(Originally from All About Romance)
Wendy Holden
2007, Chick Lit
Plume, $14.00, 314 pages, Amazon ASIN 0452285887
Grade: B
Sensuality: Kisses
Back when Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus was published, my parents picked up a copy from the library and set about integrating its wisdom into our daily lives. Of course, with three daughters, Mars was somewhat outnumbered. While most of the book has faded from memory, some parts have stuck. Like the fact that, in conversation, women listen to commiserate while men listen to solve. Men say “yes” to agree, while women say “yes” to show they are listening. Though now a cliché, there may be some conventional wisdom in Mars.
Holden’s The School for Husbands (not to be confused with Moliere’s play of the same name) ignores it completely. Instead, Dr. Martha’s school has classes in “Leaving component parts in place-inappropriate positions in flush-waste facilities” (leaving the toilet seat up) and “Male relationship provider socio-musico-physical inarticulacy syndrome” (men’s seeming inability to dance).
Husbands are taught that the countless little problems, the numerous thoughtless actions and occasions where they take their wives for granted are often the deal-breakers beyond the one night stand. If a wife has felt abandoned in the relationship already, the physical abandonment can be a mere technicality.
Mark never cheated on Sophie. However he has put his work above hers, his work above their family, his work above their relationship, even his work above his son, Arthur. What’s worse, however, is that he can’t understand why Sophie is angry when she has the less demanding job and gets to spend time with their child.
Sophie has just returned to work after giving birth and she’s finding the transition harder than expected. It doesn’t help that, on top of a full time job, she also seems to have taken full charge of everything Arthur and all of the domestic duties while Mark gallivants around the country at book launches. Not coming home one night is the very last straw.
When Mark realizes the Sophie may divorce him, he signs up for Dr. Martha’s school. Will he be in time to change his errant ways before Sophie’s ex-boyfriend and millionaire weasels his way back into her life, with help from her mother?
Though not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of Holden’s other novels, The School For Husbands nevertheless has a lot of heart. I have to admit to not necessarily agreeing with Holden’s reasoning, but she puts forward a good argument. My only complaint lies in the ending. I can’t expand without spoiling, but I felt it a bit of a cop-out and a belittlement of Mark’s growth as a character. But the novel is peopled with unforgettable characters, and written with warmth. Truly a book that makes the grade.
