THE NORMAL BAR The Surprising Secrets of Happy Couples and What They Reveal About Creating a New Normal in Your Relationship

The handsome tones and strong rhythms of Eliza Foss's voice are fitting to deliver this cheery survey of nearly 100,000 partnerships around the world. She's less pleasing when delivering quotations and their attributions, which are too often expressed with awkward pauses and dramatic flair in the wrong places. The book itself is optimistic, sobering, and full of surprises about the ways couples deal with issues like sex, infidelity, communication, affection, money, pornography, and extended family. It also offers many fascinating contrasts such as the finding that French women have more affairs and are less fastidious about their appearance than women in other cultures. The clinical nature of the book is nicely softened with more than 50 tools couples can use to prevent problems and enhance satisfaction. T.W. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2013]