I’m fortunate to be in a long and happy relationship which is perhaps why I’m drawn to novels about couples who’re are still together after many years. The novels below explore five long relationships, some similar, others very different, all but one with links to a full review.
Set in Morecambe, Cath Barton’s In the Sweep of the Bay is a little gem which follows Ted and Rene from the ‘50s, when they met at the local dance hall, into the twenty-first century when death finally parts them. Ted works in the family ceramics business, happily fulfilled by his work, while Rene brings up their daughters and does the housework, retreating to the kitchen when the carefully sealed lid threatens to come off her frustrations. Neither speaks to the other of the hurt and sorrow each of them feels as they become increasingly distant, all intimacy lost. There’s such an aching sadness in this brief understated novella which made me long for Ted and Rene to share their feelings. Sadly, Cath Barton’s publisher has now ceased trading but should you wish to buy a copy, Cath has said she’s happy for me to pass on her email address. Drop me a line via my contact page if you’d like it.
Addison Jones’ Wait for Me Jack is also about a relationship fraught with difficulties. Beginning with their first meeting in 1950, contrasted sharply with the day the couple are finally parted in 2014, Jones’ novel tells the story of Jack and Milly’s marriage backwards. The narrative is a little fragmented in the way that memories are but it’s all beautifully done, anchored by recurring motifs: Milly’s grey honeymoon dress, Jack’s musings about his first love. Rather like Ted and Rene, they’re a couple very much of their time – he forges ahead into the world, setting up as a successful small publisher funded by her inheritance, while she stays at home to look after the kids, always feeling a bit left behind in the competition that their marriage sometimes becomes. A witty, perceptive portrait of a relationship which survives sixty years despite its many batterings.
Sue Miller’s Monogamy explores a long marriage between two very different people: convivial bookseller Graham and Annie, an artist, self-contained and sometimes a little remote. On the eve of an author event just before Annie’s new photographic exhibition, Graham seems preoccupied. Then something happens that will irrevocably interrupt the intimate call and response of this settled, happy marriage. Each character is developed with empathetic acuity in this is nuanced, tender portrait of a mature relationship. I’ve long been a fan of Miller’s intelligent perceptive fiction which seems to slip under the radar here in the UK. If you’re in the market for an author of quietly thoughtful, intelligent fiction, she has a pleasingly lengthy backlist to explore.
Jon McGregor’s Lean Fall Stand sees a dramatic event in a marriage which has allowed both partners to follow their own paths. Robert is a technical assistant who’s spent much of the past thirty years in Antarctica, providing backup for scientists, while Anna has pursued her own successful career, relishing her independence. When Robert is struck down by a massive stroke their carefully crafted compromise is threatened as Anna finds herself in the role of full-time carer, an arrangement that suits neither of them. McGregor’s portrayal of this destabilised marriage is both perceptive and compassionate. A quietly powerful book, unafraid to explore the boundaries of language.
Based loosely on her grandmother’s life, Rachel Malik’s Miss Boston and Miss Hargeaves is the story of a relationship which in modern times would have become a marriage, begun when such an idea was unthinkable. Struggling to keep the family farm afloat, Elsie Boston decides to take on a Land Girl. Rene Hargreaves is a Manchester woman who has left her gambling husband and three children, passing herself off as a widow. By the time Elsie is forced off the farm by her opportunistic neighbours, their lives have become so entwined that they leave together, settling in Cornwall almost two decades after they met, enjoying a quiet routine until the arrival of Rene’s husband. Malik delicately sketches the relationship between Elsie and Rene, its changes subtly shaded in. A touching, thoroughly absorbing novel which reminds us just how far attitudes to same sex relationships have progressed. Some things really do get better.
Any novels about long relationships you’d like to share?
If you’d like to explore more posts like this, I’ve listed them here.
Very interesting! I too am very interested in novels about long relationships, and I am trying to write one myself. These all sound intriguing. I have loved books by Sue Miller and Jon McGregor, so those especially appeal. So do the others you mention. Thank you for this post!
