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Atomic Marriage cover art

Atomic Marriage

By: Curtis Sittenfeld
Narrated by: Diane Lane
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Summary

From New York Times best-selling author Curtis Sittenfeld, a sharp-witted and utterly entertaining audio about the most complicated and compromising partnership there is—marriage.

Academy Award nominee Diane Lane narrates this tale about a Hollywood power broker who travels to Alabama to convince a reluctant author that the studio’s treatment of his best-selling book would make the perfect blockbuster romantic comedy.

What Heather Thiesen knows about marriage is that hers is sputtering, anything but romantic, and utterly exhausting. It’s her job to iron out the details of movie deals with people like Brock Lewis, the self-published and conservative author of Atomic Marriage, even if his preachy rules for a happy, thriving marriage make her want to go back to bed. Harried and married, with a young child at home, she can barely get through the book’s 12-point Atomic Doctrine, let alone follow its advice. Make eye contact with your spouse? Always! Use the bathroom in front of them? Never!

But then she meets Brock. And to her surprise, she likes him—a lot.

Curtis Sittenfeld is one of America’s funniest and most astute cultural commentators. Diane Lane is one of our best leading actresses, sharing Heather’s perspective with depth, candor, and warmth. Together they deliver a remarkable story about the life partners we choose, the secrets we keep, and the compromises we make—or break. 

©2018 Curtis Sittenfeld (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC.

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Curtis and Diane are a match made in heaven

Another gem from one of my favourite writers of all time. We are blessed to have Curtis Sittenfeld in the world.

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Short, neat and astute look at modern marriage...

...through a Hollywood lens.

Multi-million bestselling self-help author Brock Lewis is visited by a Hollywood studio broker. His 'Atomic Doctrine' gives couples finding their marriages failing a series of rules to live by, from always kissing/hugging on meeting and leaving your spouse to never behaving in your own bathroom other than as you would in an airport bathroom.

Heather is coming to meet with Lewis in order to persuade him to allow a gay couple to feature in the forthcoming Hollywood rom-com adaptation of his book, knowing his evangelical leanings. She is invited to spend the night with his family to discuss her agenda. Her own marriage already quite sedate and drab, their initial conversations spark an immediate yearning in Heather, despite their differences in morality and the display of his own perfect-seeming marriage.

I could identify with Heather's situation, and her unbidden passion for someone she neither knows nor agrees with, and enjoyed the portrayal of the two contrasting marriages, as well as the closer observation of the imperfections.

At less than an hour in length, it's a short story that feels finished and rounded. I didn't yearn for a longer novel as I often do with novellas. I felt satisfied by the scope and conclusion of the story, and the issues raised and exposed.

It's a female narration, as I've come to know from Sittenfeld, with a mature woman bringing a little life experience to the character, and men, while they are given a voice, are background to Heather. Diane Lane, the voice artist, complements the character, giving both the experience and the impulsiveness required.

An intriguing listen, whether as a fan or someone new to the author. Will appeal more to female readers, though men will probably find the female perspective quite frank.

With thanks to Nudge for providing a sample Audible copy.

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  • J
  • 19-10-22

Short but good

For some reason I didn't check how long this book is.
I started to enjoy it and it ended after such a short time.

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