Review: Matrimony by Joshua Henkin

Today, in January Magazine’s fiction section, M.J. Rose spends some time with Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Says Rose:

’Tis the season of matrimony. At least that’s true when it comes to television, where I’ve been watching Tell Me You Love Me, HBO’s new sex-soaked series about marital discontent, and American Movie Classics’ Mad Men, which, despite its focus on 1950s advertising men, is ultimately a show about marital discord. In her New York Times essay “Say, Darling, Is It Frigid in Here?” Alessandra Stanley notes that not since Thirtysomething has television been so preoccupied with marriage ... and miserable marriages at that.

Yet this season’s most compelling depiction of marriage isn’t a TV series but a book. Joshua Henkin’s Matrimony is a brilliant, beautifully written novel that tracks a couple from the time they meet in college until 20 years later as they approach middle-age.

The full review is here.