Clash of the Couples: A Humorous Collection of Completely Absurd Lovers’ Squabbles and Relationship Spats

Editor and contributor Ponti offers a collection of 46 brief essays from mommy (and occasionally daddy) as a sequel to an earlier anthology she also edited, The Mother of All Meltdowns. Most selections are from writers who have recently been married and had children, and will be enjoyed most by that peer group. Ponti kicks things off by recounting a memorable fight she and her husband had after the search term “college boobs” appeared in their computer’s browsing history. One essay explores how the writer’s arguments with his wife have changed over the years. Another highlights a fight that culminated in divorce. By the end, readers will have learned that couples can apparently fight over almost anything—food, thermostat settings, car care. Many end with valuable advice or lessons learned (some of them sweet). One essayist, unfortunately, can’t resist the opportunity to also promote her personal line of jewelry. As a whole, however, the book is full of short, lightly entertaining accounts—some of the stronger being “The Cake Heard Around the World,” “And the Boob Wins,” and “Escape of the Chocolate Placenta”—that may serve as reminders that, whatever argument readers are currently embroiled in, empirical evidence exists that other couples have equally stupid fights. (BookLife)