The Rest Of Our Lives – Ben Markovits

READ FOR BOOKERTHON

When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned eighteen. Twelve years later, while taking her to Pittsburgh to start university, he remembers his pact, and keeps driving West. This road trip novel explores the nuance and complications of a long term marriage and of middle age.

What we obviously had, even when things smoothed over, was a C-minus marriage, which makes it pretty hard to score much higher than a B overall on the rest of your life.

RACHEL
●  I would like to know how The Rest of Our Lives became shortlisted for one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world. The novel is aimless and boring. Its protagonist is a privileged, overly introspective, middle-aged man whose thoughts are more self-indulgent than self-reflective. I did not care about him, nor the support characters who I thought were underdeveloped.

I hurried to this book because it was referred to as the male version of All Fours. And I adored All Fours. But I can tell you this book is not the male version of All Fours. Not even close. The Rest Of Our Lives has no compelling plot, no meaningful character development, no insightful societal commentary, nor any innovation in form or language.

What is it about, you ask? Well, a man hits midlife, goes on an aimless road trip, reminisces about his faded basketball dreams, meets a few people, has some health issues, the end. Another story about a white, cis, middle-aged man and his privileged problems … well as far as I’m concerned this demographic has had its time, and at this point in my reading life I want to hear about people in the margins, and read stories that examine the state of the world or have narratives that test the boundaries of form.

I am pleased authors are giving middle-aged people a voice in literature and that their changing lives are represented and taken seriously, but I can’t understand who needs this particular story, except the author as some sort of catharsis project.

SUZY
● I think this will be an uncomfortable read for a lot of mid-lifers, as we journey alongside a husband as he starts to experience what may be the gentle disintegration of his marriage. How this is received by family and friends along the way shows how much this outcome is often deemed an inevitability at this stage of life. 

I am curious as to whether it was the (male) author’s intention to show the ease in which is this dealt with by husband? I couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration at how established relationship gender norms are present even at times of disconnect. 

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Published 2025
Faber & Faber
256 pages