I recently discovered that my library has a pile of Stephen King novellas on audiobook — ones that I never read because he released them all as e-books and I really don’t like e-books — I’ll read them in my browser if they’re free, but overall I’d prefer a paperback (or a book on tape — I’m not a total Luddite). So I rented 3 of these novellas, and listened to A Good Marriage first (which was narrated by Jessica Hecht — a.k.a. Susan from Friends, a.k.a. Gretchen from Breaking Bad — who has a lovely speaking voice), and I think it was the best of the three (reviews for the other two forthcoming).
“You realize that you are in a hell of your own making, but you go on nevertheless. Because there is nothing else to do.”
So Robert and Darcy Anderson have been married for almost 30 years — they have two grown children, and Bob has worked as an accountant since before they met. He also collects and resells coins, and while he is on a trip for this side-business, Darcy happens to stumble across a box of his in the garage. Since this is a Stephen King novel, the box contains something horrifying — and reveals to Darcy that she doesn’t know her husband at all.
I liked Darcy a lot more than the last Stephen King novella heroine I came across (Em from The Gingerbread Girl). Darcy makes significantly better and smarter choices, while maintaining that “Oh My God, what do I do?” mindset that seems very appropriate considering what she finds. I also really liked how this story ended — it wrapped up nicely in a way that I wouldn’t have expected.
