Wellness is a 2023 novel by Nathan Hill (author of The Nix) about a young bohemian couple in Chicago in The '90s who believe they're soul mates who grow up to become a horribly dysfunctional married couple in The New '10s. Part exploration of the psychology of self-delusion, part celebration of both the Grunge scene of '90s Chicago and the underrated beauty of the Kansas prairie, it's a far-reaching epic spanning decades told in Anachronic Order with an absurdly small focus.
Wellness contains examples of:
The Ace: Everyone thinks Elizabeth is this, except herself.
Anachronic Order: The story jumps between not only the main plot areas of 1993 when Jack and Elizabeth met and 2014 when their son is eight years old, but also covers Elizabeth's family history starting from the early 1800s, both of their respective childhoods, and a period in 2008 when they begin to "unravel".
Barefoot Sage: Ben Quince becomes one of these in middle age, both in one of his gigs as "breathing coach" to businessmen and as a mentor to Jack.
Bourgeois Bohemian: All of Jack and Elizabeth's former starving artist friends grow up into this. Ben calls hipsters the "vanguard of capitalism".
Broken Bird: Both Jack and Elizabeth had traumatic childhoods that shaped their particular psychological failure modes as adults.
Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: This is what Jack and Elizabeth start out believing their relationship will be like. Ends up being an Inverted Trope. While they still curate these personas outwardly, Elizabeth is much more of a brooding personality and Jack is straightforward and optimistic.
Conspiracy Theorist: What Facebook's and Google's optimization algorithms make Lawrence into.
Cynic-Idealist Duo: Elizabeth as the cynic and Jack as the idealist.
Exotic Extended Marriage: Kate and Kyle have a successful one.
Extreme Doormat: Jack, both in his childhood and in his relationship with Elizabeth, always takes the fall for everything. He's trained himself to do so as the path of least resistance.
Foolish Husband, Responsible Wife: Played straight.
Hair-Contrast Duo: Jack has black hair, Elizabeth blonde.
Messy Male, Fancy Female: Played straight.
Odd Couple: A core theme of the book. Do relationships like this work?
Sensitive Artist: Elizabeth refers to Jack in the '90s using this exact phrase.
Trauma Conga Line: Jack's childhood goes from terrible to worse.
