Scan barcode
mmc6661's review
1.0
This book came with such high ratings that I was excited to start it. I struggled from the very start even getting into the story and halfway through just didn't even care for the main character. I'll admit I finally skimmed the book to the end which still didn't wrap very well. Don't take my review on this one because it may have just been me.
ridgewaygirl's review
4.0
I first heard about Jill Alexander Essbaum's novel when it was mentioned as the next Fifty Shades of Grey, which pretty much made me dismiss it out of hand. Then I began to run into laudatory mentions, including in The New York Times Book Review podcast, and a review here by a reader whose opinion I think highly of. So when I saw it in the bookstore, I had to pick it up and read it right away.
It really, really is not like Fifty Shades of Grey. The protagonist, Anna, lacks agency, preferring to just go along with whatever anyone with a stronger personality suggests. She gets married and has three children without putting much thought into it and, now living in Switzerland, near Zurich, she lives as a stay-at-home mom, not so much by choice, but simply because she hasn't made an effort to do anything on her own. She neither drives nor has a bank account. Her mother-in-law does a large part of the childcare duties, leaving Anna adrift and depressed. She eventually, at the urging of her husband, begins therapy and, after nine years in Switzerland, begins learning German. She falls into various affairs, and it's here that things begin to get messy for Anna. She keeps the affairs to herself, of course, but they adds a level of chaos to a life she already has no control over.
Hausfrau is told solely from Anna's perspective, which is often frustrating and myopic. She's entirely consumed by her own unhappiness, and is unable to care about the feelings of those around her. Essbaum manages to pull this off; Anna is not a sympathetic character but she is understandable and her actions, or lack of action, make sense. And Essbaum's descriptions of being a foreigner in a strange land are written with the eye for detail of someone who has been in that position.
The story jumps around in time, but this works well. What is less effective are the scenes between Anna and her therapist. Sometimes the writing in these snippets is extraordinary, but too often the questions Anna asks are so trite as to be silly. Anna's no deep thinker and is committed to living an unexamined life, which is an integral part of her character, but it does make these encounters the dullest moments of the book. There's a watching-a-train-wreck-happen feel to this book, as from the inside of her head, the reader sees Anna fail to take action or fail to express herself over and over again.
It really, really is not like Fifty Shades of Grey. The protagonist, Anna, lacks agency, preferring to just go along with whatever anyone with a stronger personality suggests. She gets married and has three children without putting much thought into it and, now living in Switzerland, near Zurich, she lives as a stay-at-home mom, not so much by choice, but simply because she hasn't made an effort to do anything on her own. She neither drives nor has a bank account. Her mother-in-law does a large part of the childcare duties, leaving Anna adrift and depressed. She eventually, at the urging of her husband, begins therapy and, after nine years in Switzerland, begins learning German. She falls into various affairs, and it's here that things begin to get messy for Anna. She keeps the affairs to herself, of course, but they adds a level of chaos to a life she already has no control over.
Hausfrau is told solely from Anna's perspective, which is often frustrating and myopic. She's entirely consumed by her own unhappiness, and is unable to care about the feelings of those around her. Essbaum manages to pull this off; Anna is not a sympathetic character but she is understandable and her actions, or lack of action, make sense. And Essbaum's descriptions of being a foreigner in a strange land are written with the eye for detail of someone who has been in that position.
The story jumps around in time, but this works well. What is less effective are the scenes between Anna and her therapist. Sometimes the writing in these snippets is extraordinary, but too often the questions Anna asks are so trite as to be silly. Anna's no deep thinker and is committed to living an unexamined life, which is an integral part of her character, but it does make these encounters the dullest moments of the book. There's a watching-a-train-wreck-happen feel to this book, as from the inside of her head, the reader sees Anna fail to take action or fail to express herself over and over again.
tarahoc's review
3.0
So different than I thought it would be
A very real book that tells of depression leading to despair. I want to give it more stars but I didn't love it. Someone else might.
A very real book that tells of depression leading to despair. I want to give it more stars but I didn't love it. Someone else might.
mellabella's review
3.0
By the sad end of Hausfrau, I felt desperate and lonely just like Anna. Anna is an American living in Switzerland. She is married to a banker named Bruno (who she is "more or less" in love with) and has three children. Her parents died in a car crash and, it seems her and Bruno's marriage was a little impulsive.She constantly cheats on Bruno and had a daughter by one of her lovers. A daughter who looks nothing like her her husband. Even though Anna passes her off as his. Anna doesn't make an especially sympathetic character until the end. Her ennui is... Annoying. We get Anna's pov and, her sessions with her therapist. I think Hausfrau was really 3.5 starts for me. I couldn't put it down after it picked up a little. I would recommend for certain audiences only.
carolpk's review
4.0
4.5
The Hook - Hausfrau promised an unlikable character and it delivered.
The Line – ”Anna was a good wife, mostly”
immediately I wanted to know what that meant.
The Sinker – Hausfrau is one of those books that causes passionate differences in opinion, you either love it or you hate it. It wasn’t clear to me where I stood until I had read over half the book. There are many that will not agree with me but no apologies here. I really liked Essbaum’s debut in the end.
