the morning and undressed at night. @Deblovestoread reminded me that I exercise 3/week and wear exercise clothes! Totally forgot this.
2. The wife in the tagged book worries constantly about what she‘s wearing, how her husband will feel about about what she‘s wearing, and how others see her in what she‘s wearing! Yes, she‘s as neurotic as she sounds.

@TheSpineView #TwoforTuesday

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 2mo
dabbe #1: I like your style. 🤩 2mo
12 likes2 comments
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youneverarrived
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

You just have to go along for the ride with this one. It‘s first person narrative so you really get that obsessive, full on vibe from her. It reads sort of like a thriller but the drama is all confined to the narrator. Absolutely my sort of read. I did get an inkling about the ending @BarbaraBB @sarahbarnes so I wasn‘t completely surprised but I still thought it was brilliant.

sarahbarnes Glad you liked it! 🩵 3mo
BarbaraBB Me too! The ending for me didn‘t add much to the experience, I enjoyed the story nevertheless 🖤 3mo
45 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Kazzie
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
Pickpick

This was wild! Such a range of emotions - from respecting to empathizing with to disliking the wife. The twist at the end is interesting, but annoyingly typical that the man puts so much less effort into the “game” the two are playing

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youneverarrived
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Took myself to a lovely little cafe for dinner ♥️ just started this book and I‘m loving it.

Cathythoughts I loved it too 👍🏻❤️ 3mo
BarbaraBB A great read! Interested in what you‘ll think about the ending. (edited) 3mo
sarahbarnes I really liked this one, too. Echoing @BarbaraBB on what you‘ll think about the ending. 3mo
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BittersweetBooks
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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If we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable that we will never be so 🖤

ChaoticMissAdventures This was my absolute favorite book last year! I still think about it all of the time, I hope you enjoy!! 5mo
BittersweetBooks @ChaoticMissAdventures I just finished it and I‘m still digesting. The epilogue really shook me though! I can see how this book would stay with you for a while… 5mo
Lesliereadsalot Loved the ending! 3mo
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ClairesReads
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

It‘s intense, it‘s sexy, it‘s obsessive, and it‘s VERY, VERY French. I LOVED it. As excellent on audio as I imagine it would be in print. I was edge of my seat right in the mind of the narrator for 6 hours. Pitch perfect ending. Love, love, love.

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erzascarletbookgasm
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

My, oh my. The wife is nuts! Her all-consuming obsession for her husband, her insecurities, neuroticism, are intriguing and suspenseful to read in the beginning. But the repetition annoyed me. I know it‘s to stress how obsessed she is, but I was impatient to get to the end. And I didn‘t like the twist at the end (I saw many loved it). Giving it a Pick as I found some parts amusing and entertaining.

BarbaraBB She is nuts indeed! 6mo
64 likes1 comment
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heyitsMacall
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

I loved having the physical copy of this book. I ate it up in less than a week! I can‘t say too much or I‘ll give something away

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TheEllieMo
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Mehso-so

I heard about this book when the author appeared at an event at last year‘s Cheltenham Literature Festival, and I had high hopes, but it wasn‘t what I expected and I‘m not entirely sure how I feel about it! The novel takes us inside the head of a 40-year-old neurotic mother who is obsessed with her husband. It‘s a rollercoaster ride through one week of a relationship that‘s perfect from the outside, but deeply flawed within

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Gleefulreader
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

Books that are described as “psychological thrillers” or like Gone Girl are not normally my wheelhouse but I‘d seen so many good reviews of this and it did not disappoint. It rips along as the interior monologue over the course of a week of a woman obsessed with her husband. While the obsession might be off putting to read there are parts that are genuinely funny ⬇️

Gleefulreader Where the narrator describes something her husband does that drives her nuts (despite her obsession), I think it can be relatable to anyone in a long term relationship. It rips along and then there‘s a great twist in the last chapter. A quick and very fun read about what happens in other people‘s relationships. 8mo
14 likes1 comment
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Night_Reader
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

4/5 🌟

Dysfunctional but entertaining. At least, it made me feel better about myself and my marriage. Read at your own peril.

