Books I've Read: The Arc

 

This was a fun, quick read and exactly what I needed this weekend.  Sometimes you just need a dash of romance to lift your spirits and this one did just that.

Based around the idea that scientific and psychological analysis of individuals can create perfect matches between partners, the book follows Ursula and Gabe, two people heading into middle age without having married yet.  They have both had relationships, but nothing that's stuck, and both find using dating apps to try and find love frustrating.

So the Arc.  An top of the line (and at $50,000 it should be) matchmaking service that guarantees you will find the perfect partner after subjecting yourself to a week of testing and meditation in their exclusive, luxury headquarters.

When Ursula and Gabe are matched, the relationship feels right from the moment they first lay eyes on each other. And the connection just gets deeper as they get to know each other.  It seems like the Arc is exactly as good as it promised to be.

But when a single argument becomes something the Arc focuses on in one of their regular check-ins, the certainty both partners felt about their relationship falters. Are they truly destined to be together forever, or was the happiness they initially felt merely the flush of excitement that comes with first love?

There were so many things about this book I enjoyed despite them all being faintly ridiculous - I feel like a lot of this book was poking fun at the worlds inhabited by wealthy people who haven't really done much to deserve that wealth.  From the silly ad campaigns Ursula is responsible for at her agency, to the ludicrously over the top women only gym/spa/wellness centre she and her best friend frequent, there was a lot to laugh at in Ursula's world.

But at the same time, the book has a lot to say about feminism, the gender pay gap and the way women get treated in worlds that traditionally belong to men.

So I'd recommend this one.  It's a little silly, but sometimes you need something a little OTT to make you smile.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

35-year-old Ursula Byrne, VP of Strategic Audacity at a branding agency in Manhattan, is successful, witty, whip-smart, and single. She's tried all the dating apps, and let's just say: she's underwhelmed by her options. You'd think that by now someone would have come up with something more bespoke; a way for users to be more tailored about who and what they want in a life partner--how hard could that be?

Enter The Arc: a highly secretive, super-sophisticated matchmaking service that uses a complex series of emotional, psychological and physiological assessments to architect partnerships that will go the distance. The price tag is high, the promise ambitious--a level of lifelong compatibility that would otherwise be unattainable. In other words, The Arc will find your ideal mate.

Ursula is paired with 42-year-old lawyer Rafael Banks. From moment one, this feels like the electric, lasting love they've each been seeking their whole adult lives. But as their relationship unfolds in unanticipated ways, the two begin to realize that true love is never a sure thing. And the arc of a relationship is never predictable...even when it's fully optimized.