Matrimony: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) | 
|  | | | Title: | Matrimony: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries) | | Author: | Joshua Henkin | | Publisher: | Vintage | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 26 August, 2008 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 030727716X / 9780307277169 | | List Price: | $14.95 | | You Save: | $4.78 | | Amazon Price: | $10.17 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
It's the fall of 1986, and Julian Wainwright, an aspiring writer, arrives at Graymont College in New England. Here he meets Carter Heinz, with whom he develops a strong but ambivalent friendship, and beautiful Mia Mendelsohn, with whom he falls in love. Spurred on by a family tragedy, Julian and Mia's love affair will carry them to graduation and beyond, taking them through several college towns, over the next fifteen years. Starting at the height of the Reagan era and ending in the new millennium, Matrimony is a stunning novel of love and friendship, money and ambition, desire and tensions of faith. It is a richly detailed portrait of what it means to share a life with someone-to do it when you're young, and to try to do it afresh on the brink of middle age.
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Customer Reviews:
• Fascinating Character Study 08 October, 2008
Julian and Carter meet their freshman year of college in Professor Chesterfield's, Fiction Writing Workshop. Their professor suggests they befriend each other because they are the only two with any talent. And so they do. Second semester they both find girlfriends, first Carter finds Pilar and then Julian finds Mia. Both couples find themselves still together senior year and also living next door to each other. They are uncertain what they want to do with their lives and where they will go.
The book continues on, flashing forward several years at a time to different parts in Julian and Mia's lives. Confessions will be had and changes will be made over the years. To me this is the study of Julian and Mia's relationship, Julian and Carter's friendship and Julian's battle with himself to finish his novel.
I rather liked this book. I like when a book or even a movie follows a character or two through the ups and downs of their life. You get to see them evolve. I was thrown for a loop about halfway through the book, I suspected what happened would happen later on. I was actually very excited to see where the book would go and how it would end.
Similar to American Wife, Matrimony was able to pick up jump to years later in these character's lives several times. They had new troubles and challenges then they previously had but they were still the same person. I love seeing a character from this perspective, you really feel you get to know them and understand them.
I really liked the details in this book, Julian going to Mr. Kang's grocery or talking to students in Caribou Coffee, if you can't tell Julian is my favorite character. Overall, I enjoyed this book, it's a quiet peek at one couple's life.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3MS0KUOYHIQK4
• Quiet, But Good 28 September, 2008
The first emotion this book invoked in me was nostalgia... It actually made me miss my own college creative writing class. I want to know the rest of Professor Chesterfield's 117 commandments! But this book isn't about writing, it's about relationships -- between friends, between husbands and wives, between parents and children, between siblings, with ourselves -- and how imperfect they can be. And I think it's also about how the life you picture when you are young is nothing like the life you will live. My one complaint was that I wanted to know more about what happens with Mia during the times she and Julian are apart. I rather enjoyed this, and despite the turmoil in the story, it was a very smooth read that I definitely recommend.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2UAM0ITC30078
• Fell In Love With Matrimony 04 November, 2008
I fell in love with Joshua Henkin's Matrimony. The novel tells the story of Julian Wainwright and Mia Mendelsohn, who meet as freshmen at a New England liberal arts college in 1986. Henkin follows Julian and Mia into middle age, as they marry, establish themselves professionally, love and hurt each other, and experience the gifts and slings of fortune.
Matrimony is richly evocative of a first, serious love affair and Henkin captures perfectly the heady feel of romance in a sheltered university setting. The strength of this novel is that Henkin inspires his readers to care about Mia and Julian: both are drawn vividly and both emerge as imperfect, multi-faceted and sympathetic. This reader felt protective of Julian and Mia, and urgently wanted them to overcome any and all obstacles they create or face as they mature over the course of Matrimony.
Do pay attention to the ending, which subtly asks the reader to re-evaluate much of what has gone before.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1SUH8NCCC876S
• Beautiful Writing And Great Plot 12 October, 2008
Rating: 4.5
With all of the book blog buzz that has been generated about "Matrimony" in the past couple of months, I just had to read and review the book for myself. I was however a bit worried that it would not live up to its hype, as is often the case, but after reading the first few pages I knew I would not be disappointed.
"Matrimony" takes place over the course of twenty years, primarily following the lives of Julian and Mia, whose relationship blossoms in college and subsequently leads to matrimony. While it can be said that "Matrimony" is indeed a love story, I think it is really so much more. Relationships with family and friends are equally important elements of the storyline and shape who Julian and Mia are, as well as who they become. And as with any story that centers on relationships, themes of betrayal, greed, jealousy and death rear their ugly heads. However despite all the drama, there was never a point in the story when I felt like I was stuck in a contrived soap opera world. I did not need to be convinced of the plot's credibility because I was already picturing it all unfolding right before my very eyes.
The true test of an author's ability to depict believable characters is whether those fictional people are able to elicit genuine feeling from the reader. Regardless of whether a character inspires my compassion, admiration or even indignation, all that matters is that they are real to me. Henkin has succeeded in this respect, as Julian and Mia, along with most of the supporting characters, jump out of the pages and come alive.
What I loved most about the book is the way events from the past are so intricately weaved throughout the story and never detract from the main plot. It is the fluidity of the narrative makes "Matrimony" such an effortless read and Henkin's beautiful writing that makes it such an enjoyable one.
http://bookopolis.blogspot.com
- Reviewed by customer ID: A6A5RI8R9ZZJY
• Life: A Novel 14 October, 2008
Joshua Henkin's style in Matrimony: A Novel is subdued. The tale ascends slowly, much like watching the sunrise. There are moments when it's difficult to see the story moving forward. Yet, before you know it, the main characters have migrated to a new station in life.
Julian Wainwright dreams of becoming a published writer. He meets Carter Heinz in a college writing class, both gifted with a love for the written word. They seem to be living parallel lives as they marry their college sweethearts and discover life beyond graduation.
The story begins in Julian's freshman year at college in California. He marries Mia and they live a typical life of a young couple in love. Although the circumstances that lead him to Iowa are not what he'd planned for his life, I enjoyed the time Julian is at a writer's workshop in Iowa where he befriends Henry. Both pilgrims on a journey of self-discovery occupy themselves with simple tasks as they continue the pursuit of being published. Eventually Julian makes his way to New York and finally settles in Massachusetts to raise a family.
Carter and Julian's friendship seems to sit in the center of the storyline. We witness these collegiate cohorts become mature men. Their relationship is longer lasting than matrimony is for many people. They are able to forgive the unforgivable and appreciate the unappreciated aspects of one another's lives.
This book is best read on a chilly weekend, snuggled under a blanket with a cup of something hot to drink. It's like a long chat with an old friend about life thus far. There are some unexpected delights and tragedies, but overall, nothing new under the sun.
Armchair Interviews says: A quiet but quite special read.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A21NVBFIEQWDSG
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