Week 12: The Husbands
AUG. 28, 2024 • CAMP TOB WEEK 12
The Husbands
second half discussion
We made it! Six books, three vibes, and—over the past couple weeks—more than 200 husbands. And this week, with our final discussion of Holly Gramazio’s The Husbands, we reach the end of Camp ToB 2024.
Thank you to all of this summer’s Activity Leaders for guiding us through our discussions each week, and to all of you for being here and sharing these novels with us. We’ll see you again in just a few weeks when we announce our long list for the 2025 Tournament of Books!
And now, the ToB’s very own Rosecrans Baldwin has supplied us with another round of questions to get this week’s conversation started. Find those below!
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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?
This has been excerpted from the publisher’s summary and edited for length.
1.
How did the book finish for you? Without being too crude, is it fuck, marry, or kill?
2.
For those who enjoyed the book’s humor, was it humorous, funny, witty, or something else?
3.
Did you absorb anything from the book about making decisions when you’re overloaded by choices?