Publication date: March 21st 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Fiction, Literary
How to describe Sarah Dunn’s new novel The Arrangement? All that is in my head is the Seinfeld episode where Jerry and Elaine decide to break the standards of friends and become friends-with-benefits. They are oh-so-careful with rules and boundaries and are certain they have cracked the code for getting to have sex without becoming involved. Dunn goes one step further in applying this to the Valhalla (for certain people) of open marriage. Owen and Lucy love each other but with a young son on the autism spectrum who gets violent and over a decade together the spark is gone. Lucy is tired.
Earrings were so long gone, the holes in her ears had closed up. Next it was eyeliner, then mascara, then returning phone calls, then going to the dentist, then looking in a full-length mirror before she left the house, then lip gloss…pedicures, flossing, stretching, remembering birthdays, exfoliation.
When friends share that they’ve moved to an open marriage and it is “fabulous” and “helping our marriage so much” Owen and Lucy carefully craft a plan to do the same thing in order to save their own marriage. They discuss, plan, draw up a list of rules. They even have a beginning and end date for this experiment. Right. Nothing can go wrong with this.
Of course, if nothing did go wrong, The Arrangement would be dull. Instead, with the best of intentions for reinvigorating their marriage Lucy and Owen begin opening their eyes to the potential candidates around them. Soon enough both meet people who seem to be what they need, but while things are fun at first they soon get complicated because the rest of their life continues to clamor with its demands and needs.
I loved Dunn’s previous novel, Secrets to Happiness and so was delighted to see that she writes The Arrangement in the same lighthearted tone. When very early on, she describes one of Lucy’s friends as
She teetered around on her trademark vintage heels, which made her look like she might trip and fall straight into late middle age.
I laughed out loud and knew that barring a massive plot fail this novel would work for me and it did. It’s a realistic look at men and women, the ties that bind, and a lot of other modern day issues told with the kind of humor that deflects, but doesn’t deny the truth. Does the plot veer into the world of zany? Yes, a bit, but with a premise like ‘open marriage as a good idea to save a marriage’, things are bound to get weird. Thankfully, Dunn’s observational skills and wit balance out the crazy and circle The Arrangement back to the less exciting, but no less interesting realities of life.
So I’m still on the fence about this one. I started it, but then didn’t make it very far. All the banter annoyed me. Though there were some observations that were spot-on. Waffling with whether to go back to it. Might if I’m short on light, fun books for my Summer Reading Guide.
It’s not much more than that. Some points got silly, but then she’d get something right so I kept reading. Good not great.
I like the quotes you’ve chosen.
I keep seeing this book around and, although it seems to be getting mixed reviews, it sounds like the kind of thing I’d like.
It’s a good not great read. I like her tone so that kept me going when the subplot got a bit much.
The Arrangement sounds like a perfect summer “beach read” to me!
I think it’s one that will either work for you or not. It was entertaining because she seemed to real get marriage, but some parts got silly.
I was feeling a little wary of this one, following some comments that Sarah made earlier; like you, I loved Secrets to Happiness, so I’ll likely give this one a try. Thanks for sharing this great review; sounds like a good weekend read. I love reading about others’ dysfunction – ha!
It’s a light read. Nowhere near as good as Happiness, but entertaining.
What a wild premise! I had to laugh; sounds like Seinfeld to me — an open marriage to save the marriage, ha! Gosh loved that episode with Jerry & Elaine back when they were dating (one of the top 5 episodes of all Time!) where staying the night is an option; and calling the day afterwards is so too. Some funny stuff in that episode that kills me every time. Glad Dunn has a sense of humor.