The Marriage Plot is a book that’s been on the best seller list for awhile now, and was the first book chosen (ok, I chose it) for a newly formed book club. On the one hand, it was perfect for it, because we had a lot to talk about, but on the other, I think I was the one that liked it the most, and I was really just ok with it.
Madeline Hanna is the female protagonist in this book, caught between two men: emotionally unstable and manic depressive Leonard, and friendly, lost, Mitchell. The book follows her through college and the years after, including her relationships with both men. She and Mitchell, with one memorable chapter from Leonard, narrate the book as we watch them try to identify who they are and who they are becoming. That’s really the entire premise: Just a few years in the life of three characters.
I say I was ok with the book. Honestly I think the more that I think about it, the less I liked it. Nearly every character met within the pages was unlikable, with Madeline chief among them. It’s hard to like a book when you can’t identify with or even much care about the characters, but for some reason I couldn’t stop reading. I liked it against all odds, and it was only after finishing it and talking it through with the book club that I realized that it was really not that likable.
But I also think that was sort of the point. Everyone sucks, but everyone is also captivating in their own way. Basically I have no idea what I think of this book anymore, and I’m not sure I would recommend it. At the very least it had a lot of stuff in it to talk about, which made it a good book club pick, but I’m not sure I’m going to read it again. 3.
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