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TheEllieMo
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Plan for March:

Kindle TBR: Death of an Airman
Physical TBR: My Husband
Online book club: The Forty Rules of Love
IRL book club: The Spinning Heart
New (to me!): You Let Me In

Cuilin I enjoyed the spinning heart. 9mo
26 likes1 comment
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BirdLaVie
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

What...an experience! I viscerally felt the narrator's exhaustive anxiety, desperation and neuroticism. While this work is hyperbolic, there is something unmistakably captured that exists in many heterosexual relationships that I have witnessed. I do think women can acceptably get away with losing themselves in a man and hiding from themselves and their real issues.

BirdLaVie I also think that a man who is in control of a relationship always knows (and unconsciously or consciously seeks out) that he is in control. The shifting power dynamics that exist between all of us were explored in a very tangible, heart-pounding way. Finishing this book was like getting off a dizzying roller coaster ride! 9mo
BookLineNSinker Added to my TBR, LOVED YOUR REVIEW! 9mo
BirdLaVie @BookLineNSinker Ahh thank you! I can‘t wait to see what you think of it! 9mo
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Cathythoughts
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

I enjoyed this one , a woman obsessed with her husband. Well written in a suspenseful way. But , the ending was terrible! It kind of ruined the book for me. Still, I look forward to more by Maud Ventura.

batsy Intriguing review especially about the ending 😁 I have it on my list. 9mo
Cathythoughts @batsy I look forward to your thoughts, when you get there 😘 9mo
Cathythoughts @batsy I know , I love when there are intense comments about a books ending … if I am enjoying it at all , I have to read on to see what I make of the ending 😁 9mo
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erzascarletbookgasm Curious about this, based on your review. Hope you‘re well, my friend! ❤️ 9mo
Cathythoughts @erzascarletbookgasm It‘s a good read. Thankyou ❤️ I hope you are well too Jessie ❤️ 9mo
batsy @Cathythoughts Yes! Sometimes negative reviews or pans are so interesting in that way, too. Makes me want to read the book 😆 9mo
BarbaraBB I didn‘t see that ending coming! 9mo
Cathythoughts @BarbaraBB I know ! What a way for the book to end. I see your review on it. I have the same boots 😆 I love the way you‘ve styled yours. 👌🏻 9mo
Lesliereadsalot I definitely did not see that ending coming! 9mo
BarbaraBB @Cathythoughts Thank you 😊, what a coincidence we‘ve got them both! They‘re perfect for winter days right?! 9mo
Cathythoughts @BarbaraBB They are perfect , and fun. 👍🏻 9mo
Cathythoughts @Lesliereadsalot Me neither … not a clue. I imagined all kinds of endings, but not that 👍🏻😁 9mo
Tamra I agree about having to plow through a book to find out how it ends! 😆 Endings are just downright difficult. 9mo
TrishB Sounds intriguing! 9mo
Megabooks I enjoyed this ending and did see it coming. Interesting to read all these different reactions! 9mo
Cathythoughts @Tamra I agree ! Endings are indeed difficult ❤️ 9mo
Cathythoughts @TrishB It was good … I was hanging in for ‘ the ending ‘ 🙄 it didn‘t impress me 😂 So , sometimes I get obsessed with the reviews and seeing for myself… all part of it ❤️👍🏻 9mo
Cathythoughts @Megabooks So interesting that you saw it coming ! I really did not… But I look back now and see the whole book in a different way. Love this about book discussions. 9mo
LeahBergen I‘ve had this one stacked for a while. I‘ll have to let you know if I liked the ending any better than you did! 😆 9mo
Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Yes! I‘ll be dying to know what you think of it. 👍🏻❤️ 9mo
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BarbaraBB
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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#BookReport 06/24

I had another really good reading week. I enjoyed all my books although I had higher expectations of the Ernaux.

TrishB A good week 👍🏻 10mo
LeahBergen Great week! 10mo
Suet624 Fantastic! 10mo
79 likes3 comments
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BarbaraBB
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

A French woman, in her 40s, obsessed with her husband. She calls it being in love but it‘s more about being in control . She keeps track of everything he says and does and interprets in her very own way. As a reader I was waiting for something to break this cycle of neurosis and control. What happened surprised me! A fun read!

