Marriages

by Peter Straub

Book Overview

Marriages [Jun 01, 1977] Peter straub This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671812769
• ISBN13: 9780671812768
• Release Date: June 1977
• Publisher: Pocket
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

MARRIAGES (COWARD McCANN/1973)

REVIEW: Although Peter Straub is known worldwide for his supernatural thrillers: his debut novel "MARRIAGES" is (for the most part) a beautifully written work of serious psychological drama in the Henry James/D.H. Lawrence vein. The prose itself is so elliptical and fluid that the effect is quite haunting: as the story of Owen and a nameless lover that he commits adultery with overlaps between events and emotional epiphanies that move back and forth over a period of time like waves on a windswept pond. Although some may criticize the book for seeming to "promote" adultery as a means to self-discovery (or rather, as in Owen's case, a self-RE-discovery), the fact that our protagonist decides to remain true to his wife while psychoanalyzing the motivations behind his extra-marital affair shows that Straub is not arguing in FAVOR of adultery as a viable act, but rather in favor of not allowing your own personality to become diminished by the day-to-day complacency of life until you find yourself taking on the characteristics of your friends and family and the culture at large rather than celebrating the unique and vital individual that God has created you to be. For it is only in the joy of loving and expressing yourself and your own creativity and mind (in a balanced way that doesn't go off the deep end into selfishness and brutality) that we can truly be happy and able to love and express love and care for other people. In other words: if we hate ourselves and hate God then how can we ever learn to love and care for our fellowman? Such is the value of the lesson that Owen ascertains in the process of this very complex (and complexly layered) book. If, however, you are expecting to dive into a scary story involving ghosts and demons and a rollercoaster ride of suspense: then you will be sorely disappointed. "MARRIAGES" is a first-rate novel depicting the intricate and multi-dimensional levels of human emotion, and the need for unselfish integrity and continual excitement in making a life-long relationship work. HARSH LANGUAGE: about 94 words. VIOLENCE: about 8 instances. SEXUAL REFERENCES: about 18 scenes including some frank sexual dialogue. DRUG REFERENCES: numerous scenes involving drinking, cigarette smoking, and marijuana use.

Straub's first novel a literary oddity.

Peter Straub's first novel was far from the realm of the ghostly horror that made him a household name, in fact it was an attempt at writing the kind of novel Henry James did. The narrator, an American expatriot living in Britan, explores the effects of the extra-marital affairs he has had with a british/american woman as well as with his sister-in-law. While not exactly a success, curious Straub fans will find it of interest. Recommended.