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abeattie's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wwseago's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
hollidayreadswithme's review against another edition
3.0
The premise of the book is Alice, a former working woman who has moved out to Greenville, a suburb outside of Manhattan with her husband Nick with the goal of writing a novel. She and Nick have been married for two years and everything is great. As long as she gets her way. It's an overgeneralization for sure but it crops up several times in the narrative when she's going through the basement, she finds a box labeled "Kitchen" from the previous owner, Nellie. Inside are old Ladies Home Journal Magazines and a Cookbook. Because she is procrastinating on writing her novel and has nothing better to do, she begins cooking, something she never did in Manhattan.
And this is where the story sours for me.
As much as I love the writing style and Nellie's character who we get to see through alternating chapters, the message in this book is dangerous. Nellie is in an abusive relationship, she is committed to not bringing children into a volatile environment and so miscarriages the babies. However, Alice is immature, noncommunicative and paranoid.
When there is a clear divide in the roles, man being the sole provider, there need to be standards met. However Alice never talks about what she needs, she never voices her concerns and when she is in trouble at work, she opts to keep secrets from her spouse instead of working through them together. There is a clear 'us vs them' mentality that sours even the best of relationships. I had no empathy for her because she was sitting around the house all day (There wasn't any mention of her sitting around watching television, which I thought was very unrealistic.). She wasn't working on her novel, she's actively lying to family and friends and to what end?
This book was good in its irony. By showing us the modern wife in Alice, we see all the things that we shouldn't be doing. All the things that we should strive not to be. She's selfish, ungrateful and manipulative.
The book is good. I raced through it easily. But I urge you to take it as a novel and nothing else.
And this is where the story sours for me.
As much as I love the writing style and Nellie's character who we get to see through alternating chapters, the message in this book is dangerous. Nellie is in an abusive relationship, she is committed to not bringing children into a volatile environment and so miscarriages the babies. However, Alice is immature, noncommunicative and paranoid.
When there is a clear divide in the roles, man being the sole provider, there need to be standards met. However Alice never talks about what she needs, she never voices her concerns and when she is in trouble at work, she opts to keep secrets from her spouse instead of working through them together. There is a clear 'us vs them' mentality that sours even the best of relationships. I had no empathy for her because she was sitting around the house all day (There wasn't any mention of her sitting around watching television, which I thought was very unrealistic.). She wasn't working on her novel, she's actively lying to family and friends and to what end?
This book was good in its irony. By showing us the modern wife in Alice, we see all the things that we shouldn't be doing. All the things that we should strive not to be. She's selfish, ungrateful and manipulative.
The book is good. I raced through it easily. But I urge you to take it as a novel and nothing else.
igacecylia's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
clownrambles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
popgoesbitty's review against another edition
2.0
CWs: physical and emotional abuse, rape, miscarriage
Not sure where to begin with this one. I had moments where I really enjoyed this book and moments where I wanted to throw it. I think the former is mostly due to the author's ability to really transport the reader to the 1950s--the home, the furniture, the recipes, Nellie's looming domestic dread... They all do a great job setting the scene, both in the past and present, and as a woman fascinated by 1950s American suburbia, I was hooked in.
Despite all that, I mostly hated Recipe for a Perfect Wife. The split narratives were separately intriguing, but were so weakly tied together, it almost felt like I was reading two books. I could see what the author was *trying* to do for the entire book, but it just never worked. With the exception of Nellie, the protagonist in the 1950s narrative, the rest of the characters were so poorly formed. Nothing the contemporary protagonist did made sense. The whole plot was so scattered, so senseless. And the quotes at the beginning of every chapter started to feel kitschy and overused by chapter 3 or 4.
Overall, I wish this had just been a novel about the past narrative (Nellie's) from the 1950s. The rest of it simply failed to connect.
Not sure where to begin with this one. I had moments where I really enjoyed this book and moments where I wanted to throw it. I think the former is mostly due to the author's ability to really transport the reader to the 1950s--the home, the furniture, the recipes, Nellie's looming domestic dread... They all do a great job setting the scene, both in the past and present, and as a woman fascinated by 1950s American suburbia, I was hooked in.
Despite all that, I mostly hated Recipe for a Perfect Wife. The split narratives were separately intriguing, but were so weakly tied together, it almost felt like I was reading two books. I could see what the author was *trying* to do for the entire book, but it just never worked. With the exception of Nellie, the protagonist in the 1950s narrative, the rest of the characters were so poorly formed. Nothing the contemporary protagonist did made sense. The whole plot was so scattered, so senseless. And the quotes at the beginning of every chapter started to feel kitschy and overused by chapter 3 or 4.
Overall, I wish this had just been a novel about the past narrative (Nellie's) from the 1950s. The rest of it simply failed to connect.
iv3tte's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0