Anna Benz, the mostly good wife, seemingly has it all, money, a good husband, and beautiful children. An American, she finds herself out of her element when she and her husband, Bruno, a Swiss banker, transfer to Zurich. What possesses Anna to forsake the sanctity of her marriage by indulging in affairs? These encounters are many, and more sexual in nature than any meeting of minds or thoughts of love. They are hard for us to fathom and most readers will find Anna very unlikable. The sex is raw and naked and will turn some away.
We are on the outside looking in on this exploration of a marriage and its shortcomings. It takes two to make a marriage yet it is easy to put the blame on Anna. Why does anyone have an affair? Is it revenge, boredom, low self-esteem, lack of a partner’s attention, loneliness? What role does Bruno play in Anna’s cheating? Though I do not like what Anna does, there is only one thing I cannot forgive her and it is not the affairs. I wanted this “sin” to be fleshed out more and it is the sole reason for 4.5 instead of 5 stars.
Using sessions of psychoanalysis and German language classes, Hausfrau builds tension in its acceleration to Anna’s self-destruction.
Hausfrau is a perfect vehicle for book discussion. The moral dilemma it presents will leave its readers divided. Which side will you be on?
Take the time to listen to this brief clip from NPR Hausfrau Strips Down Its Modern Day Madame Bovary. In a bit over four minutes it explains a great deal.
The Hook - Hausfrau promised an unlikable character and it delivered.
The Line – ”Anna was a good wife, mostly”
immediately I wanted to know what that meant.
The Sinker – Hausfrau is one of those books that causes passionate differences in opinion, you either love it or you hate it. It wasn’t clear to me where I stood until I had read over half the book. There are many that will not agree with me but no apologies here. I really liked Essbaum’s debut in the end.
Anna Benz, the mostly good wife, seemingly has it all, money, a good husband, and beautiful children. An American, she finds herself out of her element when she and her husband, Bruno, a Swiss banker, transfer to Zurich. What possesses Anna to forsake the sanctity of her marriage by indulging in affairs? These encounters are many, and more sexual in nature than any meeting of minds or thoughts of love. They are hard for us to fathom and most readers will find Anna very unlikable. The sex is raw and naked and will turn some away.
We are on the outside looking in on this exploration of a marriage and its shortcomings. It takes two to make a marriage yet it is easy to put the blame on Anna. Why does anyone have an affair? Is it revenge, boredom, low self-esteem, lack of a partner’s attention, loneliness? What role does Bruno play in Anna’s cheating? Though I do not like what Anna does, there is only one thing I cannot forgive her and it is not the affairs. I wanted this “sin” to be fleshed out more and it is the sole reason for 4.5 instead of 5 stars.
Using sessions of psychoanalysis and German language classes, Hausfrau builds tension in its acceleration to Anna’s self-destruction.
Hausfrau is a perfect vehicle for book discussion. The moral dilemma it presents will leave its readers divided. Which side will you be on?
Take the time to listen to this brief clip from NPR Hausfrau Strips Down Its Modern Day Madame Bovary. In a bit over four minutes it explains a great deal.
christajls's review
3.0
Anna is a housewife. A bored housewife. She feels alone in a foreign country where she doesn’t speak the language. Her husband’s friends are her whole social circle. She even feels distant from her children at times. She feels as though she has nothing that’s her own. Nothing that she can control. And as her shrink says, “A bored woman is a dangerous woman.” So Anna has an affair. And then another. And then another.
Read the full review at Women Write About Comics
Read the full review at Women Write About Comics
mikaiten's review
4.0
Considering that I never read books like this, I have to admit that I really enjoyed this one. The pace was good, the characters believeable, and the style of writing was different from most family drama style books.
My reason for the 3 star review is that it's still very much a typical Scandinavian style book (see Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), where too much detail is given for the most inconsiquential things. I can imagine a bench, a train, a tree... I don't need to read what this particular bench, train, or tree looks like unless it's going to be the most important part of the book.
My reason for the 3 star review is that it's still very much a typical Scandinavian style book (see Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), where too much detail is given for the most inconsiquential things. I can imagine a bench, a train, a tree... I don't need to read what this particular bench, train, or tree looks like unless it's going to be the most important part of the book.
amandazellar's review
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
dianametzger's review
2.0
Mehh. Good, lovely prose and one moving moment but beyond that it felt so derivative and felt like it was missing huge chunks of backstory. Felt like a real slog to get through. Bummer.
kategci's review
3.0
Well now. I finished this book this morning after working nights and I dreamt about it. Last week, I completed Madame Bovary, so August has really been the month of adultery for me. Anna Benz, expat in chilly Switzerland is very unhappy and trying to fill the holes in her heart and soul by undertaking a series of affairs. She has been in Switzerland for almost ten years, is having trouble with the language, has not learned to drive and does not even have her own bank account. Her life in the 2000s is very similar to Madame Bovary's in the 1850s in terms of unhappiness and wanting more than she has. Her three children and husband are not enough to pull her out of her listless depression and psychotherapy is only slightly effective (it does not help if you withhold from your therapist). After a series of bad choices , Anna's life spirals out of control. Jill Alender Essbaum writes beautifully, making us feel Anna's sadness and despair. With a nod to Anna Karenina, another famous adulterer, Essbaum has written a novel that will stay with me.