Annie has been married to Graham for 30 years. The second marriage for both, she also has a very friendly relationship with Frieda, Graham’s first wife and both Annie’s daughter and Frieda’s son are also good friends. While mourning Graham’s sudden death, Annie learns that he has been unfaithful to her.

As with much of Sue Miller’s writing, this is well written, literate, with strong character development. She sensitively explores the grief of unexpectedly losing a spouse and then the further grief and anger of losing the idea of what you thought your marriage was. The interplay of family relationships is a driving force in this novel.

Although there are sections that seem to go on and on about the mundane, it was an engrossing read. And, after all, isn’t a lot of daily life mundane?

This is a fast read. I like Sue Miller's writing style. Very concise for her characters building & story line.

In Monogamy the family centers around Graham who is presently married to Annie his second wife, but still connected to his first wife Frieda and their son Lucas. The world seems to revolve around him. When he dies secrets are revealed and Annie needs to reground herself. Monogamy is intriguing with interesting connections between the characters.

A couple of points that made this novel for me: can you really know another person, be it spouse, child, parent, or friend, even after spending much of your life with them? And the other point is so close to my own belief that our bodies are not the essence of who we are, that a human body merely houses us during life. Good characters and interesting, albeit slow moving, plot but it gives ample opportunity for reflection on life.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC to read and review.

With a one-word title, I began this book with preconceptions about the characters and the plot. MONOGAMY is a family's story about lives that embodies all the experiences many of us share today. Graham and Annie are part of a privileged class in society. Graham owns a bookstore, and Annie is a photographer. The couple lives in Cambridge and has many friends, including Graham's first wife, Frieda. Frieda and Graham share a son, Lucas, and Annie, and Graham's child is Sarah. Lucas lives in New York while Sarah lives and works in San Francisco.

The sudden shift in this fairytale life is Graham's sudden death. Annie's grief is visceral to read about, and the entire family is shaken and worried about how Annie will survive without her anchor and soulmate. Annie was always a bit in Graham's shadow. He was the gregarious book lover, and he loved all the good things in life, good friends, good food, and, unfortunately, attractive women.

Annie knew about one of Graham's affairs, and Frieda certainly knew about his relationship with Annie, who became his second wife. Frieda was empathetic with Annie, but only to a point. Her understanding and compassion was brief and hurt the women's relationship. Annie did not want the children to know, so she found herself isolated and lonely.

Reading this novel is walking the long road of grief and discovery with Annie. It took quite some time, but the writing is excellent, and the book is a worthwhile life lesson for all women to read and understand.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

This one was not for me. It was long and boring. And, the back cover description basically reveals the whole story. No surprises. Just about grief and how we never really know people.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an okay book. I'm glad I did it as an auidobook, because I probably would have given up if it were in print. I almost did in the audiobook. The first part has a lot of sex, so if you are uncomfortable reading about that, you won't like this book. Some of the language gets a bit graphic. I think the story was overall good and I liked the characters. It just moved a little slow and focused a little too much on the sex lives of the couples than I cared for.

The author narrated this book herself. She did alright but she didn't really distinguish the voices or emote. That could have been better.

Monogamy
A Novel
by Sue Miller
HarperCollins Publishers
You Like Them You Are Auto-Approved
Harper
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction
Also available as an audiobook
Pub Date 08 Sep 2020 | Archive Date 03 Nov 2020

What a read! Do we truly really know those closest to us? This book makes you think about that question.
Haunting!
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the ARC,
5 star

This a a superbly written book about a couple, Annie and Graham. It is a second marriage for each of them. Graham is a book seller and is larger than life. That includes his extra marital affairs. When Graham suddenly dies Annie faces the truth of their marriage and questions if she really her husband. This novel tackles themes of love, marriage, family, happiness and grief. You get an intimate portrait of a marriage and those that are in its sphere: friends, children.

Wonderful story of a blended family dealing with loves lost, found and remembered. Honesty and longing steer a widow to her own callings after finding out her husband was unfaithful.

There is a quote near the end of the book where the main character, Annie, goes to an author reading. After listening to the author read from his book she thinks "It was quiet, a bit slow, and entirely compelling..." As I read this I thought this summed up how I felt about Monogamy by Sue Miller. The writing is lovely, the characters are complex and interesting, but the whole thing felt a bit slow.

Monogamy is the story of Annie and Graham, who are a true love story, with all of the complications, errors, happiness and monotony that goes with that. As with other Sue Miller books ( and this is her first in many years) the characters drive the book. You know what they think, what they feel, how they smell, and any other detail of their lives. This can become tedious to some, but I do enjoy reading about what drives people and how their interactions affect their lives. There is no big car chase, no murder scene, but it is a story about marriage and love and family - and sometimes that just flows on.

I finished this book a couple days ago and I find myself thinking about the characters from time to time. It is one of those books that will stay with me. Sue Miller's description of the bookstore, the neighbor, the parties, the sadness all made it so real. This may be a spoiler, but when Annie descovers that Graham is gone that one morning - the writing by Sue Miller is so real. So close. I felt like I was in the room. That doesn't happen often.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advance ebook and the opportunity to read this book.

