Wifey

Defiantly an adult read and not the usual Judy Blume book. I liked how it was set in the late 60s early 70s (That is when it was written and published I believe) but it was still relate-able to today's time in society.

Having fond memories of Judy Blume addressing the "important" issues of the day throughout my adolescence, I was excited to experience her perspective on adulthood, particularly on the challenges of marriage and secuality. I was sorely disappointed. The story reads like a sheltered adult trying to be racy - without any of the passion, lust, or even guilt.

For some reason I resent purchasing a book that was published years back. Even though I enjoyed the read again at some point I realized that I had read it before. I wish that the date published would be part of the information given. If a reader like myself starts following a particular author we learn that the style of writing improves throughout the years. When you read something written years ago, you instantly realize that the quality of writing is not as good and it is a disappointment.

(DISCLAIMER - Typing on Tablet). I'm disappointed to comment that this book was terrible. I expected more from the author given my adolescent experience with her work. The overview of the book seemed interesting; middle-aged wife goes through mid-life crisis and discovers herself. I found that instead of discovering herself, Sandra still let things happen to her. Sure, she had fun along the way, but at every instance, the male counterpart initiated and controlled the situation, basically rendering Sandra no better off than she was in her stifling marriage. The writing didn't fare much better. Poor character development, difficulty keeping up with the "who's who" in the book, and trivial loose ends that are never tied up. I was anticipating reading more of Judy Blume's adult work and tried this as a sampler. To paraphrase a metaphor used by the main character: "I was looking for a three course meal and never made it past the appetizer." My reading interest unfortunately stops here.

Previous reviewer accurately described this as the perfect beach book. Very easy and quick to read, yet the story feels good and is comforting while at the same time sad. This is the story of a restless, sexually ungratified New Jersey housewife with 2 children who turns comtemplative and begins to succumb to her fantasies. I first read Wifey in my late teens to early 20s, and again 2 decades later. As a younger person, I was far more affected by the story telling. But even now it felt so good to experience the nostalgia of being pulled in by Judy Blume as no one else can. As a more mature person who is older than the main character Sandy, I can look back on life and past loves alongside her. I can see the shortcomings of her past love, Shep - when before I had romanticized his character and virtues, much as she had. It does include a few sexual scenarios, but nothing I would feel uncomfortable with an older teen reading. Not that explicit, and done with humor. It is an adult novel. I, too, felt let down with the ending.

Ah Judy Blume. I remember reading her as a tween 40 years ago in the 70's. I remember this one, because for an 11 year old, this one was pretty scandalous and I remember having to keep it under my bed so my mom wouldn't find it. LOLOL. Its been a very long time since I read it, but as I recall it was pretty good, but I was 11 so......I read quite a few of her books and I don't remember being disappointed in any of them. They really are bent more toward the tween, teen, and young adult. I don't think grown up adults would enjoy them.

Wifey, is claimed to be Judy's first adult novel. And adult, it certainly was. When I found her book in a yard sale, I picked it up because my son told me she wrote the book Fudge, and Superfudge, and that she made him laugh, and he really liked her books. As I read the book, I told my son, this book, was not one of her kid- style books, this book was for adults. And my son proceeded to ask me if I had read anything of hers, to which I told him I did not. He then suggested that I get the book. So I spent a quarter, and decided "How can I go wrong?!"

Later that night, I picked up the book and started reading. I was impressed with her style, she wasn't testing my brain with enormous words, and phrases, and things that I needed to research. The story is of a housewife, and oh how she has a dirty mind! The cover states that, just to entice you, and then it states that over three million copies have sold. As I read, there was no doubt in my mind, it was probably "us" three million housewives, that bought the book! WOW!

Judy Blume helps the modern housewife put thoughts that they don't usually allow into their heads, into print. She is a wonderful writer, easy to understand and relate to. If you are looking for something to peak your sexual desires, and interests, this is the book for you. Her character Sandy, if you are a housewife, sometimes you might even be able to relate to also. When will you have a minute to yourself? Take the kids to School, help the kids with their home work, fix dinner, and then what about "you" time. That is something always far and few between. And it is also something we dare not speak of-our needs and desires.

Ages ago sex, was something you whispered about, and sometimes even spelled when the kids were around, like they couldn't figure out what that small three letter word was! Agreeably, today's age, is quite different and a little less discreet. This book is copyrights for 1978, if that tells you how different times were and are, you will well enough see it in the writing. When I first read this, I was new to the sex, somewhat, and a new wife, and mother. Housewife. Then- I found her book, enticing and intriguing. I have since read the book again, several times to be exact, and each time, I find something new in it, if that's possible. But the book, is still interesting to me. I truly enjoyed it, and yes, it made my insides melt. If you are anything like me, when you read, you can see pictures in your head, this is of course, your imagination. And I see, and felt, and even desired. But that of course, is me.

As you already know, I do not blow details in my reviews, because if I like the book enough to review it, then I think you should get it, and read it too. I have read many of books, and you see how many reviews I have written thus far-even though yes- I am behind. But this book on a scale of one to ten, gets a ten plus-plus! It was wonderful read, and if you are at all like me, when you get bored, and haven't got the money to get something to read, and you desire and good read, you will re-read it again.

