Pertinent Info
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick (Algonquin, 2009)
I read it February 23, 2010.
Why’d I Read It?
100% the cover art. It caught my eye on display somewhere, and I went straight home and reserved it at the library. I am easily taken in by good cover art…but I don’t tend to buy books unless I think I’m going to want to read them more than once. (Our house can only hold so many bookshelves!)
What I Thought
Several times while reading, I thought to myself, “If anyone had told me what this was about, I would never have picked it up.” It was strangely captivating. I kept thinking that I shouldn’t like it, but I really did.
The question here is why didn’t I think I should like it? I can’t really put my finger on it. It’s written in a distinctly different voice than I’m used to, but I liked it (the voice). It’s rife with dishonesty – characters pretending to be something they’re not. In theory, that’s something that bothers me, so maybe that’s it? I’m not sure. I did enjoy the story and the writing; I found the whole thing compelling.
Even two weeks after reading it, I can’t quite place why I liked the book, or why I had such an odd reaction to it. I’d have to call it an incredibly successful novel, however, if you care to measure a novel’s success by its ability to keep the reader thinking about it long after the final page is read.
Would I Recommend It?
I think so…yes.
In THIS Life 
3 comments
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March 6, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Mom
Aimee, I read this book last week. I had a similar reaction. The key word here is compelling. I kept wondering why I was reading it too, but couldn’t put it down. I think it was the writing. It is one of the most incredibly well described book I have ever read. I could visualize every character, every scene very clearly. It was exquisitely detailed without being overlong and overdone. Right use of the right words, I would say. Anyway, I liked it very much. I did buy it, in fact. I was facing a day long wait for my annual mammogram and knew the arthritis in my hands would not tolerate that much knitting. It served the purpose quite well. I will most likely read it again in a bit, just to savor the descriptions once again. The plot is almost secondary. It is a visual sculpture carved out of words.
Have you read any other things by this author?
March 6, 2010 at 10:40 pm
aimeewrites
Interesting that we had such similar reactions! No, I haven’t read anything else by him, and I was trying to decide whether or not to try out “The End of the World As We Know It.” I probably will.
March 25, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Barb
I just finished it, and really enjoyed it. Now I’m reading The Forgotten Garden, and I don’t want to put it down. Haven’t loved a book this much since The Thirteenth Tale, and that’s including The Help, which was excellent. Thank goodness for Goodreads and all the recommendations I find there.