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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
Quick read. The book meanders and is overly long. The reveal works, but will likely be obvious to fans of thrillers/mysteries. Ambiguity and sadness at the end is the best part of the story.
This book is extremely depressing, haunting, and intense. Still not sure how I feel about it.
Am I the only one left I satisfied at the end of this book? No satisfaction at all. I'm still left wondering if it all really happened or not.
Written in a similar way to The Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty, in the first person with little dialogue and plenty of description on what is going on in and around the life of Marta´s life. After many years of marriage she starts to “see” things, or does she, that is what the author is trying to get through to the reader, is it true of not. The marriage is not a happy one, but based on raising a son and looking after her husband but once her son leaves home there is little else for Marta to do as her only role in life is to be a good wife. The visions get more real, in a sense, but you still don´t know if they are visions and memories of her past or not, I was disappointed in the ending, a sad ending, surprising and a little sudden.
The book is short at only 288 pages I ploughed through is quickly.
This is the authors debut novel.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6885400.Emma_Chapman
The book is short at only 288 pages I ploughed through is quickly.
This is the authors debut novel.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6885400.Emma_Chapman
I read Emma Chapman’s debut novel, How To Be A Good Wife, in one day. It is that much of a page turner, and the first book of 2014 that I am telling friends they simply must read.
From the publisher’s summary: Marta and Hector have been married for a long time. Through the good and bad; through raising a son and sending him off to life after university. So long, in fact, that Marta finds it difficult to remember her life before Hector. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife—as advised by a dog-eared manual given to her by Hector’s aloof mother on their wedding day.
But now, something is changing. Small things seem off. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, elapsed moments that she can’t recall. Visions of a blonde girl in the darkness that only Marta can see. Perhaps she is starting to remember—or perhaps her mind is playing tricks on her. As Marta’s visions persist and her reality grows more disjointed, it’s unclear if the danger lies in the world around her, or in Marta herself. The girl is growing more real every day, and she wants something.
There were times that I did not like Marta. She seems clingy and whiny and wants everything to stay the same. But even that annoyance wasn’t enough to stop me from wanting to know more about the source of Marta’s visions. Is she mentally ill, or is she remembering?
Marta doesn’t know what to believe. She knows what she sees, but her husband and son insist that if she just takes her medicine, all will be fine. Something in Marta’s gut tells her that isn’t so. But can she get anyone to listen to her?
How To Be A Good Wife walks that fine line between what could be a mental illness versus believing that everything you know is wrong, but no one will believe you. How do you know who or what to trust, if you aren’t completely certain you can trust your own mind?
Chapman avoids the ending that would make this a typical psychological thriller. Instead, she gives us something a lot more satisfying. As readers, we may not be sure it is the right thing, but we understand Marta a bit more, and the ending makes sense.
If you like Gillian Flynn, books that make you wonder what is real and what isn’t, or a good psychological read, put this one on your To-Read list.
- See more at: http://thebookfetishblog.com/2014/01/how-to-be-a-good-wife/#sthash.YOGXqzjE.dpuf
From the publisher’s summary: Marta and Hector have been married for a long time. Through the good and bad; through raising a son and sending him off to life after university. So long, in fact, that Marta finds it difficult to remember her life before Hector. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife—as advised by a dog-eared manual given to her by Hector’s aloof mother on their wedding day.
But now, something is changing. Small things seem off. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, elapsed moments that she can’t recall. Visions of a blonde girl in the darkness that only Marta can see. Perhaps she is starting to remember—or perhaps her mind is playing tricks on her. As Marta’s visions persist and her reality grows more disjointed, it’s unclear if the danger lies in the world around her, or in Marta herself. The girl is growing more real every day, and she wants something.
There were times that I did not like Marta. She seems clingy and whiny and wants everything to stay the same. But even that annoyance wasn’t enough to stop me from wanting to know more about the source of Marta’s visions. Is she mentally ill, or is she remembering?
Marta doesn’t know what to believe. She knows what she sees, but her husband and son insist that if she just takes her medicine, all will be fine. Something in Marta’s gut tells her that isn’t so. But can she get anyone to listen to her?
How To Be A Good Wife walks that fine line between what could be a mental illness versus believing that everything you know is wrong, but no one will believe you. How do you know who or what to trust, if you aren’t completely certain you can trust your own mind?
Chapman avoids the ending that would make this a typical psychological thriller. Instead, she gives us something a lot more satisfying. As readers, we may not be sure it is the right thing, but we understand Marta a bit more, and the ending makes sense.
If you like Gillian Flynn, books that make you wonder what is real and what isn’t, or a good psychological read, put this one on your To-Read list.
- See more at: http://thebookfetishblog.com/2014/01/how-to-be-a-good-wife/#sthash.YOGXqzjE.dpuf
Don't start How To Be a Good Wife unless you have a few hours available. Once you start, you won't want to stop. Suspenseful, disturbing, downright upsetting -- this is a book that's hard to walk away from, even once you get to the end. It's better to read this book without too many preconceptions or information about the plot. Suffice it to say that this story of a middle-aged housewife who is either losing her mind or recovering a piece of her past is full of hints and shadows, and leaves a lot to ponder by the end. (My full review is posted at Bookshelf Fantasies.)
Note: Review copy courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
Note: Review copy courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
I read this book as a way to relax during a tough season when my father-in-law was dying. It was sort of dark and involved a prolonged plot twist that was somehow predictable yet vertiginous for the reader. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more had I not read it during such a difficult time.