The Marriage Pact

The Marriage Pact has a fun premise. Jake and Alice are newlyweds, and they've been invited to join an exclusive group called the Pact- a group that promotes marriage and helps its members build stronger relationships. It does seem a little complicated though- you have to be sponsored, there are contracts to sign, and apparently lots of rules. Why would anyone do it? Well Alice is a newly minted attorney at a nice firm, her sponsor is a distinguished gentleman who does big business with the firm, and after a presentation her and Jake feel like it's no big deal. They're a little amused by it all and they do want a strong marriage, right? So they sign the contracts and move on. 

There's a lot to like, after all. The Pact encourages its members to take trips every quarter, to buy each other gifts, and there are also quarterly meetings where the local members all get together for a party. The point is to be supportive of each other and encourage each other to make their marriage a priority. Unfortunately, there are consequences for breaking the rules- and Jake and Alice soon discover it's not hard to get in trouble. They have a strong relationship and are committed, but at their first meeting Jake is astonished to see an old friend from college there. JoAnne is a member of the Pact as well, but she doesn't seem happy. In fact, she tells him she would have warned him if she'd known he was joining, but now it's too late.  

Too late? That seems dramatic, but Jake soon learns that no one leaves The Pact. The group has people everywhere, it seems, and there is no quitting. Jake and Alice are soon thoroughly disillusioned but find that there is no way out. And now they're being watched closer than ever. 

This book was so over the top but it was fun too. I had to see what would happen. And it gets wilder as it goes, and yes less realistic as well- would some of this really happen? But I had a lot of fun seeing what kind of crazy happened next. The Pact reaches into every aspect of their lives and they get more and more desperate as there appears to be no way out. 

I liked the issues this book raised about relationships and choices, and how people change. Are you the same person you were in college? Do you want to go back to who you were, or maybe find a way to be true to who you were then and now? We all change and grow, and relationships do too, and it effectively examines those contradictions of life. This was a page turner, and even though I laughed a few times at how over the top it got, it was a very fun read.