A review by chichio
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

There is a time, she thinks, at the start of any relationship, when the process of falling in love softens a personality, like wax in a warm room. And so two people in love change, just a little, pushing their wax figures together, a protuberance here smoothed down but creating a dip there. It doesn’t last long, the time when love can gently change who you are, and in the relationships that she’s visited over the last six months, the moment has long passed.

I enjoyed this book as like a fun filler read but outside of having a whacky premise, there’s not much else going on here. Outside of knowing that Lauren is single prior to all this happening, we don’t really learn anything concrete about her as a person and why this sudden predicament is a learning experience for her and her in particular. There’s surprisingly no character exploration with Lauren which is interesting because this whole novel is literally about her and her interpersonal relationships. I won’t hold it against the author that no explanation for the why behind the attic husbands was given (this is magical realism, after all) but if you’re going to keep the magic vague the least you can do is steep it in solid character development, solid theme exploration, some sort of overarching message to take away at the end. This book is about human connection, about relationships and the way in which they can change us, but even these themes weren’t tackled with much oomph because of the restart button she has with each and every husband that she encounters. The moment we started dealing with any sort of conflict with some depth, Lauren would send them up the ladder. 

I’m a little confused by the ending as well. So, what’s the moral of the story? To settle? LMAO God forbid. 
 
The prose is pretty plain as well, so I didn’t even really enjoy picking the language apart but I do think this is a good reading slump fixer.