The Story of a Marriage

September 3, 2018
Gulliksen’s U.S. debut chronicles the end of a marriage, a story that is at times gripping but often feels familiar. The novel is narrated by Jon, a Norwegian writer, as he tries to piece together the events that led to his wife, Timmy, falling for another man. It opens with the now-separated couple discussing what went wrong. From here, Jon backtracks to spotlight the first encounter between Timmy, a doctor working for the Department of Health, and her new partner, Gunnar, at a talk on public health. Timmy and Gunnar become friends through their shared love of athletics, and begin running, skiing, and horseback riding together, all while Jon stays home with their two boys. He expresses his desire to see Timmy with another man and encourages her to take Gunnar on as a romantic partner, but as time passes and Timmy tests his proposal, he fears she will leave him. Though the book is well structured and unafraid to explore the darkness of a crumbling marriage, there’s little that distinguishes it from other domestic novels.