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The Rest of Our Lives
by Benjamin Markovits
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If you’re here from the future hoping to find your next read, some quick context for you – there was a lot of ink spilled about men and literature in 2025. This year, we were very curious to answer questions such as: Are men reading? Why don’t men read literature? If they are reading, is it honest or performative? If men read more, would they stop acting like that? Which brings us to this Booker Prize finalist novel that, yes, is about and by a man. And it teasingly approaches male anxieties about aging, masculinity and sex (it’s about a guy whose wife cheated on him, and now he’s on an indefinite road trip). But Benjamin Markovits instead veers away from trying to answer the big questions plaguing men, and instead offers up a quiet story that’s funny, tender and intimate.
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"If you’re here from the future hoping to find your next read, some quick context for you – there was a lot of ink spilled about men and literature in 2025. This year, we were very curious to answer questions such as: Are men reading? Why don’t men read literature? If they are reading, is it honest or performative? If men read more, would they stop acting like that? Which brings us to this Booker Prize finalist novel that, yes, is about and by a man. And it teasingly approaches male anxieties about aging, masculinity and sex (it’s about a guy whose wife cheated on him, and now he’s on an indefinite road trip). But Benjamin Markovits instead veers away from trying to answer the big questions plaguing men, and instead offers up a quiet story that’s funny, tender and intimate."
"It is the story of Tom Lawyard, a middle-aged law professor with health problems he initially attributes to long Covid. Years ago, his wife Amy had an affair that hurt him so deeply he quietly resolved to leave her eventually. After he drops off their youngest child in college, Tom decides to keep driving west instead of returning home to Amy. This road trip across America becomes a journey through his life as he meets up with old friends, plays basketball, visits his son and reflect on his marriage and career. I loved how the novel draws us deep into the mind of a middle-aged man navigating a world that feels increasingly unwelcoming. There’s a quiet brilliance to the prose, it is wry, tender, and precise. Small, seemingly ordinary details slowly gather weight, accumulating into moments that are unexpectedly moving and profound."
The Best Novels of 2025: The Booker Prize Shortlist ·
fivebooks.com