#52BookClub24 - Timeframe spans a week

monalyisha Great boots! 🤩 10mo
BarbaraBB Thanks 😊 @monalyisha (edited) 10mo
batsy This sounds fab! It's on the wishlist. Love the photo 👌🏾 10mo
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julesG Sounds like an interesting book. Enjoy your appointment. 10mo
Librarybelle Nice! I‘ve not heard of this one! 10mo
BarbaraBB @batsy @julesG Thank you. Grey hairs gone again 😂 10mo
LeahBergen I‘ve been wanting to read this book (and I need my grey hairs done again, too 😆)! 10mo
squirrelbrain I really wasn‘t sure about the ending of this - I *think* I hated it, but maybe I loved it. 🤔 10mo
BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain I was quite surprised and even though the book would have been as good without it I somehow liked it too! 10mo
Hooked_on_books Sounds interesting! 10mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 10mo
Megabooks Glad you enjoyed this too!! 10mo
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SassyPants617
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Hiding from my bf and 2 toddlers so I can read and shovel nachos in my face. Alone. 🙃🤣

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Megabooks
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

This was a fast-paced tale of obsessive love translated from French. We spend a week in the head of a woman who will go to increasing lengths to hold her husband‘s attention — forsaking all else, even their children. While I saw the twist coming a mile away, I still appreciated the tension she expertly built.

Thanks for this gift @BarbaraBB ! 😘😘

BarbaraBB Was this a gift by me? I don‘t even remember 🤦🏻‍♀️ but I do have a copy too! Intrigued by your review 🩷 11mo
Megabooks @BarbaraBB it‘s what I got when I returned Honeybees that I already owned. 👍🏻🫶🏻 11mo
ChaoticMissAdventures This was one of my favorite books this year! I am glad you enjoyed it. I loved the writing. I had an “obsessed wives“ obsession this year and this one I thought was so good!
11mo
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Megabooks @ChaoticMissAdventures I go through phases like that, too. The tension in this book was just perfection! 11mo
BarbaraBB @Megabooks Ow I forgot about that but it‘s probably the reason the book ended up on my TBR too. My sister bought it for me for Christmas! (edited) 11mo
Megabooks @BarbaraBB it also made Cindy‘s best of summer list, which is probably what originally got it there (for me too 😁). 11mo
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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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I absolutley love this novel.
A woman trying to be absolutly perfect for her husband who she is obsessed over.

My recent favorite genre of books is women slowly falling apart due to an obsession, and this book showed it perfectly. The vibes in this are imaculate.

I will be keeping an eye our for more from Ventura.

#FavBook2023 #moodboard

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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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2024 was my year to get into obsessive wives books. I am enthralled!
The Vegetarian is one of my favorite books, and was a reread this year it kicked off this pull to married women who might not be very reliable narrators. Stories that hone in and analyze a wife's life and motivate.
All of these are a bit odd, just shy of reality.

If anyone has any recommendations for more like these I would love to read more. My Husband was a favorite of all

Ruthiella You could try 11mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @Ruthiella oh yes! I have not read that one yet. Need to get it on my library request list. I am a bit nervous about it being a life long vegetarian ahahah 11mo
24 likes2 comments
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Chelsea.Poole
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

Does anyone really exist like this!?! I found this so bizarre…a French woman obsessed with her husband she‘s been married to for over ten years. Basically the entire book is her anxieties about his opinion of her. She goes to unfathomable lengths to keep him interested. She doesn‘t care about her kids, simply lives for “my husband”. Totally not relatable for me! 😆 The very end is worth the read!

Suet624 Yikes! 13mo
Megabooks Excited about this one! 13mo
BarbaraBB Sounds great, though totally unrelatable 😂 13mo
Lesliereadsalot Such a great ending! 13mo
thegirlwiththelibrarybag I started this on audiobook but the first day was so intense that I‘ve put it down for now 13mo
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Lesliereadsalot
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

I‘m giving this book a pick rating, mainly due to the twist at the end that I definitely did not see coming. The narrator of this short book is possibly the most neurotic whining woman you‘ve ever met, constantly insecure and worrying about how her husband thinks about her. On every page actually. Multiple times. Great ending though.

