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Sue Miller
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Monogamy: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Sue Miller (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 5,336 ratings
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A New York Times Notable Book • NPR Best Book of the Year • People magazine Top Ten Books of the Year • BookPage Best Book of the Year • Good Housekeeping Best Book of the Year

“A sensual and perceptive novel. . . . With humor and humanity, Miller resists the simple scorned-wife story and instead crafts a revelatory tale of the complexities—and the absurdities—of love, infidelity, and grief.” —O, the Oprah Magazine

A brilliantly insightful novel, engrossing and haunting, about marriage, love, family, happiness and sorrow, from New York Times bestselling author Sue Miller.

Graham and Annie have been married for nearly thirty years. Their seemingly effortless devotion has long been the envy of their circle of friends and acquaintances. By all appearances, they are a golden couple.

Graham is a bookseller, a big, gregarious man with large appetites—curious, eager to please, a lover of life, and the convivial host of frequent, lively parties at his and Annie’s comfortable house in Cambridge. Annie, more reserved and introspective, is a photographer. She is about to have her first gallery show after a six-year lull and is worried that the best years of her career may be behind her. They have two adult children; Lucas, Graham’s son with his first wife, Frieda, works in New York. Annie and Graham’s daughter, Sarah, lives in San Francisco. Though Frieda is an integral part of this far-flung, loving family, Annie feels confident in the knowledge that she is Graham’s last and greatest love.

When Graham suddenly dies—this man whose enormous presence has seemed to dominate their lives together—Annie is lost. What is the point of going on, she wonders, without him? 

Then, while she is still mourning Graham intensely, she discovers a ruinous secret, one that will spiral her into darkness and force her to question whether she ever truly knew the man who loved her.

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  1. Print length
    359 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Harper
  5. Publication date
    September 8, 2020
  6. File size
    1760 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  1. She’d thought she was memorable. How clear it was that she was not. It wasn’t a quality you possessed, she thought now. It was a quality other people endowed you with.
    Highlighted by 597 Kindle readers
  2. Grief for the father he had loved so unequivocally, the one he held, always, blameless.
    Highlighted by 340 Kindle readers
  3. “Are you allowed to say that your own child makes you almost unbearably sad?”
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From the Publisher

Monogamy; Sue Miller; American Literature; Contemporary Fiction; Marriage; Infidelity; affair

Monogamy; Sue Miller; American Literature; Contemporary Fiction; Marriage; Infidelity; affair

Monogamy; Sue Miller; American Literature; Contemporary Fiction; Marriage; Infidelity; affair

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Miller's skill at depicting the intricacies of marriage, parenting, and domestic life, the atmosphere of the independent bookstore, and the pleasures of flowers, wine, and food, makes this book charming and inviting in a way that is somewhat at odds with its sorrowful impetus....A thoughtful and realistic portrait of those golden people who seem to have such enviable lives."

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"A robust, character-driven examination of the inner workings of a lengthy marriage...The novel is grounded by vibrant prose, vividly portrayed secondary characters, and the resiliency of everlasting love...A spectacular, powerful return."

-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

About the Author

Sue Miller is the bestselling author of the novels Lost in the Forest, The World Below, While I Was Gone, The Distinguished Guest, For Love, Family Pictures, and The Good Mother; the story collection Inventing the Abbotts; and the memoir The Story of My Father. She lives in Boston.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B082T39WSM
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper (September 8, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 8, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1760 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 359 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 5,336 ratings

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Sue Miller

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Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
5,336 global ratings
Captivating and realistic
4 Stars
Captivating and realistic
Thank you to Harper Books for the gifted copy of this book.Annie and Graham seem to have the perfect marriage. After 30 years, their love still seems effortless, and they fit together so well. When Graham suddenly dies, Annie is confronted with a secret affair he was having and she wonders if she ever really knew him at all.This book was a raw and heartbreaking, but beautiful account of love, relationships, secrets and grief. Told through multiple perspectives, you really get to see Graham and Annie’s relationship from all sides, and I felt I really got to understand the characters, the good and the imperfect sides of this. This book was captivating and a realistic reminder that there really are no perfect relationships. It really was a wonderful and thought-provoking read.
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Top reviews from the United States

susan k.
5.0 out of 5 stars This books is a delight to read!
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
This book is very well written and the principal characters--Graham, the husband, and Annie, the wife,are very realistically portrayed. In fact, they are imbued with such a force of personality that they seem incredibly real and three dimensional.
Graham dies suddenly after he an Annie have been married for 30 years, and she is devastated, as is everyone who knew Graham. He is larger than life and imminently likable. I have to smile when I remember how he described himself to Annie: "Everybody loves a fat penis," he said. "Why not love the fat man who carries it around?"
Graham is co-owner of a book store; Anna is a photographer. They have two children--Lucas, Graham's son by his first wife, and Sarah, their younger daughter. Family and friends gather at Graham and Annie's home frequently. Annie goes to considerable trouble to cook delicious meals and set a beautiful table. Many bottles of wine are imbibed during the course of the get togethers. These descriptions of the dinner parties are so engaging that readers will find themselves wishing they had been invited, that they had friends like Graham and Annie.
After a very painful revelation, Annie begins to doubt her memories of Graham and his love for her. Ultimately, with the insight of her family and friends and her own staunch love for her husband, Annie's crisis of faith in her husband is resolved and she is able to move on.
3 people found this helpful
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Healthy Pro
4.0 out of 5 stars A good, well written novel...except for the beginning.
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2023
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Sue Miller and Barbara Kingsolver are my two favorite writers, but for different reasons. Both use the English language beautifully so I don't need a mental red pencil to point out all the annoying cliches and grammatical errors that so many "popular" contemporary writers make. (I considered "Where the Crawdads Sing" and "Lessons in Chemistry" to be junk that I'm sorry I bought.) I think we Americans really are getting dumber. Maybe too much neurological damage from multiple COVID-19 infections.