Another wonderful book from Sue Miller. After their first marriages ended, Annie and Graham meet on the opening night of Graham's new bookstore in Cambridge, MA. Kindred souls, Annie and Graham become a couple and eventually get married. The extended family includes Graham's first wife Frida and Louis, Graham and Frida's son, and Sarah, Graham and Annie's daughter.

Graham, a big man, is the exuberant one and a devoted father whereas Annie, a photographer, is more of an introvert. The relations between husband and wife, children with each other and their parents, and adults with lovers are thoroughly explored in this contemporary novel where the ties that bind us are sometimes more fragile than we expect.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book and appreciate having had this opportunity. Both old fans of Miller and new readers will find this book both insightful and entertaining.

My first book by this author. It was very hard to get into - seemed to take it's time finding it's stride.

Very sad, moving book about a not so perfect man and his wife who seems to think she's closer to perfect. It wàs almost too much at times, a little depressing. So now I'll ready something funny!

This was my first Sue Miller book, and I had heard great things.

I am in my early thirties, and based on that and other aspects of my identity, I think perhaps I am not the target audience for this novel. Overall, I was disappointed. The characters were mostly unlikable, though at times realistically human. Graham's best friend describes him as requiring too much "forbearance" from others, and I felt that the book asked too much of the same from me as a reader.

I wish that I could say that I enjoyed the writing, but this novel invented its own cliche turns of phrase. Characters "lift," "soften," and "open" to each other with their expressions over and over and over.

There were moments when I felt invested in the plot or the characters' internal journeys, but it took discipline to finish before moving on to other options on my "to read" list.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishers and netgalley for the advance release ebook to read and review.

Sue Miller is one of my favorite authors and this book is just terrific. I know when I am liking a book because I slow down my reading rate - and this one started almost from the beginning. Annie and Graham have been married for 30 years when he dies suddenly and very unexpectedly. They have secrets in their relationship but you can feel the love they had for each other coming off the page. It’s a book about relationships - in a marriage, in a family, in a business. The writing just flows and the pacing is perfect. The characters are so well developed that I felt like they were my personal friends as well. It’s a heartbreaking book, but it’s also a heartwarming book. It’s a book about life and how we deal with grief and all the messiness of everyday.

Let me begin by saying that I have read all of Sue Miller's books and loved them. I was really looking forward to this one.. A long story about .marriage, adultery and family relationships. I found myself skipping over sections. Was not crazy about the couple, Graham and Annie. Both seemed lost in their relationships at times. not sure what they really wanted until Graham passes away. I will probably not recommend.

Graham was the larger than life husband to Freida and now Annie and the father of Lucas and Sarah. He wasn't perfect but he was well loved and now suddenly, he is gone. Annie goes back to pick up her life before Graham which isn't easy. She begins to dissect their marriage and that love/hate relationship that can only be analyzed after the fact. Where you were two and now one is left. This is a touching and quiet book filled with such raw emotion that sinks into your core. Don't be surprised if you begin to look back at your own marriage and possibly wonder at what your life will be like alone and how well you knew each other. A perfect read for those readers of family dramas like those of Elizabeth Stroud, Kristin Hannah and Ann Patchett. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This novel felt so much like it was written by James Salter - if you like stories of lifelong relationships with all the ups and downs, or the impact of one death on the lives branching off from those LTRs, this is a novel for you. It's set in Connecticut but still somehow people have live an upper middle class existence while owning a bookstore and practicing a non lucrative photography career... A little suspension of disbelief, shall we say. But I enjoyed it.

I've always been a fan of Sue Miller. I've missed a few of her novels over the years so I was glad to see this one being published fall 2020. I was curious how the protagonist was going to deal with her not-very-monogamous husband. This is not so much a novel about how a woman deal's with the knowledge of his affair after his death as it is how she deals with it (one not) during the course of their marriage.

This is my 6th Sue Miller novel. I checked my Goodreads reviews and most were read before I was a member so I don’t have comments other than I know I liked her writing and her stories.
My Monday Night Book Club read "While I was Gone" back on July 9, 2001 and it was a good discussion

[author: Sue Miller] hasn’t written a novel in 6 years. In fact. she states in her Acknowledgements that this took 6 years to write. I am not sure what was going on in her life but something!
Story is Graham and Annie, who have been married for nearly 30 years. This is the second marriage for both. Graham is a bookstore owner and Annie a photographer. They frequently have parties typically to entertaining visiting authors. Their life seems too good to be true.
Hmmm
Graham dies suddenly. Annie is an emotional wreck. However, it turns out Graham not only loved books, parties, and food but also women. He had many relationships outside of their marriage and actually discussed it with ex-wife Frieda. However, Annie was clueless.

Story will make a good book club topic and discussion. “How well do you really know someone?”

Needless to say this story is a family drama. And depends on your mood as to whether you love or hate it.
I am going to take the middle!

Want to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 8, 2020