Weekly Reader: Husbands and Other Sharp Objects by Marilyn Simon Rothstein; Witty, Sarcastic, and Sharp Look at Divorce During Marriage

 Weekly Reader: Husbands and Other Sharp Objects by Marilyn Simon Rothstein; Witty, Sarcastic, and Sharp Look at Divorce During Marriage

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Planning a wedding is hard, but planning a wedding while going through a divorce is pure murder.

Well not literally in Marilyn Simon Rothstein's Husbands and Other Sharp Objects, but certainly figuratively on the soul.Rothstein's sharp, witty, and sarcastic book takes a long look at the beginning of a marriage while one is coming to an end.

Marcy Hammer is going through a really difficult time. After over thirty years of marriage, her husband Harvey has left her for a much younger woman who is pregnant with his child. She has been reeling from this loss and going through divorce proceedings while in a heavy relationship with her new boyfriend, Jon. Her adult daughter, Amanda announces that she's getting married to Jake Berger, an attorney that represents Harvey's international business. Now Marcy has to bite her teeth and act civil with her soon to be ex while going through the various wedding preparations with her spoiled Bridezilla of a daughter.

Rothstein's writing style is similar to that of Nora Ephron or Dorothy Parker, finding humor in tough situations, no matter how abrasive and sardonic that humor can be. Many of the situations border on the farcical with many characters, particularly Marcy, snarking at each other.

For example, Marcy's first meeting with her prospective son in law occurs when the two literally bump into each other at the airport. That is their cars run into each other while Marcy is meeting a friend and Jake is meeting Amanda (Amanda was supposed to arrive two days later.) . When Marcy first meets Jake, she wonders how much he knows about her and Harvey's separation. She thinks "I don't know. You don't know me. But tell me can you see from my hazel eyes that my husband has a new baby mama? Do you also know that she is in her twenties and is Argentine and he sent her back to Buenos Aires with the funds to open a business?"

When she realizes that Jake is Harvey's lawyer, Marcy decides to hit Harvey where it hurts the most: in his wallet. "Why don't you just bill the repairs (to their dented cars) to Harvey?" She asks. "And it's okay with me if you want to double your hourly rate," she adds silently.

Marcy always has a quick wit. Similar to Ephron's Rachel Samstadt from Heartburn, her humor is used as a defense mechanism to deal with the stress going on in her life. She takes potshots at her various troubles. When Jon demonstrates his talent of quoting the first lines of great novels, Marcy says, "Harvey quoted a book to me once. His checkbook. He recited the amount that I owed for a day at the spa." She also describes Harvey as "so nuts that children with allergies need to stay away from him."

Comparing religious differences between her and Dana, a close friend, Marcy says,"I am Jewish. My friend Dana is a Narcissist." 

Upon learning that Amanda's soon to be mother in law is Maud, but her nickname is Mug, Marcy thinks "If I had to choose between Mug or Maud, I'd ask people to refer to me as 'Hey You.'"

When Amanda keeps bothering her mother with the changing details of the wedding, Marcy says "Honestly, I think you should get married wherever you want to get married. Whether it's on a cattle ranch or the Orient Express and one of us is murdered, it's fine with me."

Besides the laughs, there is a lot of depth as well in Marcy's character. Even though the plans of the wedding are a headache and a half, she goes through the motions because she wants Amanda to be happy. She also shows love to her other children, Elizabeth and Ben. When Amanda considers moving to a venue that outlaws homosexuality, thereby ensuring that Ben and his boyfriend, Jordan would not be able to come, Marcy questions this. She also has lot of inner turmoil when Amanda tells her that she doesn't want Jon at the wedding. She is torn between her daughter's happiness and her boyfriend's. 

There is even some poignancy to her character when her friend Candy learns that she has cancer. Comedy turns to drama as Marcy tries to be supportive while also clearly anguished for her friend.

Marcy is a brilliant lead comic character. Unfortunately, much of the supporting cast border on parody and many are unlikeable. Harvey is the typical boorish ex. He demands that Marcy keep their house and insists on having the final say in wedding details. It's not a mystery why he and Marcy split up, but it's a mystery what she ever saw in him in the first place. 

Jon at first seems alright: loving, supportive, and understanding about Marcy's decision to take things slowly, the Anti-Harvey. Unfortunately, a plot twist happens which either causes Jon to act out of character or act according to his real character and the supportive boyfriend act could only be suppressed for so long. Either way, it suggests that he can be as thoughtless and controlling as Harvey and hints that Marcy could be in for more of the same.

Then there's Amanda. Never have I seen a more spoiled thoughtless daughter since Mildred Pierce's Vida. Okay, she's not murderous but she certainly is obnoxious and irritating. From constantly whining about the details to her shrill complaints about people ruining her "special day," she is the stereotype of every bitchy bride ever. Her siblings, Elizabeth and Ben, get three cheers simply for telling her to knock it off. I know weddings are stressful, but Amanda takes her behavior to an extreme that makes her more annoying than understandable.

For the most part, Husbands and Other Sharp Objects is not a book to be taken seriously. It is meant to be read with a laugh and a nod of understanding when one has gone through difficult stressful times. Marilyn Simon Rothstein's sharpness lies in her ability to capture humor with that stress.