The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Londoner Lauren is a little drunk after Elena’s hen party, and is very startled to find a strange man on the stair landing of her duplex. The man turns out to be her husband, Michael. Her flat looks a bit different than she remembers and the fridge is stocked with grapefruit water. Neighbor Toby knows Michael, but Lauren is single. She fakes a cold and Michael sleeps in the spare room. When he goes up to the attic to replace a light bulb, a different husband comes down. Lauren’s attic seems to have a supply of husbands! This is a completely ridiculous plot, but makes for a fun, compelling summer read.

Lauren is sure of a few things. She is friends with Toby and Elena. Her sister Natalie is married with two little kids. But when a new husband comes downstairs to the flat, there are changes, like the paint color, art work, or furniture in their flat. And sometimes other things are different. One husband is very cross; she has trouble getting him back in the attic. Jason is very nice, but her job has completely changed. Lauren learns to look at photos and messages on her phone to see if she likes her life, her job, and her relationships. Sometimes Lauren doesn’t like herself at all, and neither does the reader. Often, she calls off sick from work or buys things not in her budget, because everything will reset the next time. Then a couple of exes come back. Is Lauren the only one with an attic like that? I wondered why she doesn’t move away. Will she ever find what she’s looking for?

After a while, Lauren gets desperate and makes some very bad choices. But finally, she learns from her experiences and the ending is unexpected and dramatic. This book is hard to put down and would make a great movie, with lots of cameo parts for men. Try reading this novel and not talking about it; I certainly couldn’t. The author is from Australia and lives in London. A game designer, this is her first novel. I’m fascinated to see what she writes next.

Brenda