Crush: A Novel

(Hardback)

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When a husband asks his wife to consider what might be missing from their marriage, what follows surprises them both-sex, heartbreak and heart rekindling, and a rediscovered sense of all that is possible. "Ada Calhoun writes with absolute clarity about the giddiest and most destabilizingfeeling-the crush. This novel made me feel dizzy and I loved every second. Calhoun can seduce me any day of the week." -Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow When a husband asks his wife to consider what might be missing from their marriage, what follows surprises them both-sex, heartbreak and heart rekindling, and a rediscovered sense of all that is possible She's happy and settled and productive and content in her full life-a child, a career, an admirable marriage, deep friendships, happy parents, and a spouse she still loves. But when her husband urges her to address what the narrow labels of "husband" and "wife" force them to edit out of their lives, the very best kind of hell breaks loose. Using the author's personal experiences as a jumping-off point, Crush is about the danger and liberation of chasing desire, the havoc it can wreak, and most of all the clear sense of self one finds when the storm passes. Destined to become a classic novel of marriage, and tackling the big questions being asked about partnership in postpandemic relationships, Crush is a sharp, funny, seductive, and revelatory novel about holding on to everything it's possible to love-friends, children, parents, passion, lovers, husbands, all of the world's good books, and most of all one's own deep sense of purpose.

Reviews

Ada Calhoun writes with absolute clarity about the giddiest and most destabilizingfeelingthe crush. This novel made me feel dizzy and I loved every second. Calhoun can seduce me any day of the week.
Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

The word crush often conjures the innocence of adolescencea time when your life story isnt yet written and anything is possible. But what happens when that dormant feeling is awakened in middle age Ada Calhouns Crush is a gripping fever dream of a book leading the reading into the beguiling depths of desire, ecstasy, and obsession.
Molly Ringwald

Crush marks Ada Calhoun's arrival as a novelist, and what an incredibly explosive arrival it is. This book is a sumptuous exploration of how desire takes us over without a shred of moral hedging. A vertiginousyet somehow also clarifyingnovel that will grab you by your shoulders and shake you until you feel alive.
Isaac Fitzgerald, New York Times bestselling author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts

Chock-full of great lines [a]nything Ada Calhoun wants to write is well worth reading.
Kirkus Review

Author Bio

Ada Calhoun is the author of Also a Poet, named one of the best books of 2022 by The New York Times, NPR, and The Washington Post, longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and featured on the Today show and PBS NewsHour. Her other books include St. Marks Is Dead and the New York Times bestsellers Why We Can't Sleep.