Molly

Not all 3 stars are created equal

This review assumes you have read the book

This book, for me, is an example of why numerical values are not always appropriate for ranking a book. I believe if the last 30 pages were removed, I would rank this book at 4 stars. There is a finality to the words "Molly, I love you forever" that invalidates all that comes after. The writing is mediocre. It could've been better edited, especially in the parts after Molly's suicide. Quotes are misplaced and poorly timed. It's clear Butler is more used to novels driven by plot, as his attempts to approach any poetic language is often awkward. It is really odd that his best worded observations are about Molly and how she feels rather than his own. I've seen some describe this as Butler's autobiography, but it's not really about his life. The book is more about her in many ways rather than himself, but really it is about her as she is seen through his eyes . It is frankly shocking he fails to reflect on this book (much less his life) as he discovers things about her that leave him crumbled. Perhaps his view of his own is not as clear as he thought.If the book was fiction, I would have given this book 5 stars. It perfectly balances the realism of a flawed and unreliable narrator: a dumber, albeit non-parodied Humbert Humbert (no child attraction included in this comparison of course). I would've considered this book a masterpiece in its ability to withhold and make the reader decide the impact of the narrator's actions left unsaid. But the book is real. It is about real people. Molly Brodak did kill herself. She really did that. And her husband is truly the author. So the narrator's flaws are of a real person's flaws. The feeling we get that he is not telling the whole story, is because it is not being told. So I am left questioning if the author's flaws and his inability to reflect on them (and the impact they had on Molly) is a "minus-star" quality. His mistakes, when mentioned, are objective and factual. They happened. But the facts are never paired with an emphatic thought of how they might have affected the namesake of the book who has killed herself. When you cheat on someone that has the self-esteem of dirt, what do you think that does to them? Meanwhile, Molly's mistakes are psychoanalyzed. Her manipulative behavior is a result of her abandoning father. Her deep hatred of herself a result of her uncaring mother. Observations like this are plentiful, but the truth of the matter is Molly is not here to defend herself. A book by her husband should not make her feel like she needs to be defended. I don't want to diminish Butler's feelings about Molly's discovered behavior. Yes, she cheated on him also systematically and consistently. She manipulated his feelings and also emotionally abused him. That's not too far to say. But refusing to acknowledge the relationship as a potentially hazardous one where anger and depression and trauma and substance abuses feed off of each other is irresponsible. And the worst memoir, is a dishonest one.