You’re welcome, Christine. Particularly pleased that you’re a Sue Miller fan. Such an underrated writer in the UK. Good luck with your novel!
Your first choice is indeed a gem, one of the rare stories where I care about what happens to the characters. Cath (who is a member of our book club) will be delighted to be featured.
I am indeed!
Very happy to have included your book, Cath.
I loved it, Karen! I first came across Cath’s novel on your blog so thank you for alerting me to it.
Interesting topic, I like books that explore realistic relationships, the ones you’ve highlighted here sound like good reads
Glad you like the sound of them. It’s a subject I’m forever fascinated by.
The McGregor underwhelmed me a little after Reservoir 13, but I really would like to read Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves.
Highly recommend it. I’ve e been waiting patiently for Malik’s second novel.
Interesting list as always, Susan. The one book I recently read which had a real-life long term relationship was the bio/memoir Homelands by Chitra Ramaswamy where the couple she is writing the bio of Henry and Ingraid Wuga met sometime in the 1940s and were together till her death in 2020 at age 96; while it is more focused on their experience as immigrants, one does see the strength of their relationship as well.
Lovely recommendation, Mallika, particularly as the immigrant experience is another favourite theme of mine. Thank you.
In the Sweep of the Bay sounds wonderful. Lean Fall Stand has been languishing in the TBR, I must get to it! I really love Jon McGregor’s writing.
Me, too! He’s a long term favourite of mine.
I have In the Sweep of the Bay on my pile for this month! Monogamy is a favourite.
Pleased to hear that. It’s perfect for #NovNov!
I’m a big Sue Miller and Jon McGregor fan too, so these go to the top of the wish list. But every one of these choices sounds interesting.
Delighted to hear you’re already a Sue Miller fan!
I had the luck to find her quite a long time ago.
Even more pleased to hear that.
Lean Fall Stand sounds like a must read after I had to be my husbands carer for a (thankfully only)few months, it is the hardest job and I take my hat off to carers. In the Sweep of the Bay sounds very excellent too!
Me, too. I’ve watched elderly relatives care for their partners and it’s hard. In the Sweep of the Day is a brilliant book. I do hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it.
Lovely to see a mention of Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves, a book I really enjoyed. A shame the author hasn’t written anything since.
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that she’s working on a second novel but it has been a long time, hasn’t it.
I remember one author saying, the first book you write for yourself, the second you write for your agent, editor, publisher, readers…
Such pressure.
Paul Scott’s Staying On looks at the end of a long relationship.
Excellent suggestion! Thank you.
What a wonderful topic!! I’d like the information on Cath Barton’s In the Sweep of the Bay. That’s awful for her. I see I have two of these on my TBR due to your reviews!
There’s a deep literary well to plumb with this one! It’s such a shame that Louise Walters had to wind up her publishing house. Can you drop me a line via my contact page so that I can pass Cath’s details on privately?
Lovely post Susan, I really liked Lean, Stand, Fall.
Thanks, Cathy. I’d like to think there’s another McGregor in the offing, maybe next year.
Can’t wait. He has never disappointed.
Fingers firmly crossed!
Interesting topic! It reminded my of Dear Evelyn by Kathy Page.
Even longer ago, I read a good one called Life Drawing by Robin Black.
I remember reading Dear Evelyn on holiday, thanks to your enthusiasm! And I reviewed Life Drawing back in the very early days of the blog. Great minds….
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner is the first book that pops into my mind that talks about long marriages and friendships. In some ways, the Lucy Barton books by Elizabeth Strout do this as well. I’m not spoiling anything when I say that though the marriage doesn’t last, the relationship does.
I’ve just finished Tom Lake which some call boring becasue nothing happens, but I loved exactly for the loving, long-term marriage that sits at the centre of the story.
Lovely topic choice 🙂
Thank you. I loved the Stegner and wish more of his work was in print here in the UK, and I’m a Strout fan so know what you mean! I read Tom Lake after a string of bleak but excellent novels and found it comforting. I don’t think I’d ever be bored by Ms Patchett!
I feel the same, but some readers have obviously not been in the mood for a comfort read!
Odd, given the current state of the world!