Monday, September 16, 2013

2013 book 244

Emma Chapman's How to Be a Good Wife
I never quite know how to evaluate books that are objectively good and affecting when they are just so UPSETTING. My feelings here are also tempered by the official book description, which compares this to two other recent literary/thriller type books, and those comparisons really give the game away earlier than Chapman perhaps intended. (On the other hand, strongly suspecting what happened adds a lot more tension to the narrative--and there was plenty of tension already.) Briefly: this is the story of a woman who stops taking her mysterious medication, and starts hallucinating--or remembering?--mysterious things. I was completely frustrated and angered by the ending, and can already see book clubs screaming about it.

This may be the vaguest review I have ever written! But I don't want to give anything away. It's a strong, compelling, but ultimately kind of depressing story. One that I want to yell about. B/B+.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on October 15th.

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