The Arrangement, Sarah Dunn
The Arrangement, Sarah Dunn
13 Rating(s)
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

The Arrangement
A Novel

Author: Sarah Dunn

Narrator: Ellen Archer

Unabridged: 9 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/21/2017


Synopsis

National Bestseller: A hilarious and emotionally charged novel about a couple who embark on an open marriage-what could possibly go wrong?

Lucy and Owen, ambitious, thoroughly-therapized New Yorkers, have taken the plunge, trading in their crazy life in a cramped apartment for Beekman, a bucolic Hudson Valley exurb. They've got a two hundred year-old house, an autistic son obsessed with the Titanic, and 17 chickens, at last count.

It's the kind of paradise where stay-at-home moms team up to cook the school's "hot lunch," dads grill grass-fed burgers, and, as Lucy observes, "chopping kale has become a certain kind of American housewife's version of chopping wood." When friends at a wine-soaked dinner party reveal they've made their marriage open, sensible Lucy balks.

There's a part of her, though-the part that worries she's become too comfortable being invisible -- that's intrigued. Why not try a short marital experiment? Six months, clear ground rules, zero questions asked. When an affair with a man in the city begins to seem more enticing than the happily-ever-after she's known for the past nine years, Lucy must decide what truly makes her happy: "real life," or the "experiment?"

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennifer on May 26, 2017

Visit [URL not allowed] for all my reviews and recommendations. Suburban young couple, Lucy and Owen are looking to feel energized and happy in their relationship, to bring back the butterflies, so their exciting but not so well thought out solution was The Arrangement. An open ma......more

Goodreads review by Lisa on August 22, 2017

I haven't laughed out loud this many times while reading a book before this one. I LOVED IT. It is funny, well paced, interesting (you get snippets of back stories on everyone) and just damn good. She's a TV writer and it shows here--especially in the smart and very real dialogue. She knows how peop......more

Goodreads review by Greta on October 06, 2022

3.5 rounded down to 3 stars Lucy and Owen are married, living in the suburbs in Hudson Valley NY and raising a young son who is on the spectrum. They have dinner with some friends who share with them a counselor recommended a 6 month time period where they could sleep with other people/no questions a......more

Goodreads review by Tracy on April 16, 2017

The Arrangement is an original and cleverly written story about Lucy and Owen who decide to have a six month "open marriage - no questions" rumspringa where they can sleep around but obviously there are rules involved. No friends, no ex's and absolutely no falling in love! This is a frank and often p......more


Quotes

"Daring and darkly funny, Sarah Dunn's THE ARRANGEMENT is this summer's must-read. Her take on middle-age and family life is wry, poignant and spot-on. Readers will recognize themselves and their friends in this wonderfully comic novel."—Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City

"A hilarious, spot-on comedy of the heart about middle-aged marriage and what happens when it goes off the rails."—Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette

"Sarah Dunn's novels are literary flume rides. You're in a world you think you know, with a couple you swear you know, and in an instant, the world is turned upside down. You hold on because the story is entertaining, hilarious, and addictive. But, Ms. Dunn also writes complicated human beings who struggle, make mistakes, and are redeemed. THE ARRANGEMENT is a novel you'll share with your friends. You'll talk about it. You'll return to it. It's one of those. A keeper."—Adriana Trigiani, author of All the Stars in the Heavens

"THE ARRANGEMENT is a comic masterpiece that exposes the unbearable paradoxes of love."—Delia Ephron, author of Siracusa

"Sarah Dunn has written an irresistibly JUICY novel about a couple who try an unconventional experiment in an attempt to revitalize their marriage. This story, addictive from the very first pages, becomes not only more tantalizing as it unfolds but also more thought-provoking. The Arrangement will both shock and delight you."—Elin Hilderbrand, author of Here's to Us

"If you've been wondering what an experiment in open marriage might be like, try Sarah Dunn's deliciously inventive novel"—Elle

"Dunn writes a genuinely surprising read that is worth checking out."—RT Book Reviews

"Dunn's peek inside a seemingly normal relationship exposes the deepest thoughts of a husband, wife, and the people they decide to include in their experiment. Lucy and Owen are relatable, realistic, and resilient, and Dunn's television-writing background is evident in her witty dialogue. She grounds her novel in the minutia of suburban life, contrasting the heady days of new romance with school drop-offs and soccer games. Fans of Matthew Norman, Greg Olear, and Meg Wolitzer will adore this engaging and exhilarating exposé."—Booklist

As hilarious as it is sensitive. From raising chickens to children, copping your own kid's ADD medication to cancer, Dunn expertly reveals the intricacies that make up a marriage. Her characters are sure to strike a chord with readers, as they struggle to define themselves and their roles as spouses. Dunn makes her mark in women's fiction with this multilayered novel that takes readers from funny to serious in a story full of truths, lies, and everything in between.—Library Journal

"Dunn (The Big Love) again plumbs the messiness and fallibility of romantic relationships....with hilarious results."—Publishers Weekly