Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Flatiron Books (2021), 348 pages
Description
"From Chandler Baker, the New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network comes The Husbands, a novel that asks: to what lengths will a woman go for a little more help from her husband? Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too... but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder? When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women-a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author-with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident's wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren't hanging on by a thread. But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that's worth killing for. Calling to mind a Stepford Wives gender-swap, The Husbands imagines a world where the burden of the "second shift" is equally shared-and what it may take to get there"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member shelleyraec
The Husbands is a delightfully subversive domestic thriller from Chandler Baker.
Nora Spangler is exhausted by the effort of juggling her career as a personal injury lawyer with her domestic responsibilities as a wife to Hayden, and mother of a four year old. Pregnant with the couple’s second
The Husbands is clearly satire, but it often cuts very close to the bone. Baker speaks for many wives and mothers who find they carry the physical and emotional load of daily life in a way that husbands often don’t. Hayden is typical of many modern men who are not unhelpful at home, but remain benignly oblivious to the minutiae that their partners routinely manage. There would be few of us that don’t empathise with Nora’s experiences, both at home and in the workplace, as she struggles to meet the needs and expectations of her multiple roles, and carries the guilt of any failures. While Nora is not completely blameless, she’s fallen into the common trap of martyring herself by expecting perfection, there is a truth that resonates in every partnership I am familiar with.
That we immediately find the behaviour of the Dynasty Ranch husbands to be implausible is a commentary in itself, clearly there is something unusual going on at Dynasty Ranch. The plot draws inspiration from The Stepford Wives and Get Out, so if you are familiar with either, or both, it’s not difficult to predict the direction the story will take. The only real surprise for me was the cheeky final scene which made me snicker out loud, but I still found it tense as Nora was confronted by the truth about the fire, and the secret to the community’s model marriages.
The Husbands is a provocative, timely and entertaining novel I enjoyed reading.
Nora Spangler is exhausted by the effort of juggling her career as a personal injury lawyer with her domestic responsibilities as a wife to Hayden, and mother of a four year old. Pregnant with the couple’s second
Show More
child, she is increasingly frustrated with the expectation that to have it all (or anything really), she must do it all. Introduced to the residents of the exclusive suburban enclave of Dynasty Ranch during a search for a new home, Nora glimpses an utopian alternative, where the husbands, despite having careers of their own, are eager to ensure their wives are not overburdened by domestic tasks. Intrigued by the neighbourhood and all it appears to offer, Nora is flattered when she is asked her for help with one of their own who has recently lost her husband in a house fire. The Husbands is clearly satire, but it often cuts very close to the bone. Baker speaks for many wives and mothers who find they carry the physical and emotional load of daily life in a way that husbands often don’t. Hayden is typical of many modern men who are not unhelpful at home, but remain benignly oblivious to the minutiae that their partners routinely manage. There would be few of us that don’t empathise with Nora’s experiences, both at home and in the workplace, as she struggles to meet the needs and expectations of her multiple roles, and carries the guilt of any failures. While Nora is not completely blameless, she’s fallen into the common trap of martyring herself by expecting perfection, there is a truth that resonates in every partnership I am familiar with.
That we immediately find the behaviour of the Dynasty Ranch husbands to be implausible is a commentary in itself, clearly there is something unusual going on at Dynasty Ranch. The plot draws inspiration from The Stepford Wives and Get Out, so if you are familiar with either, or both, it’s not difficult to predict the direction the story will take. The only real surprise for me was the cheeky final scene which made me snicker out loud, but I still found it tense as Nora was confronted by the truth about the fire, and the secret to the community’s model marriages.
The Husbands is a provocative, timely and entertaining novel I enjoyed reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member FlowerchildReads
It’s all an illusion. Women can BE anything they dream, but can they HAVE have everything? What’s the cost if they do, and to whom? What would you be willing to do get it? These are the questions Chandler Baker poses in her new psychological thriller, The Husbands.
