Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Perfect Wife

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney

5 reviews

hollyr1999's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

3.0

I was really enjoying the book up until the last few chapters when the point of views became hard for me to follow. I looked up explanations of the ending which still leave me unsatisfied. Not my favorite way to end a book.

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bi_bibliophile's review

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I loved the plot of this book, the cobots, the mystery around Abbie's disappearance, the intricacies of her relationship with Tim. That being said, the stuff about autism did seem, at times, rather archaic. Towards the end it seemed to show the polar opposites between Abbie and Tim and how they wanted to help Danny. Somethings, however, just felt a little off with it at times. I am aware that autism is a spectrum and some autistic people or kids with CDD will have similar experiences to Danny but to say, to generalise that, Autistic people are unable to love or be empathic seems a stretch.

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liseyp's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An intriguing concept, but it didn’t fully suck me in.

Full disclosure - the main character in this has a son who has an autistic spectrum diagnosis and I found it really hard to read the way sections about him were written. The author has a son with ASD so he know of what he speaks, but what the book never talks about is that it’s called a spectrum for a reason. So, it ends up reinforcing stereotypes that suggests all people with autism are incapable of empathy or emotion.

There’s a point near the beginning where the narrator says “The mother of a child with autism knows her feelings for him will never be reciprocated. Her child will never say I love you…”. I almost threw the book down in disgust at that point, before knowing the author was writing from their experience. I imagined a parent terrified of a diagnosis reading that statement or someone who doesn’t know anyone with autism believing that’s an immutable fact for anyone with autism.

The book does improve and as we get to see more of the son, Danny, we do see that while the way he communicates and connects with other people is not typical for a child his age, he is capable of connecting with people. But, as the mother of a boy with an autistic spectrum disorder myself, a boy who gives the best hugs and frequently says I love you (particularly to his teenage sister because he enjoys how much it annoys her - teenagers!), I know that the image of people with autism all having very low or non-existent emotions or empathy is wrong and presenting the experience of one as the experience of all can be really damaging to understanding why it is a spectrum and that each person’s particular attributes and personality will be unique to them. Just like with neurotypical people.

Anyway, I fully admit that my own baggage on this may well have coloured my views of this book.

Taken on its own merits it’s a reasonable thriller. It runs on the edge of trying to be too clever, but mostly stays on the right side of being engaging.

Worth a read, just remember while the description of a boy with autism may be based on the author’s genuine experience, despite the way it’s presented here it is not the reality for everyone with autism.

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bookworm247's review against another edition

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emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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yvonne_aaf's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

First of all, I don't have autism, so I can't speak for the specific representation of the autistic experience or ABA in this novel :)

The 2nd JP Delaney book I've read, and it's firmly cemented him as one of my favourite authors!

Although at times I found myself asking why the book was so long, I never put it down or grew bored. Just as I'd think the story was lagging slightly, a twist would arise and leave me fully invested once again.

A major component that I'm loving about his novels so far is that you'll be certain that the story is heading in one direction, and all of a sudden it's not that at all, and you're being probed to think about something much deeper than what's on the page.

I loved the way that commentary on gender was woven into the story, I've noticed Delaney does a really good job of not being prescriptive withr the issues discussed in his books - the reader is instead encouraged to think and arrive at their own conclusions.

If you're a fan of the sci-fi/tech elements of shows like Black Mirror and Orphan Black, I'd really recommend this!

(This may not be a universal experience, but if you regularly experience depersonalisation or derealization, this book might be challenging at times ❤️)

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