This is my second post on the theme of long relationships, offering a rather more negative view than the first apart from the last novel which takes an 
We know from the start of Philip Teir’s novel that divorce is on the horizon; The Winter War is the story of how Max and Katriina get there. Almost sixty, Max is a professor of sociology, struggling with all that his approaching milestone means and still living off one piece of research which earned him the accolade ‘young intellectual of the decade’. Katriina – who views marriage as ‘a form of reciprocal tyranny’ – works in the health service, recruiting staff to deal with Helsinki’s ageing population, travelling to the Philippines and grappling with her liberal conscience while doing so. Teir’s debut draws you in with its strong but sympathetic characterisation and its knowing humour, poking gentle fun at Max and his late midlife crisis shenanigans. It’s a novel with much to say about marriage, albeit unhappy ones.
Jane Roger’s enjoyable, absorbing Conrad and Eleanor is a nuanced portrait of a marriage in which traditional male/female roles are upended. Eleanor is engaged in medical research as is Conrad but while she’s a star in her sphere, his work has stalled. When Conrad fails to return from the conference he’s supposed to be attending, Eleanor is forced to take a long hard look at their marriage. Through Eleanor and Conrad’s alternating narratives, Rogers depicts a relationship under a strain only acknowledged when a crisis hits. Resisting any hint of a fairy tale ending, she offers her readers an entirely plausible resolution.
Hilary Fannin’s The Weight of Love sees another marriage at a crossroads. Robin and Joe grew up together: Robin the quiet son of Ushi; Joe the inheritor of the wildness that marked his own mother. When Robin introduces Joe to Ruth, his tentative hopes of a relationship are dashed and it’s not until her son, Sid, is two that they meet again, Robin still in love with her while she still thinks of Joe. Two decades later, the balance has shifted and it’s time to take stock now that Sid is finding his own way and Ushi is dying. Fannin’s debut is an absorbing, carefully constructed novel, wrenching at times. She gives us a nicely ambivalent ending with just enough grounds for hope for more optimistic readers.
Any novels about long relationships you’d particularly recommend?
My first five books on this theme are here. If you’d like to explore more posts like this, I’ve listed them here.
That’s it from me for a few weeks. H and I are off on a railway jaunt tomorrow, back in time for October’s Six Degrees.
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I’ve not read any of these but they all sound really well done. ‘Reciprocal tyranny’ is quite arresting, if somewhat bleak!
Bleak, indeed, but it’s a good line.
Daniela Krien is the only author I’ve so far encountered from this little lot, so I’m happy to put hers on the list. You’ve tempted me with the Tier, but in fact all of these seem worth a look.
Krien is so good, and whoever designs her covers is spot on.
Yes. They’re definitely ‘Judge a book by its cover’ time. When I saw the cover on your post, I knew it was going to be a Krien before I read what you’d written.
Both distinctive and appropriate: hard to better that.
I’d definitely say Nathan Hill’s Wellness counts here – one of the best examples I’ve ever read of an author showing you how a relationship can change, or seem to change, over time.
Agreed! It’s on my ‘Another Five…’ which I’ll post eventually. I’ve a feeling there’ll be ‘Yet Another Five…’ too.
I have seen Fannin get good reviews and still have to read her work. Complicated long relationships is an interesting theme. I think you could add Roxanne Robinson’s excellent Leaving to this list. I am in the middle of reading Eimear McBride’s new book The City Changes It’s Face which is about a type of long relationship. Her writing style is unique and requires commitment from the reader! Enjoy your train trip. Hope you have a good batch of books to read.
It is, isn’t it, each one very different in it’s way. Roxanne Robinson’s such a fine writer – I loved Leaving. Thanks, Lucy, and you can be sure of that!
I haven’t read any of these but they all sound great!
I’d particularly recommend The Winter War.
I’m not familiar with any of these, but the Laura Barnett sounds ideal for some of my subscription readers at the bookshop. I’ve made a note – many thanks for the recommendation, Susan. 🙂
My pleasure, Jacqui. It’s by far the most commercial of the five but would suit readers who enjoy a Sliding Doors structure.
I’ve only read The Versions of Us (which disappointed me) but I do appreciate a focus on a long relationship rather than the initial romance. Of the rest, Conrad & Eleanor appeals – I’ve enjoyed Jane Rogers’s SF in the past. It’s not the main focus of the novel but I liked how the long marriage of one of the central characters was written in Richard Powers’s The Echo Maker.
I think long relationships are more interesting in their complexity so make much better subjects for fiction. If we’re honest, those first few weeks or months follow a similar pattern for many of us no matter how special we might feel they are.
All interesting in their own ways, though the ones that appeal the most are Conrad and Elenor and the Fire.
Both excellent but Fire would be my favourite of those two. She writes about identity so well.
Thanks for these wonderful recommendations! I loved the way you reviewed the different novels and highlighted the complexities of long-term relationships in such a friendly and thoughtful manner.
Thank you, and you’re welcome. I’m sure I’ll post another of these. It’s a fascinating theme.