This is a very well written and thoughtful book that would make a great book club discussion. That being said, it is not my type of story. The different stages of mourning one character experiences are very dark and left me feeling out of sorts. I understand this is all real and may be based on real life experiences but it is very upsetting. While most of the story is told from the main character’s point of view there are several written from supporting points of view that are equally depressed. I was relieved to finish the book and move on to a lighter novel.
Thank you to Netgalley for the e- ARC..

This is the second ARC I've read this year, after Writers & Lovers, that's set in Cambridge and revolves around relationships and grief. The main characters here, Annie and Graham, are older than Casey by several decades, and their perspectives are suitably changed. Sue Miller does a good job of showing how secondary relationships are affected by a primary relationship, in this case a (non-monogamous) marriage. I could easily picture her characters in and around Harvard Square, going to dinner parties in linen jackets or long skirts. If reading about white people in that milieu think deeply about their relationships while paying little or no attention to the larger world sounds appealing, then the book is a solid choice. I would recommend it to fans of Anne Tyler and Anna Quindlen.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Annie and Freida, the two women that larger than life Graham married, struggle with the weight of his possessive love. The novel is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

*Thank you to @harpercollins and @netgalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sue Miller's books are always good, and Monogamy is no exception. Graham is a bookseller, larger than life both in person and in personality. Annie meets him and they fall quickly in love. Marriage is long and hard, and requires effort from both parties to make it work. This is the story of two different personalities and the life they create. It's interesting, insightful, and at times, sad.

How well do you ever really know another person? I felt this book could have been a little shorter, but overall was excellent. Put it on your list!

#netgalley #monogamy #harpercollins

Whenever I see a book about people grieving I have to read it. This type of family drama is interesting and something I myself have to deal with every day. I love how Annie goes through so many layers and stages of grieving and really finds the place she needs to be in that process by the end of the book. All of the characters are interesting and believable. I like how Annie and Freida are good friends even though one was previously married to the other’s husband. A good lesson there. Well done!

This was an engrossing read, but I felt that the end didn't reflect the depth of the rest of the story.

Monogamy tells the story of Annie, who is in the time of her life after 30 years of marriage and living as an empty-nester with her beloved husband, Graham. As her life continues to play out and change, Annie is forced to question whether she really recognizes her own life or really knows her own husband.

This book lacks what I often love reading...books that tie everything up, provide answers, and contain resolutions; yet, somehow this book works. It is a real page-turner although not in the sense of mystery or excitement. I found myself being caught up by the writing and the storytelling, enthralled with Annie's life. While simple and average like most people's lives, it made me question, does anyone really have a simple and average life?

I will read other Sue Miller books in the future. Thank you to Net Galley, Sue Miller, and Harper Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy.

I have always enjoyed the author's writing. She always gives you something to think about. These characters are ordinary people in a long marriage. I found them to be believable, flaws and all, although not always likeable.
Life is messy and things are not always as they seem. Overall, I found the novel insightful and a good book to ponder.

The premise of this novel immediately intrigued me (after the death of her husband, a woman discovers he was having an affair) and I thought Miller did a beautiful job capturing the intricacies of a marriage. Her writing is superb. At times in the middle it got a little slow when it dealt with some secondary characters, but all of that is forgiven by a truly beautiful ending. I really enjoyed her writing a great deal.

The title speaks volumes for this work, and also allows the reader to think about the question itself of monogamy. When we are first introduced to the characters of Graham and Annie, you are pulled into their relationship vortex. You felt it along with them, the wanting more from each other, that feeling of being absorbed into your partner. This is when one takes a step back to wonder about this thought in their own lives...when you become one with your partner, do you not exist anymore in your own identity, or is that just how love works?
I think what I enjoyed most about this novel was the questions it brought it in each of the relationships. I appreciated that the author made each chapter a different point of view, to really grasp the full view of the "situation" at hand. Each character was well developed, and helped provide the intricate framework needed to push this plot along. You feel for all of them, and how they were all pulled into the vortex known as Graham, and how they must go on with grief, and even anger with what is left of this larger than life figure.

I love Sue Miller and really looked forward to reading this book, however I found that there really wasn’t a climax for the book, and it sort of just petered out. I loved the first half of the book but can’t really remember the second half.

sue miller never disappoints. you follow anne and graham through their marriage--a marriage filled with the joys and the messiness of life... where does one begin, and one end, as a couple?

I really enjoyed the first half of this novel. I haven't read much Sue Miller, but I was impressed by her use of language. It was literary and beautiful but still kept moving. I read this book in two sittings and for some reason, the second half was nowhere near as enjoyable as the first. The action and the narrative jumps all seemed logical in the first half, moving toward The Event. But in the second half, there were just too many detailed dinner parties without much progress for the characters. I am happy to read introspective novels, but even I needed a little more than this. Also there were a lot of comments about Graham's weight. Is this really a world that contains no fat people? Do we really need to be reminded often that Graham is fat?

My first read by Ms. Miller and I enjoyed it very much! As a fellow Annie, I can’t help but like characters with my name (ha). I found the end to drag a bit, but otherwise a wonderful read.

Sue Miller has written another jewel of a novel about relatable people and their lives and interactions. Annie is a photographer who is married to a generous man who owns a Boston independent bookstore. The book explores Annie's unexpected widowhood and secrets both she and her loved ones must accept. A wonderful read.

A beautiful story about the unique complications that exist in every marriage. Rich, insightful and hard to read at times, it made me see my own relationship a bit differently, and is one of those books I can't seem to stop talking about. I can't wait to recommend it.

As with many authors i have followed for decades, Miller's earlier works kept my attention more than later work. Her Family Pictures was brilliant. Her last couple, this included, embodies only half-formed characters and not always likable. Like Graham in this one. Hated him.

Sue Miller once again gives her readers an engrossing portrait of ordinary people going about their lives, dealing with the good and the bad, and learning about themselves along the way. As always, the dialogue rings true, the plot points are believable, and the ending leaves the reader thinking about the characters after the last page is read.

As always, a beautifully written novel, this time about the complexities of marriage and monogamy. It is the story of Graham and Annie, their love story, their marriage. Each couple has their own set of rules, and their family encompasses his ex-wife, and his children, one from each marriage.

I had a problem liking Graham and that did color my feelings about the book. Perhaps I will be able to discuss this with a book group and try to understand why my feelings impacted my reading of the book.
I also think this will be valuable to any seminars dealing with women’s roles in marriage, most importantly in dealing with sexual equality.

Essentially this is a very good book, though I found it too closed for me, with too many pages spent on the minutiae of their lives. There are some wonderful secondary characters, but I felt they were not sufficiently developed.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.