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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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September #roundup

5 ⭐
My Husband
4.5 ⭐
Punching the Air
Flights
4 ⭐
Boyfriend Material
10 Things That Never Happened
The Black God's Drum
The Sword and the Shield
How We Disappeared
The Mountains Sing
3.5 ⭐
Glitterland
Nick and Charlie
3 ⭐
Lone Women
All the Beauty in the World
Camp Zero
The Housekeeper and the Professor
2.5 ⭐
One Night in Heartswood

ChaoticMissAdventures I read 16 books, which I think is good since I had a good week of a reading slump where I DNF's something like 6 books.
Back at it now though just in time for #scarthlon
14mo
24 likes1 comment
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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

I LOVED this book. What a ride. I have seen people complain about repetition but I honestly think they are missing the point. Our Wife is seriously obsessed with Husband. Husband is all she can think about, every thought, feeling, move she makes revolves around Husband.
The writing was easy to read but not too simplistic, I was flying through the pages. (Normally I get about 10 pages read during lunch here I was doing 30ish)
1 of my '23 favs

sarahbarnes I really liked this one too! 14mo
33 likes1 comment
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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Oh. My. God.
This Epilogue!!

I have a terrible habit of skipping prologues and epilogues and I am ecstatic I read this one.

What an ending!

😮😍

ICantImReading This book had such a great ending!! 14mo
ChaoticMissAdventures @ICantImReading I LOVE ending that shift the entire time of the book! Hearing from his POV was a perfect ending. 🤯 14mo
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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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#20in4 #readathon @andrew65

I am not prepared for #scarathon I had a ton of non scary books out from the library right now. Hoping to get through some of them these last couple of days.
Finishing - My Husband (LOVING), Camp Zero (possible DNF), and Glitterland (Having a big Alexis Hall moment right now)

And I am hoping to make progress in Jordan Peels anthology Out There Screaming (ARC) and Interior Chinatown (Audio)

bthegood 👻👻 14mo
Andrew65 Great to have you with us, best of luck 😁 14mo
23 likes2 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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I am absolutely loving My Husband, and I am so, so glad I was introduced to The Lover in college. I would highly recommend reading Duras' novella first if you are interested in reading My Husband, knowing the former book gives a lot to understanding the latter. The Lover is mentioned numerous times in My Husband, and if you haven't read it you are in for a treat. It is a fantastic, gorgeously written book.

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Mdion1993
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Mehso-so

A wife reflects on her marriage, chronicling the wayward steps she takes to maintain her husband‘s interest.

Possessive✨ Neurotic ✨ Toxic

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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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"I am even more unsettled when Nicolas tells me something I didn't know about my husband. The idea that Nicolas knew him during a time when I hadn't yet met him makes me slightly dizzy. More generally, the idea that my husband existed before meeting me is surreal, even revolting."

Woooow this lady is a trip.

Emilymdxn I loved this book so much! So original and bizarre 14mo
sarahbarnes What @Emilymdxn said! 14mo
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Megabooks
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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I want to thank my wonderful #CampLitsy23 cohosts for their kind gifts!! I was hoping to pick up an autographed copy of Vaster Wilds with Helen‘s at the Lauren Groff event on Thursday, but I had a terrible migraine and couldn‘t make the 2 hour trip. I‘m in Nashville frequently, and I‘ll enjoy picking out something soon! Really looking forward to My Husband after @Cinfhen ‘s praise! I am excited to read more translated lit! Thank you B!! 😘🫶🏻💜

