A novel (in part) about motherhood that defies many conventions

Jenny Offil's 2014 novel, Dept. of Speculation, is a series of scenes from a marriage, specifically from the POV of a character, perhaps much like the author, whom she refers to only as "the wife"; the novel is a sequence of what appear to be journal entries - sometimes one of the wife's observations on the state of her love life and, later, her marriage and motherhood; sometimes quotes or citations. This is a story - uncertainties of courtship, early married bliss, stresses of parenthood and career on hold, jealousy and infidelity ("the husband"), agony and battered self image, violent arguments, dramatic walkouts, consolation from friends and potential new love interest, tentative reconciliation, hopes and fears for the daughter - that has been told many times, but seldom if ever with such precision, pathos, and wit. It's like a novel pared back to its bare essence; many, even most, of these diary entries could be expanded into stories or chapters - but why do that when the message can be carried so swiftly and efficiently w/ just a few words? I really have no knowledge of Offil's practice of composition. Perhaps these are pared and selected from among thousands of journal entries; perhaps she composed it in a short times span rather than the 7 or so years that the novel seems to encompass. We do know, however, that she's a thoughtful writing instruction - one set of entries show her commentary on student work (imagined student or real? - we don't know for sure). A recent review of another novel cited this one as one of a slew of motherhood-anxiety works; that kind of pigeonholes Dept. of Spec. Unlike others in the genre, it's not full of whining and self-pity, and though "the husband" is a skunk Offil recognizes that there's blame to go around in a break-up: "the wife" is a powerful character in part because of her own ambivalence and ambiguity.