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In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!
Shop nowThe Husbands
A Novel
Narrator
Miranda Raison
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
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Length
10 hours 30 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“What if you could trade out your husband on a whim? He has nose hair? Trade him in! He snores? Trade him in! In The Husbands Lauren is given the chance to do just that when she finds her husband in her flat, although she's never been married. Her attic has become a place of magic where one husband goes up and another comes down. This book was beautifully written and has such a creative plot that kept me engaged throughout it's entireity. This was a wonderful audiobook!”
— Dani • Bright Side Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“This book was so much fun! A highly entertaining page-turner, it explores what one woman’s life would be like with an ongoing series of husbands that emerge from her attic, at least until she decides to exchange them for the next one. Witty, clever, and imaginative. Great for fans of Jojo Moyes! ”
— Olivia • Author's Note
Bookseller recommendation
“Lauren is faced with a troubling situation — not only is she married to a complete stranger, she can also trade her husband in for a new one. The story leans into the wacky possibilities and bittersweet potentials that could tempt many of us.”
— Erin Pastore • Water Street Bookstore
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA’S APRIL BOOK CLUB PICK • An exuberant debut, The Husbands delights in asking: how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world of never-ending options? (“A time-bending gem”—Gabrielle Zevin; “Kaleidoscopic and bright and very, very funny." –Claire Lombardo)
When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years.
As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?
HOLLY GRAMAZIO is a writer, game designer and curator from Adelaide, currently based in London. She founded the experimental games festival Now Play This, and wrote the script for the award-winning indie videogame Dicey Dungeons. She’s particularly interested in rules, play, cities, gardens, games that get people acting creatively, and art that gets people interacting with their surroundings in new ways. The Husbands is her first novel.
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Reviews
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR FROM THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE STAR TRIBUNE“Delightfully addictive . . . a bottomless champagne flute of a novel.”
—The Washington Post
"Charming...there’s plenty of intelligence and candor in the author’s creative spin on the conundrum of commitment."
—Publishers Weekly
"Richly characterized, philosophical, and funny. I enjoyed all the husbands, even (especially?) the terrible ones. A time-bending gem about the way we live now."
—Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
"The Husbands is a wily and wonderful exploration of modern decision-making, kaleidoscopic and bright and very, very funny."
—Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
"Brilliant, hilarious, surprising and wise. I devoured it."
—Naomi Alderman, New York Times bestselling author of The Power and The Future
"The Husbands is WONDERFUL: fresh, original, hugely entertaining and oddly comforting. . . . I laughed out loud countless times. . . . [This] was the most fun I’ve had reading in the longest time. It is an utter delight."
—Marian Keyes, bestselling author of Again, Rachel and Grown Ups
"Clever, fresh, inventive, The Husbands is wholly original."
—Louise O’Neill, author of Asking For It
"The plot allows the author to explore current attitudes and approaches to dating and mating from a fresh perspective... A fun take on a big question."
—Kirkus Expand reviews