Nora is a wife, a mother
Chandler Baker does an excellent job of pacing the narrative in such a way that we are drawn in, almost as Nora is. It’s seductive, insidious. We know something is up but the dialogue that continues throughout is so convincing we’re nodding along yes, yes, YES, with the explanations even when we know it’s terribly unsettling. It’s this disconnect that kept me off kilter the entire last part of the book. Nora’s internal monologue was so familiar, relatable. I’ve been in the grocery store after a long day at work, pregnant, trying to convince two tiny humans to be ‘cart boys’ when they insisted on being ‘walker boys’. Nora’s mention of her ‘strategic blowout’ had me doing fist pumps!
I listed to this on audiobook, narrated by Allyson Ryan, and highly recommend this platform. The nuance that she brings to her performance is fantastic, dark, deeply disturbing in its clinical distance at times. If I were reading in print I would have imparted infection, emotion on certain characters. Ryan’s portrayals really took the story to another level, giving greater depth to the individual characters. She was an excellent casting choice and I’ll be sure to look for other audiobooks she’s in.
I recommend The Husbands on audiobook to readers/listeners looking for a weekend great binge read, those that love psychological fiction, and think it would make an excellent book club pick because it’s highly discussable!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy. All opinions are my own.
Nora is a wife, a mother
Show More
expecting another baby, a lawyer on the partner track, burning the candle on both ends and several points in between. She deeply loves her husband Hayden but like many women wonders why he isn’t more engaged, why the rules seem different, why she’s the default for remembering/doing/getting anything done and he ‘helps’. When they look at a home for sale in the idyllic neighborhood of Dynasty Ranch their lives take a turn. Nora is befriended by several women in the community, all with accomplished careers. Something is decidedly different there. There’s a supportive network of women Nora craves. What’s more their husbands are all very supportive of their wives. The husbands cook, clean, care for the children, and hold their own careers. How does Nora get in on this?! She’s offered an opportunity when one of the women needs legal council. As Nora and Hayden are folded into Dynasty Ranch changes in their marriage are subtle, helpful, but something isn’t setting right with Nora. As she continues her legal council and investigation what she uncovers could change everything. Chandler Baker does an excellent job of pacing the narrative in such a way that we are drawn in, almost as Nora is. It’s seductive, insidious. We know something is up but the dialogue that continues throughout is so convincing we’re nodding along yes, yes, YES, with the explanations even when we know it’s terribly unsettling. It’s this disconnect that kept me off kilter the entire last part of the book. Nora’s internal monologue was so familiar, relatable. I’ve been in the grocery store after a long day at work, pregnant, trying to convince two tiny humans to be ‘cart boys’ when they insisted on being ‘walker boys’. Nora’s mention of her ‘strategic blowout’ had me doing fist pumps!
I listed to this on audiobook, narrated by Allyson Ryan, and highly recommend this platform. The nuance that she brings to her performance is fantastic, dark, deeply disturbing in its clinical distance at times. If I were reading in print I would have imparted infection, emotion on certain characters. Ryan’s portrayals really took the story to another level, giving greater depth to the individual characters. She was an excellent casting choice and I’ll be sure to look for other audiobooks she’s in.
I recommend The Husbands on audiobook to readers/listeners looking for a weekend great binge read, those that love psychological fiction, and think it would make an excellent book club pick because it’s highly discussable!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy. All opinions are my own.
