This book really grew on me quickly and I didn't expect to resonate so strongly with the main character or to become so invested in his life. Its a lovely thought provoking take on mid life. On what is next, on how the bodies we always relied on don't seem as strong as they were, on the possibility of changing from what you thought the rest of your life would look like . Tender and both heartwarming and wrenching, stick with this book, I found it a slow burn but from about a third of the way in, you'd have to wrestle it from my hands.
Recommend wholeheartedly.
4-4.5

The Rest of Our Lives follows Tom, who drives his 18-year-old daughter to college in Pittsburgh - and then keeps driving. Various aspects of his life are not going to plan and he drifts himself into a road trip to try and escape. Years earlier when his wife had an affair, Tom had decided that when their youngest child left for college he would leave the marriage - and that moment has now arrived. But it's also arrived at a moment when he's just been suspended from his job after his students complained about the politics of his law class, and he's got a health issue that he's busy ignoring but from the descriptions you get of it, he really shouldn't be.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this from the blurb - it could have been a Rich People Problems novel but it's actually more of a mid life crisis novel. Tom's in denial about his health, doesn't want to tell his wife about his work situation or to deal with the underlying issue in their relationship so he finds an excuse to up and run. He doesn't seem to have anyone in his life that he can talk to properly about things, so you see him find excuses for what he's doing to the people he meets - right up until the point that he can't any more. It's not a long book, but it's got a lot going on and leaves you with some things to think about as it deals with male loneliness, morality and mortality. It doesn't have the level of resolution that I get from my regular reads of mystery and romance - but I enjoyed it never the less and it's a thought provoking read that I think would work really well for book clubs and people who like to read book-club type books.

I struggled with this one I’m afraid. I found the writing style clunky and just didn’t invest in or earn to the main character. One I didn’t finish.

So by the end of this book I can honestly say I’m not interested in either basketball or someone’s mid-life crisis. The unlikely scenario of just keep driving didn’t work for me either. I’m too much of a realist I think.

I have enjoyed Markovits’ previous fiction and did enjoy this new novel. It’s a book that takes the reader on a journey with its protagonist, Tom, as he travels across the USA, from his New York home, to California.

From the outset, it is clear that Tom is struggling: his wife, Amy, had an affair years before and Tom always owed to leave her when Miri, his youngest, went off to college. Also, Tom is sick - there are many repeated references to his symptoms but he dismisses them. They come to a head when he gets to his son’s in California. What is a little implausible is how he leaves NY to take Miri to Pittsburgh and then keeps driving.

I like the way Tom visits people (often impromptu) en route: old friends, lovers. It’s a little unrealistic, I think, how far he travels through the book. Admittedly, readers aren’t privy to all of the places he drives though but it seems too quick in terms of distance. Amy is not a nice character - Markovits doesn’t paint a positive picture of her. But at the end, the family all come together to be with Tom as he starts his treatment.

I did like this but it feels too British in style to be in the voice of an American. I realise that the writer is British-American but the character isn’t. However, perhaps this isn’t important.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Different and thought-provoking!

Tom Layward's wife had an affair. It was several years ago, and they seem to have moved past it but when he drives his youngest daughter to university, he remembers that he promised himself he would leave the marriage when she left home. So, after dropping her off in Pittsburgh, he keeps going with a vague idea of visiting people from his past while ruminating on his health and career issues . . .

I realised whilst reading this one that I actually don't read a lot of novels from a male point of view unless they are thrillers, so this was a real change. Well-written and thoughtful, it certainly made me ponder the situation Tom found himself in, and I was eager to see where it was going. A good read, and one I'm happy to recommend. For me, 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley.

Tom takes centre stage in this book, he is a Law Professor on forced leave after a dispute with one of his students, he also has some major unidentified health issues and marriage problems. Tom is counting down the days he feels he has left of family life, because his daughter and youngest child Miri will be leaving for university. He drops her off and finds himself at a completely loose end, on the run trying to figure out what he wants to do with his marriage, his job and his life in general.

We witness the mid-life crisis of a man overcome by a feeling of homelessness who is full of resentments and perceived dependencies.
I did enjoy some of his really astute observations and sentiments, for example when he refers to the ‘heavy tread of middle age’ getting him ever closer to the way he remembers his dad to have been. The way he experiences the role reversal between him and his son, or his reflection that the person you are facing or talk to is never quite the person you have in your mind, are beautifully expressed.

