The Dangerous Husband: A Novel by Jane Shapiro
Many women joke about killing their husbands at some point.  But this wife really means it. 

The Wife, as we will call her, (Shapiro never does give her a name) is a forty-ish freelance photographer struggling to pay her rent in New York City.   She meets Dennis, a wealthy, forty-ish, recently fired Sociology professor-turned novelist, at a Thanksgiving gathering.   They hit it off, and within months are married.  

All seems to be going well, at first.  They are compatible and The Wife finds Den's little "quirks" charming.  He seems scatterbrained and a bit careless, but in the first blush of love, innocent traits.  She chronicles their young marriage in pictures....Den & her laying in bed...Den & her making breakfast...Den & her with their pet frog.  Den is attentive and loving.

But it's not long before The Wife starts to notice that her friends seem to be avoiding her.  In fact, they don't call her back, and when she does track them down, they seem uncomfortable.  Den seems not to have very many friends.  Well, not one. 

And Den's "carelessness" is no longer cute.  He trips quite a bit.  And he crashes often.  He seems to be a walking band-aid.  

Before long, The Wife realizes it is no longer just carelessness.  He does things like, oh, drags her a full block in his car before realizing she wasn't "in" yet.  Smashes her toe with a hot skillet.  Gives her a hug that turns into a concussion, breaks her arm, and wrenches her neck.  Oh, and did we mention how he killed the cat?  And, the dog. 

The Wife slowly begins to realize that it's her life or his.  Especially after discovering that his ex "mysteriously disappeared".  Conveniently, she meets a darling man at a party who just happens to be a Killer.  Can she go through with it?  Doesn't she have to? 

The Dangerous Husband is truly absurd.  Shapiro's deadpan humor is remarkably entertaining.  Some may say the story is unbelievable, and silly.  Well, it is fiction.  Ignore your serious side for awhile, and accept this novel for what it is - a dark, humorous metaphorical look at marriage.  Easy to get into, not so easy to get out of. 

About the author:  Jane Shapiro's first novel, After Moondog, was a finalist for a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a New York Times  Notable Book, and among the Village Voice's 25 Best Books of the Year. Her short fiction and journalism have been published in The New Yorker, the New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, Mirabella, and Ms., among many other publications. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
The Dangerous Husband