squirrelbrain Ugh, sorry you couldn‘t make the event on Thursday. 😢 1y
Megabooks @squirrelbrain thanks 💜 I was a bit heartbroken, especially after I read the book, and it was so brilliant. I missed when she came for matrix, too. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 I can make her next visit. I‘m looking forward to picking out something at Parnassus next time I go!! Thank you🫶🏻 1y
BarbaraBB So droog you couldn‘t make it. I know how much you‘d been looking forward to it. I just read your email, thank you for checking in. I am okay, I hope you‘ll feel better soon too 💖 (edited) 1y
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BarbaraBB I‘ll decide if I‘ll read My Husband after your review! 1y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB so glad you‘re okay!! 💕💕 really excited for My Husband! @Reviewsbylola liked it too!! 1y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB and I am feeling better. 💜 headed to church this morning if I can get my stuff together. 🎉 1y
BarbaraBB Glad you‘re going out, that means you‘re feeling better indeed. I hope all went well! 😘 1y
Cinfhen I LOVED this one on audio!! Hope it works well in print!!! And glad you‘re feeling better but so sorry you had to miss the event on Thursday 😔 1y
70 likes8 comments
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sarahbarnes
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

Ventura did a good job of taking recognizable anxieties in relationships to the extreme, distorting them to an almost horrifying degree. I enjoyed the narrative style that slowly let me in on the extent of the narrator‘s neurosis. I don‘t think the epilogue added much and could‘ve done without it, but I enjoyed this one otherwise.

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VRM1975
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
Pickpick

.

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ICantImReading
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To take a stab at the narrator‘s existential word game, where she chooses three words that make a person who they are, I would say she is analytical, obsessive, and insecure. Being inside her head was fascinating (and, at times, tiring). This French novel is a truly twisted and clever psychological romance that demands to be discussed!

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ChaoticMissAdventures
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pondering ordering a book from Blackwell's because I like the UK edition and then getting forgotten book mail where past me also had the idea to order this book in UK version..

One thing book ban people do get right is not double ordering a book because they forgot! So glad this came while I was still filling my cart 😂

JamieArc I did this last week. I had to go to the bookstore shame-faced to return it 🫣 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures @JamieArc feels so silly!! "whoops bought it twice, I was just so excited!" ? 1y
39 likes2 comments
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kbuggle
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

One week of inner dialogue of a woman who is absolutely obsessed with her husband. somehow this feels like a thriller, it‘s so suspenseful, but also really darkly funny.

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Cinfhen
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

I‘m not sure I would have cared as much for this book in print, but as an audio- I loved it! I was completely gripped by the unhinged musings of our narrator who‘s CONSUMED with her husband and the privileges her marriage to him extends her. I had My Sister the Serial Killer mixed with My Lovely Wife vibes. Good fun!! Thanks to @Reviewsbylola for putting this on my #ReadersRadar

Cinfhen @BarbaraBB I DO think you‘d like this one!!! 1y
BarbaraBB Thanks!! I‘ll look it up! 1y
thegirlwiththelibrarybag Unhinged musings. Say no more! 1y
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Cinfhen Ha!! Glad you can relate @thegirlwiththelibrarybag - if you have the option of audio, then highly recommended the audio!!! 1y
thegirlwiththelibrarybag @Cinfhen, I‘ve added it to my audible wish list 🤩 1y
Chelsea.Poole I‘ve had my eye on this and now I know I need this! 1y
Megabooks Stacked!! 1y
Cinfhen Yay!!! Share your thoughts after you get to My Husband @thegirlwiththelibrarybag @Chelsea.Poole @Megabooks it‘s a short listen - which I think worked really well! 1y
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squirrelbrain
My Husband: A Novel | Maud Ventura
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Pickpick

I‘ve had to seriously consider whether I liked this book or not. Both protagonists- the MC and her titular husband - are awful and there‘s lots of bad behaviour so I wondered if that was clouding my feelings about the book overall.

The MC is obsessed with her husband, and by the fact that, whilst she is still completely in love with him after 15 years, he may not feel the same.

Not for everyone but, for me, it‘s a pick but not a strong one.

BarbaraBB It does sound like I might like it 😀 1y
squirrelbrain Yes, you might @BarbaraBB ! It‘s translated from the original French, so it has that kind of dispassionate distance in the narrative. It‘s out in the UK on 27th July; not sure about anywhere else. 1y
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