My Take On: Lauren Fox's Still Life with Husband

A few months ago, I stopped by a grocery store to purchase an issue of Redbook magazine per my mother's request. I've not read an issue of Redbook prior to this; I stopped subscribing to Cosmo after turning 26 and have not quiet found a magazine that I can relate to. On this particular weekend, though, I found myself flipping through pages of the February issue of Redbook, pausing to read a book excerpt from Lauren Fox's Still Life With Husband.

In her debut novel, Fox invites us into the life of Emily Ross, a woman with an on-surface perfect urban existence. No, Emily doesn't occupy big-city social circles; she doesn't dine in all the it restaurants and doesn't hang on the arm of the most eligible bachelor. But Emily is provocative in her own way. She is married to her college sweetheart, a wonderful man named Kevin; they live and work in Wisconsin, and have entered that place in their relationship where they are both restless for change. Minor problem - the changes they seek are vastly different. Kevin is ready to take their marriage to those two natural next steps - suburbia and parenthood. Emily wants excitement and finds it in form of David (a stranger from the coffee shop whom she chooses to have an affair with). Oh, and there is a best friend subplot that teaches Emily the importance of love and friendship.

So, now you know the basics. Are you wondering why you should read a book about a bored twenty-something who seemingly has no concern about betraying her husband? Because Fox is funny and honest in a way most chick-lit authors are not. Fox handles a complicated situation without ever loosing respect for her main character (who interestingly is described to physically appear exactly like the author herself; Fox denies any relation between Emily's life and her own). While the subject of infidelity has been covered by chick-lit in great extent, no other author lets us feel the emotion of the character in the way Fox allows us to bond with Emily. The narrative is filled with humor and cynicism, and offers a realistic aspect of a woman who desires passion and receives nothing but indifference from her husband.

While the same insight is not given into other characters' perspectives (especially those of Kevin and David), Emily's monologues allow us to understand her view of the world she lives in - ultimately, this is the only point of view we care about. We learn about her relationships with Kevin, David, her best friend, her parents and her sister - you will find yourself laughing at the familiarity of these dynamics. The book offers a surprising ending, as it doesn't follow the mold you may expect from the genre (I'm not giving away the ending, although many sites have already done so).

The book is worth the read for Fox's humor and an uncanny ability to make us relate to and fall in love with a character that (on paper) makes choices we find hard to support. If you like Jennifer Weiner, you will very much like Lauren Fox. Happy reading!