At the novel’s onset, Nina discovers her husband, Philip, has died from cardiac arrest in their bedroom after he has returned home from his job as a mathematics professor. “His hand is growing cold; still she holds it,’’ writes Tuck in the novel’s opening. “Sitting at his bedside, she does not cry. From time to time, she lays her cheek against his, taking slight comfort in the rough bristle of unshaved hair, and she speaks to him a little. I love you, she tells him. I always will.’’
Winner of the National Book Award in 2004 for her last novel, “The News From Paraguay,’’ Tuck produces spare prose that doesn’t sacrifice tension or emotion in its economy. “I Married You for Happiness’’ takes place during the nocturnal hours that Nina lies by her deceased husband’s side, but the scope of the narrative widens as it follows the protagonist’s stream-of-conscious thoughts closely. Philip’s lifelong work as a mathematician adds another layer of metaphor to this kaleidoscopic reflection on marriage, sex, and death.
At first glance, Philip and Nina’s marriage appears to be ideal. They marry several months after meeting, honeymoon in Mexico, spend multiple sun-soaked vacations on different French islands, and together raise a daughter, Louise. However as Nina’s memories spiral, a more complicated portrait of marriage emerges: One summer she engages in an affair with a sailing instructor. Philip partakes in romantic dalliances of his own. Both husband and wife harbor other corrosive secrets and losses. Philip’s self-assured demeanor and intelligence hem Nina into her sequestered existence as a full-time mother and part-time painter.
