A SYMMETRY OF HUSBANDS

A SYMMETRY OF HUSBANDS, a psychologically rich literary novel with elements of suspense, probes the jealousy and betrayal that hide in a life-long friendship. It takes its title from a poem read by Douglas Adams at the funeral of his wife Megan, who has died from complications of MS. He also reads, "Grief wrongs us so. I stand, and wait, and cry/For the absurd forgiveness, not knowing why." Abigail, Megan's friend and caretaker on Boston's North Shore, has an idea why Douglas might ask for Megan's forgiveness. It's the reason Abigail herself might also ask forgiveness of both Megan and of Abigail's husband, James; neither Megan nor James knew about the affair between Douglas and Abigail.

 As a child, Megan learns of the sexual abuse Abigail suffered at the hands of her father, a secret Abigail told no one. Megan also learns of her husband Douglas’s repeated infidelities. All four of the major characters keep secrets that become revealed after Megan’s death. Abigail steals her friend’s journal, and puzzles over a mysterious relationship Megan had. In the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, as Abigail grieves for her friend and worries about the dangers of a Trump presidency, she becomes suspicious of the circumstances of her friend's death. Perhaps Douglas needs forgiveness for more than she previously knew. The novel ends with the awareness of her own unwitting complicity.