I read this book (full title: How to Stay Married – The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told) on a recommendation from a favorite reviewer. I have no prior experience with its author, Harrison Scott Key, and after finishing the book, I can confidently say I’ll have no future experiences with him.
In summary, this is a story of infidelity and the author’s attempt to “save” his marriage. This book is presented on inside flap as a “comic romp unlike any in contemporary literature”. OK, inside flap writer, but did you actually *read* the book?
Key comes across as a douchebag, primarily capable of using sarcasm as a deflection to cover his many shortcomings as a partner. He leans heavily on Christianity throughout the book, the “good” parts of which he showers upon himself (“Look at me, I have a few flaws but I’m a **martyr**!”) and the “bad” parts he saves for his wife (“Look at her, she’s a mess without me and I have to **save** her!” We’re even treated to a chapter near the end of the book written by his wife, who in a few pages summarizes the trauma that took the author close to 300 to cover. 300 pages of judgement smothered in a layer of sarcasm. Hooray.
I’m glad I read this book, if only to validate the dangers of patriarchy, religious groupthink, and upholding the status quo. Key is a walking billboard for those things.
by re_true