Whereas Kingsolver's art is descriptive passages-- stringing words into sentences through her unique lens, Sue Miller's special gift is getting inside her characters' minds, with exquisitely detailed descriptions of their thoughts and actions. I do not always like her characters, but I always understand them and what motivates them.

Some people wrote reviews criticizing the detail, but I love it. This is not plot-heavy, action-packed, and to be blown through in a day, nor escapist reading. It is both thoughtfully written and thought provoking.

Now for the "except" part. The beginning of this novel read like what I expect a cheap, tawdry romance/sex story to be like (having never read one). My thought, after reading the opening chapters, was that Miller has lost her touch, or has lousy editors. I nearly stopped reading it, and put it in the box of stuff destined for Goodwill, but am glad I didn't. It eventually returned to the style for which I love and admire Miller's books, and did not disappoint. It is not her best book, but it was as a close second or third.
One person found this helpful
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3.0 out of 5 stars disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2023
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I have read and enjoyed most of Sue Millers books. Her character development is exceptional and I am pulled into their lives with appreciation for their complexity. But this book felt like a long slog, with too much information about their every thought and/or possible revelation. I didn’t feel like I ‘knew’ any of them well at the end and that was frustrating, given how long it took to get to the end.
One person found this helpful
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Mr. August
5.0 out of 5 stars Changing Camera Angles of a Marriage
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2020
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The plot is thin, almost skeletal. The storyline has a measured tempo. And yet, it’s an intense, often tortuous account of a marriage.

Our main characters, Graham and Annie are married about thirty years. It’s an emotional marriage. Graham is a multi-faceted, glorious character; he is filled with outrageous energy, intelligence, and he is totally demonstrative with his emotions. Both characters had a previous marriage, ending in divorce. However, Frieda, Graham’s first wife remains part of their life with their son, Lucas. Annie is welcoming and involved with both

We are introduced to Graham as this larger-than-life bookstore owner who is outgoing, clever and friendly. Annie is more circumspect and patient – sometimes distant. Both Annie and he had difficult childhoods, Graham’s was wretched and one can believe his need to belong. Married, they live in a humble home in a wealthy neighborhood. They are about the arts: visual and written. Annie is a photographer and Graham is surrounded with his knowledge of books and music.

We are introduced to this mismatched couple by their size; Annie is a petite woman, Graham is large (fat, actually) with a voracious appetite. In scene after scene, Miller has someone drinking wine, in good times and bad. There always seems to be an inventory of wine. Graham is older but he dies at only sixty-five. Miller’s description of his death prepares the reader for the stages of grief, some familiar, some heartbreaking and surprising.

Perspective is within each as the novel moves along. Sarah is Annie and Graham’s daughter, a big girl with a wonderful speaking voice. She and Lucas are thoughtful to both Frieda and Annie telling us they have been loved and shown how to treat family and friends. It was gratifying. Miller also gave me information that is usually missing from most novels. Towards the end of the novel, Annie inherits $50,000 from a neighbor to take of her cat and she received $200,000 from Graham’s life insurance policy. It made the story more real. I always have wondered in many stories; how much money is there? Can she/he live on it for a few years? These numbers made her widowhood more tangible knowing the only existence is not mourning and grief.

There was an especially unusual flashback of sorts. As a young girl in Chicago, Annie was friendly with Sofie Kahn, now a professional cellist. She recalls the stark contrast between Sofie's mother, who survived WWII, with her mother who was insular and selfish. I was surprised Miller did not have Annie reconnect with Sofie.

One might think this is a familiar plot, the odyssey of a marriage, with or without extra-marital affairs, but Miller’s skill makes it real; long relationships are complex and often thorny.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Catherine Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Captivating
Reviewed in Canada on October 3, 2021
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I found it hard to put down. Many interesting characters and the reader gets to peek into their lives. Some sad moments and events.
One person found this helpful
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Gabriela Farinha
4.0 out of 5 stars Leitura um pouco arrastada
Reviewed in Brazil on August 16, 2021
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A história é bem escrita, mas lá pelo meio do livro não achei muito interessante, ficou um pouco arrastado e monótono. No entanto, o início e o final são bem mais empolgantes.
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Markus L
1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
Reviewed in Italy on August 7, 2022
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I read through the book waiting for some exciting, interesting plot twist to happen but it didn't... I wouldn't recommend reading it
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2021
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This is the book that I wish I had written. Every now and again, we read a book that touches us deeply, that speaks to and for us, that seems so real that we totally understand the characters. This is one of those books.

From the very first pages, I loved this book. It is so well written that I found myself savouring every word. I read it slowly, not wanting to rush it, as I simply did not want it to end. I was fully immersed in the lives of the characters and their emotions. I could identify with them all as we lived through their lives and emotions. I think the writer provided us with deep insight into how families and marriages work, how our lives and actions impact on others. How we parent our children can affect how they grow up and see the world, and how mothers can be harshly judged whatever they do.

This book explores the realities of life from birth to death, good and bad, in some depth. The detail is first class.
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M H
5.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed reading Monogamy
Reviewed in Australia on January 15, 2021
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Its a good read...ringing quite a few bells as each generation has its own view of events both past and present.
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