All in all, however I was not really invested in his life or that of his family- it just didn’t seem to be interesting enough to me. Then again, I guess that here lies the actual essence of the book – the unravelling of an ordinary live. So, I can see the point of it, but it did not urge me to turn the pages.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Faber&Faber for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve years ago Toms wife had an affair. He made a pact with himself that he would leave as soon as their youngest child turned eighteen. Now, driving his daughter cross country to University, Tom is on a journey of his own. He is running from a health issue that he is trying to ignore, and a work suspension that he is yet to tell his wife about. So after dropping of his daughter, Tom decides to keep driving with a vague plan of visiting an old friend, an ex girlfriend, his brother, and his son, that ends up being a voyage of discovery...Read it

Loneliness can take anyone, and when Tom has dropped his youngest child off at university, the accumulation of an unhappy marriage and an unfulfilled career combine and cause him to keep driving rather than returning home. As he steers a path west, he meets up with old friends and family and reflects on how he got to where he is now.

It's an intense and very thoughtful book that explores real feelings and is a time of life that isn't often seen in fiction. You're taken along with Tom as he explores his life and neglects his health until it's almost too late. His family and friends offer support to get him through an unexpected turn of events and he moves closer to understanding himself and what he wants by the end. Very readable and very moving, loved it.

I'm definitely showing my age when I say that I'm really enjoying midlife slice of life novels at the moment. This new novel from British-American writer Benjamin Markovits explores empty nest syndrome and a midlife road trip and asks the question - what is left when your kids leave home for college?

Tom is a law professor and father of two, married to Amy. Amy had an affair a decade ago and Tom promised himself that once their youngest child Miriam left for college, he'd leave his wife. That time has arrived and as Tom sets off to settle Miriam into college, he embarks on a road trip, not fully knowing where it is going to take him.

This is one of those books where the characters are sharply drawn and where, though not a huge amount happens, it gets under your skin. Tom isn't always a particularly nice person, nor is his brittle wife, but their redeeming characteristics bubble beneath the surface and we slowly find out what has brought them to this point and where they go from here. Examining midlife, mortality and marriage, The Rest of Our Loves asks the hard questions, to which there are no easy answers. There's a fair bit of basketball chat in here, in case that is off-putting to anyone, don't say you weren't warned! If you enjoy this, I think you'll also enjoy This Is Who We Are Now by [author:James Bailey and Coming Home by Tom Lamont, both of which are refreshing reads that also portray masculinity with nuance and empathy. 4/5 stars

Many thanks to Faber Books for the advance copy via @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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

Years ago, when Amy had her affair, Tom assumed they'd divorce but Amy wanted them to stay together until their youngest, Miri, went off to college. Little did Tom know, when he agreed to stay, that he also agreed to live his life (and his marriage) in some type of vacuum - devoid of any real feelings. He operated on auto-pilot; days subsumed by a routine that allowed him to unthinking roll on to the next day, month and year. When the day finally came to drop Miri, his daughter off at college, he can't even comprehend what should come next. Bereft of a clear next step, he keeps driving. Driving towards his past but also, perhaps, towards his future. Only his undiagnosed health complications remind him it's a new morning. When he reaches the west coast, he finds some answers, and the real truth of what was, what wasn't and what should be.

This is an interesting, character-driven story. Reading it feels like you're in Tom's brain. Almost like reading his diary but more chaotic and impromptu. You feel a sadness for him, having reached middle age and seemingly having nothing. However, by the end, there is a hope that he may have found himself before it's too late. Definitely more of a contemplative read.

'I felt very low. Homeless. Miri was gone, Michael was in L.A. I had no job to go back to'.

There were many times while reading this when I had to set my Kindle down & process my emotions. I’m not sure I can say I enjoyed it because even after finishing I was left with such a deep sense of sorrow & loneliness for Tom but it was undeniably a thought-provoking read.
Despite it being a short book, it packs an emotional punch. It’s one of those stories where it feels like nothing really happens, yet everything does. It hit me in my feelings & I know Tom will stay with me for a long, long time.

★★★★½ ROUNDED UP ⬆️⭐️

I enjoyed this book about a man in his 50s doing a sad and spontaneous road trip across the US – love a road trip novel, love reading about the American sprawl. I liked the writing too; there were some really good lines. There were a few weird moments, especially because the protagonist commented on people's weight and size a bit too much – not sure if was the character or the author though?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I went into this book not having read this author’s previous work and not knowing what to expect and I can say I just absolutely loved it. What a power tale narrated so cleverly by our main character, Tom.

Tom has just reached the middle of his life when he dropped his last child off to university while simultaneously dealing with memories of betrayal from his wife. Does he return home or does he go on a quest to find himself? He decides the latter and drives on an adventure of part road trip across the country and part seeking out old friends, meeting new people and reflecting on his future.

This book dives into men’s mental health and how hard it is to not have anyone understand what is going on in your head. It was an easy yet touching read that dealt with deep topics and I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend as everyone will find something that will resonate to them in this book.

