It Had to Be You

"Melissa Malouf writes almost literally from her intelligence. She has all the other gifts and qualities of an elegant writer; but what is ultimately so haunting and finally so winning about her fiction is the beautifully concealed presence within it of a genuine rarity--a powerful mind always thinking its way through imaginary lives with a hungry curiosity, a passion for sympathy, a tolerant wit, and a guarantee to reward the reader's investment of time and care."
--Reynolds Price

""It Had to Be You" is remarkable for its drop-dead irony punctuated by moments of poetic insight."
--"Publishers Weekly"
March 3, 1997

"It Had to Be You" is a grown-up story about a marriage not made anywhere within the vicinity of Heaven. Yet it is no mere dysfunctional shoot-out. Joan and Ernest are clearly made for each other. When he tells her, well into the marriage, that "suspense is good," we believe him, maybe even cheer for him. Both of them are, after all, far more fragile than they would like to think they are--which is why they are both a perfect fit and a perfect mismatch, whose dialogue (interior and exterior) brings to the fore the edgy lyrics of some of our favorite "love" songs.