Show Less
LibraryThing member froxgirl
How you could pen a novel about husbands being hypnotized into doing half of the tasks moms do, without A SINGLE REFERENCE to Ira Levin's Stepford Wives, is inconceivable. However, this updating is smart, funny, and has an unanticipated twist at the end, so author Baker's sins can be partially
Show More
forgiven. Nora is an attorney, wife, mother, three months pregnant, and is at her wit's end due to her good-natured and clueless husband Hayden's disinterest in shouldering any potion of her responsibilities. Like many modern-day dads, he thinks that he's much better than his own dad was because he throws some laundry into the dryer (after being prodded, of course). Nora sees no escape until the couple goes to see a bigger house in the Dynasty Ranch (that name alone would nix it for me) subdivision and she meets the brilliant women of the neighborhood and their accommodating husbands, who finish off each sentence with "You work so hard" as they launder, clean, and make snacks for Teacher's Day. Nora, a personal injury lawyer, is hired to investigate a house fire that killed one of the husbands, and she and Hayden start couples counseling with one of the most influential moms. What's coming up is fairly obvious, but the way Baker rolls it out, indispersed with posts from mommy blogs, is clever and suspenseful. Show Less
LibraryThing member write-review
The Perfect Husbands of Austin
Once, maybe still, there was this idea that women can have it all, all being a rewarding career and a fulfilling family life. Of course, for many reasons, societal and innate, these two things that comprise having it all are always in conflict. Even if a woman and her
Nora Spangler toils away at her career in a high power law firm, just on the cusp of partnership. On the job, she has to put up with old white boy leadership and a self-centered partner who constantly ropes her into assignments and calls her at will to solve his trivial office machinery problems. At home, she has a little daughter and a husband, Hayden. Hayden has a sales job, which one would imagine would afford him some flexibility, but he’s stingy in helping around the house and seeing after the child, Liv. Bad enough, but he carps constantly about never receiving enough praise for the little he does do. Naturally, Nora internalizes all this, resulting in self-torment. As if this isn’t enough, she’s pregnant with her second, and they are ready for a new, larger home.
In pursuit of the house, they stumble onto Dynasty Ranch, visit, and seemingly enter into another world. In this world, the homes are spacious and beautiful; the husbands are super helpful; the wives are supremely confident and accomplished. All prove big attractions for Nora, the husbands a bit of a turnoff for Hayden, what with their obsequious servitude and banter about the best cleaning products.
Then, Nora receives a call from one of the women of Dynasty Ranch, Cornelia. She wonders if Nora could help one of the women receive compensation for a house fire that not only cost her her home but her husband. Nora remembers the burned out shell from her and Hayden’s visit and she agrees, thinking bringing in her own client might boost her career opportunities and also help with winning over the Dynasty Ranch HOA, a member of which has to sponsor you as a homebuyer. Soon, however, just as there’s more to the fire than a household accident, also there’s more to the manicured community of Dynasty Ranch.
The best parts of The Husbands centers around Nora’s inner turmoil, which most women can identify with, and most men are oblivious to, but shouldn’t be. The weakest are the suspense, of which there is very little, since almost from the get-go readers will figure out the Stepford angle reversed, and the less than riveting method of transforming husbands.
Once, maybe still, there was this idea that women can have it all, all being a rewarding career and a fulfilling family life. Of course, for many reasons, societal and innate, these two things that comprise having it all are always in conflict. Even if a woman and her
Show More
husband manage to share responsibilities for the family, doing so can be quite challenging. That’s if sharing equally could be accomplished, which, no surprise, study after study shows cannot, or at least hasn’t been. Men, husbands, just do not carry any fair share of the weight in a household. Women, wives do much more, many while pursuing demanding careers. But what if … what if you could convince men, convince or compel men to switch roles with women in the household, thus freeing the women up to excel at their careers, and not torment themselves over managing everything, while not resenting their husbands for doing too little, for seeking praise for the little they do do, and taking for granted what the women do? Enter the perfect husbands of Austin, or at least those living in the upscale development of Dynasty Ranch.Nora Spangler toils away at her career in a high power law firm, just on the cusp of partnership. On the job, she has to put up with old white boy leadership and a self-centered partner who constantly ropes her into assignments and calls her at will to solve his trivial office machinery problems. At home, she has a little daughter and a husband, Hayden. Hayden has a sales job, which one would imagine would afford him some flexibility, but he’s stingy in helping around the house and seeing after the child, Liv. Bad enough, but he carps constantly about never receiving enough praise for the little he does do. Naturally, Nora internalizes all this, resulting in self-torment. As if this isn’t enough, she’s pregnant with her second, and they are ready for a new, larger home.
