I read a review of A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick on Booking Mama this week, and while it's not the type of book I'd usually pick up, the review was very compelling. From Amazon:
Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a 'reliable wife,' she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close.
So here's what Booking Mama said:
I cannot rave enough about this book — it's riveting. Mr. Goolrick is an extremely gifted writer, and I was blown away by the way he told this story. I'm not exactly sure how to describe his writing style, but to say it's almost understated. Every word was carefully chosen for a reason and to evoke a particular feeling. His descriptions of the Wisconsin countryside and the town's inhabitants are just perfect — I could visualize the desolate, snow-covered countryside and even understand how some of the people in this town went mad.
Here's the whole review.
Reading Group Guides has a post by three librarians about A Reliable Wife, along with some questions for book club discussion.
Anyone else out there read this? S. Krishna – do you have a review coming out?