Plot Summary

The Good Husband

Gail Godwin
Guide cover placeholder

The Good Husband

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1994

Book Brief

Gail Godwin

The Good Husband

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1994
Book Details
Pages

468

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

Upstate New York • 1990s

Publication Year

1994

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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Super Short Summary

The Good Husband by Gail Godwin explores the intertwined lives of four individuals as they navigate personal crises and relationships against the backdrop of a terminal illness. Magda Danvers, a brilliant academic with terminal ovarian cancer, and her devoted husband Francis are central to the story, which also follows Alice, a grieving editor, and her troubled novelist husband, Hugo, whose lives intersect with Magda and Francis in transformative ways. The book includes instances of death, illness, and marital strife.

Contemplative

Emotional

Melancholic

Mysterious

Bittersweet

Reviews & Readership

4.1

908 ratings

67%

Loved it

24%

Mixed feelings

8%

Not a fan

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Review Roundup

The Good Husband by Gail Godwin explores complex marital dynamics and personal struggles through richly developed characters. Critics commend its emotional depth and intricate narrative structure, although some find its pacing slow and the prose occasionally dense. Overall, it's praised for its profound exploration of human relationships.

Who should read this

Who Should Read The Good Husband?

Readers who appreciate introspective character-driven narratives akin to those in Marilynne Robinson's Gilead or Anne Tyler's Breathing Lessons will find much to enjoy in Gail Godwin's The Good Husband. It is best suited for those interested in exploring complex marital dynamics and emotional depth.

4.1

908 ratings

67%

Loved it

24%

Mixed feelings

8%

Not a fan

Book Details
Pages

468

Format

Novel • Fiction

Setting

Upstate New York • 1990s

Publication Year

1994

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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