Arrangement (Dunn)

The Arrangement 
Sarah Dunn, 2017
Little, Brown & Co.
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780316013598


Summary
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?" (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—July 28, 1969
• Where—Phoenix, Arizona, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Pennsylvania
• Currently—lives in  Garrison, New York


Sarah Dunn an American author and television writer. She is known for the ABC sitcom American Housewife (starring Katy Mixon), as well as for her novels, The Big Love (2004), Secrets to Happiness (2009), and The Arrangement (2017). Her books have been translated into 19 different languages.

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Dunn headed east to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated magna cum laude as an English major. She remained in Philadelphia after college, writing a humor column for the Philadelphia City Paper and waiting tables at TGI Fridays. A few years later, at the age of 24, Dunn published The Official Slacker Handbook, and was subsequently lured out to Hollywood to write for Murphy Brown, Spin City, Veronica’s Closet and Bunheads. With Spin City co-creator Bill Lawrence, Dunn penned Michael J. Fox's final episode of the series.

On her (now defunct) website, Dunn claimed to have moved from Los Angeles to New York five times, and from New York back to Los Angeles four times, which means she is still living in New York …or, as of this writing, in the state of New York. In 2007, Dunn married former New York Observer executive editor Peter Stevenson, and the couple lives in Garrison, New York, with their children.

Dunn is a member of the all-female television writer group "The Ladies Room," which also includes Vanessa McCarthy, Stephanie Birkitt, and Julie Bean. The group was founded in July 2016. (Adapted from various online sources.)

Book Reviews
Author Dunn is a bit of a genius when it comes to depicting upper-middle-class social mores, and this book will have readers snorting (yes, snorting) with laughter.
New York Post


For couples who have ever considered having an open marriage, or relationship, or whatever — sure, go ahead, have an affair — pick up a copy of Sarah Dunn's novel first. Because it's possible The Arrangement could push couples on the fence one way or the other, as she delves into the lives of one duo weighing whether to give that "open marriage" a test drive.… Of course, rules are broken, as are hearts and lives even in their cozy little suburban bunker. And Dunn writes it all with a removed grace.
St. Louis Post Dispatch


Sarah Dunn has a terrific eye for the absurd, especially the ridiculous in everyday life.… Dunn's harpooning of the self-righteous denizens of Beekman is deliciously spot-on.… It's an arrangement worth telling — and reading.
Newark Star Ledger


The way this novel pushes and explores boundaries is commendable.
Toronto Globe and Mail


Meshes humor and hardship.
Time


This funny, honest novel pushes you to ponder what makes us happy.
Good Housekeeping


A smart, side-splitting exploration of contemporary attitudes toward love and commitment…not just revelatory and intriguing, but often downright hysterical.
Harper's Bazaar


Sarah Dunn's take on that point in middle-aged married life when everything falls apart is pure comedic genius, and you will absolutely find yourself looking at everyone you know and wondering who in the novel they most resemble.
Newsweek


Dunn's latest, about an attempted open marriage, is damn funny.
Marie Claire


Dunn has a keen eye for the comforts and absurdities of upscale suburban life.… Sensible insights about love are the novel's ultimate destination, but the ride is wildly entertaining.
People


This funny and relatable tale from the writer who crafted many of the mishap-laden stories on Murphy Brown and Spin City delivers the perfect escapist read in these angsty political times.
Esquire


Deliciously inventive…refreshing.
Elle


Dunn again plumbs the messiness and fallibility of romantic relationships in her latest novel.… At times…minor characters’ foibles border on the cartoonish, but they nevertheless contribute to an overall levity of tone that helps buoy what could otherwise have become a veritable catalogue of failing relationships.
Publishers Weekly


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.… [A] multilayered novel that takes readers from funny to serious in a story full of truths, lies, and everything in between. —Erin Holt, Williamson Cty. P.L., Franklin, TN
Library Journal


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.… [An]engaging and exhilarating exposé.
Booklist


(Starred review.) Despite Owen and Lucy's self-made troubles, they are eminently sympathetic and disarmingly appealing. [W]itty and well-written, it's the most satisfying sort—a true guilty pleasure. Dunn's dryly humorous story about a marriage that goes dangerously off-road never loses its groove.
Kirkus Reviews


The book charms with the author's compassion for all her foolish, bumbling characters...The Arrangement will make you smile.
BookPage


Dunn has perfectly captured middle-aged marriage, with its mix of the boring quotidian and moments of deep happiness.… Readers will be laughing helplessly as circumstances grow ever more fraught, but will also muse about what makes a truly happy marriage possible.
Shelf Awareness

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Arrangement … then take off on your own:

1. If you are married, or in a long-term relationship, have you ever thought about an open marriage? Or been tempted? Or maybe even had one? Why or why not?

2. Talk about the reasons Lucy and Owen decide to experiment with an open marriage? How is it supposed to make them stronger?

3. What are the cracks in any long-term relationship that propel people to wander out of bounds, either openly or (more often) secretly? Is the idea of "love" delusional? Must "new" love inevitably yield to "stale" love?

4. Talk about the couple's divergent experiences: Owen finding no real fulfillment, only more irritation; and Lucy falling inconveniently in love. What is it about Ben that makes Lucy fall for him? In what way is Owen also in over his head?

5. What do you think of Izzy. Crazy? Likable? In what way would you say Izzy remains true to her character?

6. What are the joys—or not—of a committed, monogamous relationship?

7. Talk about the rules that Lucy and Owen come up with. Do they make sense to you? If you were to do something similar, what rules would you insist on?

8. What does the book suggest about the differences between men and women?

9. Dunn's secondary characters are wonderfully drawn. Talk about some of them.

10. Numerous reviewers mention the book's humor. What made you laugh?

11. What is your take-away from The Arrangement?

12. If you've read the Autho Bio (above), you'll know that Sarah Dunn has written for television sitcoms. Can you detect notes of sit-com dialogue in The Arrangement?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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