Official Review: Husband by JoAnne Blackwelder

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Jaime Lync
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Official Review: Husband by JoAnne Blackwelder

Post by Jaime Lync »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Husband" by JoAnne Blackwelder.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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Husband: My 40-year old Marriage To A Gay Man is a memoir that Joanne Blackwelder decided to write soon after Stephen Myron’s (her husband’s) death in 2008. Both the book cover and name, foreshadow that this story is one filled with much emotional pain and marital issues. However, I think it would have been more fitting to use the term, bisexual instead of gay because Myron was attracted to both males and females. Joanne knew Myron’s sexual orientation and even knew that he was not planning to remain faithful to her and she still decided to marry him. She hoped that her love for him would change him. Was she able to somehow transform him before his death? Joanne quickly answers this question and shifts our attention to a bigger puzzle, “How could she stay married for nearly 40 years, to a husband who was gay?”

There were literally only a few things about this book that I enjoyed. As expected from someone who studied English at the Ph.D. level, Blackwelder’s grammar and formatting were speckles. I also appreciated that the diction was free of superfluous words. All the scenes were vividly portrayed and there was hardly any time when I was confused as to what was going on in the story. Unfortunately, that’s about all that I liked about Husband.

Even though I just complimented the author’s use of words, her skills in English literature did not translate into an engaging reading experience. The author recounted what seems to be every single conflict in her forty-year-old marriage. Since most of the issues were recurring, the story was in a forever loop.

My copy was over five-hundred pages long but it felt like it was over five-thousand. I usually only take a week to read a book this length (even with a busy schedule) but it took me a whole month to finish Husband. I must admit that I believe there is an audience for this book since it focuses on marital issues and sexual identity. I would only recommend this to persons who are highly interested in these themes. I would not recommend it to anyone else because the author does a lot of telling and little showing. Also, I could not connect emotionally with any of the characters.

In summary, I rate this novel 2 out of 4 stars. I was tempted to give it one star but there were a few redeeming scenes throughout the book.

******
Husband
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Robert John Apag
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Post by Robert John Apag »

It just reflects a real life situation which is very relevant now. It just shows that love is genderless, love equates love nothing more nothing less.
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Annyesha
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Post by Annyesha »

I like the story, i guess people need to open their mind that this issues very relevant nowadays..

-- 07 Oct 2017, 06:44 --
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Post by kandscreeley »

Too bad about this book. You should never go into a marriage thinking you can change someone. It's interesting you can be completely grammatically correct but still not write well.
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Post by Elle Howard »

This is not the book for me. Your review was very fair and you more than justified the score that you gave it. I do have a great deal of respect for the author for documenting something so personal. I hope by doing this she helps others in similar situations.
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adiaperpala
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Post by adiaperpala »

The book is timely and relevant. It reveals more of the things that readers would want to more of relationship, the acceptance. Its like suicide getting into a relationship where you know youre not what he or she wants in his or her entire life but still u keep on fighting because love knows no limits. And it hurts sometimes
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Post by fatemeh133 »

This was a very fair assessment, except you said it better than I would have.
What kept me going was the biographical nature of the book and what it meant for someone to share something so personal.
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Post by Christina Rose »

I'm sure it took a lot of strength for the author to write this story, while also providing her with some kind of relief. Too bad she wasn't able to write in a more compelling manner. This book does come at a relevant time; not because open relationships are anything new, but because people aren't hiding their choices as much. While this isn't a book for me, perhaps it will help another couple in a similar situation. Thank you for your honest review, and for sharing your thoughts.
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Post by sam ifeanyi »

hi everyone I'm new here
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Post by Amagine »

I'm not a fan of books where I can't emotionally connect to the characters. So I probably won't be giving it a read.

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Post by kislany »

I think I'll pass. If I can't connect to the characters and I'm not feeling the plot - especially in such a long novel - I'm moving onto something else. Great review, enjoyed reading it.
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Post by wass »

I think it takes a lot of carriage to open up about her experience like that because many people may not talk about their personal lives like that, for that reason I appreciate JoAnne for her honesty. Great review.
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Post by KeriCraven »

I'm sure that it took a lot of courage for the author to share her story. However, personally I think that you shouldn't go into a marriage or relationship with the idea that you're going to change someone. Thank you for your review.
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Post by geoffrey ngoima »

The plot sounds great but too bad the writer didn't deliver. I find it hard that she couldn't deliver on the story of her own life, plus having studied English up to the Ph.D. level should have helped big time... ; good review.
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Post by Sarah Immanuel »

If you love someone, accept them as they are. This book is unique and ofcourse very interesting.
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