Once Tom drops his daughter off at college, he decides to keep driving and not return home. He and his wife have been drifting towards this end anyway, so it seems like a perfect opportunity. In the first half of the book he visits old friends and sees how they are now living their lives. By the second half however, his health issues have caught up with him and he needs to make some decisions, including whether to stop drifting and accept the life direction he is moving towards. While I was intrigued by the first half, for me the second half left quite a lot to be desired.

The Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovits.

UK release date 25th March 2025.

Book Review - 4*

The book starts with Tom, the main character revealing that when his son was 12 years old his wife had an affair and that he had decided then that when his daughter leaves home for college he would leave his wife.

The book then fast forwards to just before his daughter leaves home to go to college 12 years later.

Tom drives his daughter to college and then just keeps on driving so the novel could be described as a modern-day take on the original road trip novel a la Jack Kerouac.

I enjoyed the way that we learned more about Tom and his family and friends through Tom thinking back to reveal all their connected backstories whilst reconnecting with old friends and his brother along the way.

His ill health that is dismissed by Tom throughout the book comes to a head whilst visiting his son at his last stop on the journey, culminating in Tom and his family having to take stock of their situation.

I found the book a bit slow to start with and I didn’t know if I was going to enjoy it but as the book progressed along with Tom's road trip I found myself really enjoying the book and the characters in the book.

I would recommend this book with a score of 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber & Faber for my ARC e-book copy of the book.

I'm still unclear about my feelings toward this book. It started off with a definite premise - a man whose youngest child has gone to college has to decide whether or not to leave the wife who cheated on him 10 years before. He had always told her that he would stay until the children left. So after he drives the girl to college he just keeps on driving with the pretext, to himself, that he is merely going to see old college buddies and his son.

As the journey continues, however, his health begins to suffer and his plans become even less coherent.

I think it was the second half of the book that had me confused because it seemed to be all about the things he didn't want rather than making any real decisions. His inability to even care for himself became quite monotonous.

There is also quite a bit of narrative about sports (especially basketball) none if which I understood or had an interest in.

So though it started off interesting, I'm afraid I got rather bored towards the end. None of the characters were particularly sympathetic either - the husband was apathetic, the wife was whiny, the son was judgemental and the daughter appeared divorced from relationships with any of them. There's also some casual racism that goes unchallenged and I found that part hard to read.

I simply picked the wrong book. It wasn't for me.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Faber & Faber for the advance review copy.

3.5 ⭐ I am not sure what I really think about this book, I would probably have given it a 3.5 but I rounded it up.
This story is told in first person by Tom. Tom and his wife Amy are quite an odd pair, they don't seem to communicate since Amy admitted to an affair 10 years ago, I'm not really sure if they communicated before that. Tom pledged to stay at the family home until the children left, Michael had already left and it was now Miriam's turn, Amy has serious "empty nest syndrome" issues,
as Tom drove of to deliver Miri to her university residence, Amy was left wondering if Tom would return.
Throughout this book you get Tom's thoughts as he converses with different people in his head as he drives along. When Tom leaves Miri he sets off on a journey with no clear destination but with thoughts to visit people from his past and he ends up at the home of his son Michael. Throughout his journey it becomes clear that Tom has serious health issues, we are repeatedly given his worrying symptoms but are left worrying until the end what is really wrong with him and why no one had insisted that he push for a diagnosis.
I can't say that I was really invested in any of the characters, I am sure that a lot of people will really enjoy this book, the author does go into a lot of detail and there are probably lots of things in the book that we can relate to but sadly it wasn't for me.
Thank you Net Gallery for this ARC, my review is voluntary.

I think I have a thing for this type of novel: the main character reminiscing about his/her life and reflecting on life events that my or may not have altered their life trajectory. I also find fascinating this type of insight into American life; for some reason I find it oddly satisfying leaning about their weird(for me as an European) way of thinking/acting. And from this point of view, The Rest of Our Lives did not disappoint. But the twist at the end really elevated this novel for me, as it forces one to put its own life into prospective. The scare Tom is facing at the end of the novel is in fact my worst nightmare, something I've been thinking a lot about lately. It's also the fact that I've read this novel while dealing with losing my dad. Therefore for me, Tom's story touched me in a rather personal way, as I identified with him, but also what what his family was feeling. I felt that despite all that separates us, his story was in many way my story. And at the end of the day, nothing else matter but to still be here!

Tom has been angry at his wife for many years. His wife had an affair 12 years ago, so Tom thinks he is in the right about everything. He's not.
He's on the wrong side of the culture wars, and it's lost him his job. This book should be called Tom's Long Sulk. Instead of talking things through with his wife, Tom drops his daughter off at college and keeps on driving. This is really unwise, because Tom is unwell. It may be Long Covid or something much more serious.
Tom spends the whole book running away from his wife by visiting his brother, his son, old girlfriends, a racist basketball player and an old colleague.
I wanted to scream and shout at Tom: get out of your own way!