Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Mathilda and Lotto meet at a party in the final weeks of college and fall so madly in love that they are married a week later.  Lotto is disowned by his wealthy family because Mathilda is not the right kind of girl although in fact we know little about who she is at all.  It would appear that sex - anywhere, anytime, anyhow - is at the core of their relationship.  Their physical connection is rapturous but it seems to be just an extension of how much they truly care about each other.  Mathilda will do any kind of work to support Lotto's unfulfilled desire to become an actor.  She continues to support him when he becomes a wildly successful playwright.  They are the perfect couple and when Lotto dies suddenly in his 40's, Mathilda is devastated.  Or maybe none of that is true.  Our book group was drawn to this title because it was "a powerfully written exploration of the relationship between husbands and wives".  It is very sophisticated writing -  backwards and forwards in time - full of unsuspected revelations and powerful language - but I would be very surprised if anyone in the book group will identify with the relationship between Mathilda and Lotto - or be willing to own up to it :)