THE HUSBANDS - Holly Gramazio

Returning to her London flat one night, Lauren is greeted at the door by her loving husband, Michael. It would normally be very nice - but Lauren isn't married. At least she doesn't remember being married. Yet the photos around the flat, and the photos and messages on her phone all suggest that she's been married to Michael for years.

When Michael goes up to the attic to change a lightbulb, he never returns. Instead, another man emerges as her husband, and her flat and her phone all indicate that they've been married for years.

Lauren comes to realize that there is something unique and strange happening with her attic, giving her new husbands any time one passes through the opening barrier. And it is only the husband who change. And thus begins a years-long rotation of husbands into and out of Lauren's life. Some are downright frightening, some she can't imagine ever marrying in the first place. Some are quite acceptable but ... could there be a better one out there?

This is a debut novel for author Holly Gramazio and it's a delightful, allegorical romp. Are we ever satisfied? Is there always something 'better'? It's the 'greener pastures' theory in full mode.

This allegory is evident pretty much from the start. What does it take - two, three? - husband changes to see that Lauren wonders what the next might be like?  Of course those who are wrong are generally very clearly wrong, but in one case, Lauren begins to question herself, rather than her husbands, when EVERYone likes her husband so much more than she does. He's almost too perfect.  So what does she want? That question is maybe never really answered.

Once the meaning of this morality tale is established (early), this becomes an urban fantasy adventure and as such it's quite repetitious. We come to expect (again, very early one) that Lauren is going to rotate through men so our continuing to read is based on 'what's the next man going to be'?

Gramazio does a fine job of changing up who the men are - making them different - and just as we might get truly bored one (temporary) husband stands out for his uniqueness among the hundreds that she'll flip through (I don't want to give too much away).

Still, it feels as though Lauren should come to some realizations about her situation, and herself, much earlier. Does she simply get hooked on the thrill of getting a new man? Is she someone who can never be satisfied? That's never really addressed. In some ways this is a question for the reader, presumably, to discover in themselves. But that would suggest that this book is really only intended for single women. (Let's face it - if the roles were reversed and it was a man who could constantly get a different wife, the 'message' of the story would be very different.)

Personally, I think we get the message early and don't need to see quite so many different husbands that are clearly not 'right' but more who were actually a reasonable choice and still discarded would have been much more interesting.

While this is clearly fantasy, I suspect this will get listed instead as 'contemporary' or 'chick lit'.

Looking for a good book? The Husbands by Holly Gramazio is a modern allegorical tale showcasing the 'grass is always greener on the other side' proverb, delightfully told.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

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The Husbands

author: Holly Gramazio

publisher: Doubleday

ISBN: 9780385550611

hardcover, 352 pages