In pursuit of the house, they stumble onto Dynasty Ranch, visit, and seemingly enter into another world. In this world, the homes are spacious and beautiful; the husbands are super helpful; the wives are supremely confident and accomplished. All prove big attractions for Nora, the husbands a bit of a turnoff for Hayden, what with their obsequious servitude and banter about the best cleaning products.
Then, Nora receives a call from one of the women of Dynasty Ranch, Cornelia. She wonders if Nora could help one of the women receive compensation for a house fire that not only cost her her home but her husband. Nora remembers the burned out shell from her and Hayden’s visit and she agrees, thinking bringing in her own client might boost her career opportunities and also help with winning over the Dynasty Ranch HOA, a member of which has to sponsor you as a homebuyer. Soon, however, just as there’s more to the fire than a household accident, also there’s more to the manicured community of Dynasty Ranch.
The best parts of The Husbands centers around Nora’s inner turmoil, which most women can identify with, and most men are oblivious to, but shouldn’t be. The weakest are the suspense, of which there is very little, since almost from the get-go readers will figure out the Stepford angle reversed, and the less than riveting method of transforming husbands.
Show Less
LibraryThing member write-review
The Perfect Husbands of Austin
Once, maybe still, there was this idea that women can have it all, all being a rewarding career and a fulfilling family life. Of course, for many reasons, societal and innate, these two things that comprise having it all are always in conflict. Even if a woman and her
Nora Spangler toils away at her career in a high power law firm, just on the cusp of partnership. On the job, she has to put up with old white boy leadership and a self-centered partner who constantly ropes her into assignments and calls her at will to solve his trivial office machinery problems. At home, she has a little daughter and a husband, Hayden. Hayden has a sales job, which one would imagine would afford him some flexibility, but he’s stingy in helping around the house and seeing after the child, Liv. Bad enough, but he carps constantly about never receiving enough praise for the little he does do. Naturally, Nora internalizes all this, resulting in self-torment. As if this isn’t enough, she’s pregnant with her second, and they are ready for a new, larger home.
In pursuit of the house, they stumble onto Dynasty Ranch, visit, and seemingly enter into another world. In this world, the homes are spacious and beautiful; the husbands are super helpful; the wives are supremely confident and accomplished. All prove big attractions for Nora, the husbands a bit of a turnoff for Hayden, what with their obsequious servitude and banter about the best cleaning products.
Then, Nora receives a call from one of the women of Dynasty Ranch, Cornelia. She wonders if Nora could help one of the women receive compensation for a house fire that not only cost her her home but her husband. Nora remembers the burned out shell from her and Hayden’s visit and she agrees, thinking bringing in her own client might boost her career opportunities and also help with winning over the Dynasty Ranch HOA, a member of which has to sponsor you as a homebuyer. Soon, however, just as there’s more to the fire than a household accident, also there’s more to the manicured community of Dynasty Ranch.
The best parts of The Husbands centers around Nora’s inner turmoil, which most women can identify with, and most men are oblivious to, but shouldn’t be. The weakest are the suspense, of which there is very little, since almost from the get-go readers will figure out the Stepford angle reversed, and the less than riveting method of transforming husbands.
Once, maybe still, there was this idea that women can have it all, all being a rewarding career and a fulfilling family life. Of course, for many reasons, societal and innate, these two things that comprise having it all are always in conflict. Even if a woman and her
Show More
husband manage to share responsibilities for the family, doing so can be quite challenging. That’s if sharing equally could be accomplished, which, no surprise, study after study shows cannot, or at least hasn’t been. Men, husbands, just do not carry any fair share of the weight in a household. Women, wives do much more, many while pursuing demanding careers. But what if … what if you could convince men, convince or compel men to switch roles with women in the household, thus freeing the women up to excel at their careers, and not torment themselves over managing everything, while not resenting their husbands for doing too little, for seeking praise for the little they do do, and taking for granted what the women do? Enter the perfect husbands of Austin, or at least those living in the upscale development of Dynasty Ranch.Nora Spangler toils away at her career in a high power law firm, just on the cusp of partnership. On the job, she has to put up with old white boy leadership and a self-centered partner who constantly ropes her into assignments and calls her at will to solve his trivial office machinery problems. At home, she has a little daughter and a husband, Hayden. Hayden has a sales job, which one would imagine would afford him some flexibility, but he’s stingy in helping around the house and seeing after the child, Liv. Bad enough, but he carps constantly about never receiving enough praise for the little he does do. Naturally, Nora internalizes all this, resulting in self-torment. As if this isn’t enough, she’s pregnant with her second, and they are ready for a new, larger home.
