On Marriage

(Hardback)

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A shining exploration of why we marry from highly acclaimed author of Feeling Jewish Devorah Baum For better or worse. For richer or poorer. Till death us do part . . . We've always done it, we're still doing it. Straight, queer, coupled or uncoupled, none of us live outside the cultural and psychological influence of marriage and all of us are written into its story. But why this highly contested and ancient practice has remained relevant to so many is by no means certain. Is it an act of love, a leap of faith, a holy bond, a contractual commitment, a bid for security, a framework for family, a hedge against being alone Or could its traditional cover conceal something a bit more radical Why do we do it at all Drawing on philosophy, film, fiction, comedy, psychoanalysis, music and poetry, Devorah Baum considers the marriage plot. What are we really talking about when we talk about marriage And what are we really doing when we say, 'I do' Entertaining, illuminating, candid and consoling, On Marriage is a critique and a celebration of the many contradictions of matrimony - its sorrows as well as its joys - and an enquiry into its effects on us all.

Reviews

On Marriage is a hugely thought-provoking, witty, warm tour around every significant writer and thinker on love to have emerged since Adam and Eve. Baum is a charming guide to the wisdom of her inspiring judiciously curated cohort * Alain de Botton *
This delightful, acrobatic book is funny, thought-provoking and rigorous at the same time. An effervescent and timely meditation on marriage * Darian Leader *
Philosophically and emotionally smart. Devorah Baum brings her literary understandings, psychoanalytic scholarship and great aplomb to the marriage conundrum. It's very funny too. Who wouldn't want to marry Devorah -- Susie Orbach
Rarely has the subject of marriage been attended to with such intelligence, breadth of reading and insight, but also with such scrutiny and hope. Baum is hopeful about marriage, but also honest and anxious about it. She is committed to its contradictions and complexities. There is doubt and humility, as well as a quiet ardour to her analysis -- Hisham Matar
Because marriage doesn't always bring out the best in us, it makes us wonder what the best in us might be. It is part of the extraordinary wit and wisdom of Baum's remarkable book to show us what kind of romance, and experiment in living, we have wanted marriage to be -- Adam Phillips

Author Bio

Devorah Baum is the author of Feeling Jewish and The Jewish Joke- an essay with examples (less essay, more examples). With Josh Appignanesi she is co-director, producer and performer of the films The New Man and Husband, which investigate the intimate dynamics of the filmmakers' own marriage. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Guardian, Tate Etc and the Financial Times. She is Associate Professor of English Literature at the University of Southampton.