The Perfect Marriage

The Perfect Marriage is told from alternating first-person points of view, Adam’s versus Sarah’s, with Sarah later exposed as an unreliable narrator. How does the novel’s narrative structure and use of an unreliable narrator illustrate some of the book’s key themes? Would the book be more or less effective with a different narrative structure? How and why?

Kelly/Jenna’s murder is a revenge murder. How is revenge contrasted with justice in the novel? How do different characters conceive of “crime” and “justice,” and what do these competing conceptions reveal about their characterization and/or interpersonal dynamics?

One of the book’s plot twists is that Sarah has killed before—murdering her own mother. What insights does the reveal provide into Sarah’s characterization? How does it illuminate some of the novel’s key themes?