In pursuit of the house, they stumble onto Dynasty Ranch, visit, and seemingly enter into another world. In this world, the homes are spacious and beautiful; the husbands are super helpful; the wives are supremely confident and accomplished. All prove big attractions for Nora, the husbands a bit of a turnoff for Hayden, what with their obsequious servitude and banter about the best cleaning products.
Then, Nora receives a call from one of the women of Dynasty Ranch, Cornelia. She wonders if Nora could help one of the women receive compensation for a house fire that not only cost her her home but her husband. Nora remembers the burned out shell from her and Hayden’s visit and she agrees, thinking bringing in her own client might boost her career opportunities and also help with winning over the Dynasty Ranch HOA, a member of which has to sponsor you as a homebuyer. Soon, however, just as there’s more to the fire than a household accident, also there’s more to the manicured community of Dynasty Ranch.
The best parts of The Husbands centers around Nora’s inner turmoil, which most women can identify with, and most men are oblivious to, but shouldn’t be. The weakest are the suspense, of which there is very little, since almost from the get-go readers will figure out the Stepford angle reversed, and the less than riveting method of transforming husbands.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
Even though it was pretty easy to see where this book was heading, it was still a fun read! What if your husband didn't need to be told what he could do to help? Would it be worth it? While getting close to the end of this book, my husband walked through the room and encouraged me to keep reading
Show More
and finish the book while he toasted a bagel for me. Yikes, this book made that seem very suspicious to me... Show Less
LibraryThing member flourgirl49
Reminiscent of "The Stepford Wives," although this time it's the husbands who are in an altered state. Wives whose husbands are clueless about helping around the house would probably enjoy (or maybe not!) this book; it was kind of silly but mildly intriguing.
LibraryThing member BridgetteS
The Husbands is a fun read - especially for those who like a good mystery. It is a feminist thriller set in suburban Austin. The main character, Nora, is a woman who has it all: great career, family, home, etc... Her family looks to relocate to the suburbs as the family is expanding (new baby).
Show More
Nora soon discovers that things are not what they seem. Why are the husbands in this subdivision so....complacent. The book starts out a little slow, but do not give up as it moves quicker towards the middle and you will not want to put it down. Highly recommend! Show Less
LibraryThing member Damiella
Nora (the protagonist) is trying to make partner at her law firm but having the mental work at home (as well as actually managing the family as well as supporting her boss). The book opens with Nora & her husband looking at a house in a development due an impending child. There's the overtones of
This has shades of 'The Stepford Wives', and 'Don't Worry Darling' (but reversed) - all the women in the development are extremely competent and their husbands appear to support them worringly too much.
This feels like it could have been good, but it wasn't. I feel like this would be a perfect candidate for a Readers Digest condensed look - take some of the extraneous stuff out and sharpen it up.
Show More
things feeling slightly 'off' but nothing too overt.This has shades of 'The Stepford Wives', and 'Don't Worry Darling' (but reversed) - all the women in the development are extremely competent and their husbands appear to support them worringly too much.
This feels like it could have been good, but it wasn't. I feel like this would be a perfect candidate for a Readers Digest condensed look - take some of the extraneous stuff out and sharpen it up.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LivelyLady
The prep to move into a new upscale neighborhood introduces Nora to a group of successful working women with such helpful husbands. It is almost too good to be true as she is asked to help the woman who's house was burned down. Very good and creative. Brings out some good points about women who
Show More
"have it all." Show Less