Readers disgusted by sugarcoated, mushy sentiments will welcome this latest installment from the prolific Roiphe (Up the Sandbox; Fruitful). Neither antiromantic nor hopelessly giddy, Roiphe's book takes an honest look at what happens after couples say "I do," and asks why the institution has survived at all. These days, "[Y]ou don't need to get married to have children and you certainly don't need to get married to have sex and you don't need to get married to make a mark in this world. Why on earth would anybody bother?" One answer, in Roiphe's gentle prose: "if you live in a railroad station sooner or later you board a train." Her remarks about parenthood can be caustic: children reveal a marriage's weak spots in much the same way as "[the] blue light the police use to reveal blood spots." In Roiphe's mind, the "predicament" of coupledom is tricky: it offers security, but may be boring; fidelity breeds trust, but limits experience; parenthood leads to emotional growth and a smaller, more routine world. Roiphe draws her conclusions not only from her own multiple marriages but also from a trove of cultural sources from Shakespeare and Madame Bovary
to The Sopranos. Her ideas, though informed by feminist sentiment, are not shocking: despite her doubts, she ultimately sides with monogamy, motherhood and marriage—a safe move, which guarantees her a sympathetic audience of liberal female readers still hankering for the altar. (May 14)
Forecast:An NPR feature campaign, national advertising and Roiphe's general media savvy will garner attention.
