The Story of a Marriage

by Andrew Sean Greer

Andrew Sean Greer’s writing is so fluent and beautiful that you hardly notice that nothing much happens in this book.

The story is told from a young black woman, Pearly, living in 1950s San Francisco with her handsome husband Holland and their son and spans approximately 6 months in their marriage. Their quiet life is interfered with by a white man named Buzz, an old friend of Holland's that he met in a medical facility during WWII.

During the six months Buzz is working out a deal with Pearly to help him convince Holland, who he had a relationship with back when they met and whom he is still in love with, to leave with him. The details of the deal remain somewhat sketchy but involve money (of course) and a plot of land. Pearly wants to do what is best for Holland and agrees, believing that Holland really wants to be with Buzz. In the end, Holland stays with her. Years later they revisit the episode and it turns out that they each believed that Holland leaving was really what the other one wanted.

What is not clear to me, though, is whether or not Buzz tried to convince Holland that Pearly wants to be by herself or if he really thought he was doing him a favor. We only ever get the story from Pearly's perspective, so we never find out.

What impressed me most about this book, I guess, is how believable (to me anyway) the author told the story from Pearly's point of view. The overall tone reminded me of Stewart O'Nan stories, that also live through storytelling rather than action.

8/10