Judy Blume is a wonderful writer, and she knows how to please any and all readers. As I have said, she writes book for people of all ages, children, adult-teens, even. She has a nice sized list of books out there to enjoy. And a writer that can please one and all, as she does, deserves your applause, and a chance! She knows what she is doing! Trust me. And if you are a husband reading this, or even a boy friend, if you want to spice up your life with your significant other, I suggest getting this. I read a few chapters aloud to my husband- and it did just the trick I was hoping it would! Sometimes reading to one another, rather then watching a DVD, can be just as warm and wonderful as foreplay, it's just a gentler start. Like me, what have you got to loose?

Wifey is written in 1978, and it is funnily outdated in 2004. The story about Sandy, the bored housewife with a dirty mind, and her husband Norman, their friends and families is funny and well written, but not as charming as other Judy Blume books. I am sure it created an outrage when it was first published, but today most adult readers will have read both sexier and more mature stuff than this. Not that it makes the story bad, but there are things a wife would never accept in our day and age, which she may have accepted in the 1970'es.

Sandy is married to boring Norman, everything is planned, and Norman feels like they have a good life. On their wedding night he stated that he loved her, and then he also said that he did not expect her to ask or inquire about that again. When the story starts Sandy and Norman has been married in 12 years and Sandy is more than bored with Norman, their friends, their life, bored with everything. She starts to daydream, and her dreams are not pure and clean. They are dirty. Again, this is not something that will chock a reader in 2004, but there are funny and also touching moments in this book. The humour is definitely there, and it is a fast and easy read, which deals with universal problems - problems that couples had in 1970'es as well as in the 21. century.

This is Judy Blume's famous adult novel--you know the one that you heard about on the playground when you read her young adult books but thought that it was all lies. It tells the story of Sandy, a woman in an unfulfilling marriage who doesn't know how to make it better, is afraid of leaving, and is battered by the winds of change of the sexual revolution and women's liberation.

Although it is a fun read, Wifey is really most interesting now as a time capsule--a time in the late-70s in which people were trying on casual sex for size. Although there are no "key parties" here, there are open marriages and affairs at a drop of the hat. There is also casual racism, and the beginnings of white flight from the inner-ring suburbs that has become a major trend and helped create the "exurbs" as the current growth region. Finally, Blum portrays the time as a time when the last bit of Jewish upper-middle class integration had not yet occurred.

There is not much to the plot other than Wifey's unhappiness and her hope for a way out. But it was an interesting read.

If your previous exposure to Judy Blume has been solely through her children's books, the adult language and themes in this book may trigger a double take. The story-telling method is very much Judy Blume, but this time it is geared toward adults.

The main character, Sandy, has lived her life according to other peoples' rules and expectations; primarily those of her mother and her husband. She played it safe and predictable, but now is haunted by regret. Her husband, Norman, is such a dolt that you wonder how she could have stayed with him this long. His obsession with appearances at the country club are laughable, and his skills as a lover are nonexistent. It is not until the final chapters, after Sandy has broken from her cage, that she (and the reader) begins to see there is something valuable in reliable old Norman. And there is a fun little mystery to solve throughout the book: who is the man on the motorcycle?

Reading Wifey is very enjoyable. It is touching and humorous, and married readers may find themselves comparing their relationships to those in the book.

Take one bored wife, Sandy, add a routine, clueless husband, Norman, couple that with the motorcycle flasher, still unknown and the demands of the family and you've got the beginning of a conflict.
Sandy is a bored housewife who tries to discover herself. Unhappy with the routine life her husband seems to enjoy, she is lost when Norman enrolls her in tennis and golf lessons at the Club for the summer. To relieve her boredom, Sandy goes outside the safety of her family to relieve her itch for something new. It's a rollercoaster ride she is prepared to take, along with the consequences afterward in order to experience life.
Normally, it's the man who faces a midlife crises with a seven year itch, not the woman. I'm surprised Sandy stayed as long as she did as bored as she was. That's what makes this book different and not dated to me.
Norman did what he was supposed to providing for his family. Emotionally he was detatched. He also had certain ideas. His chauvinistic attitude sickened me. It was Norman who decided what they would do at the Club that summer. He decided what Sandy served for supper every night and what day he had his 'little something'. I mean, the guy was so scared of bacteria and disease that he wouldn't go to sleep till he washed. He even went so far as to track his dog's bathroom habits.
I recommend this book for anyone who is looking for something different, but because of the rough language I only recommend this book to those over 21.

I enjoyed this read about a bored housewife. She has settled into a routine of children and saturday sex. When her children go off to summer camp she begins to wonder why her life is not fullfilled emotionally and sexually.
I was drawn into the book by the very first chapter when a motorcycle man drives up early in the morning and pleases himself on Sandy's lawn while she idly watches him from her bedroom window. Sandy begins to wonder what she is doing with her husband Norman and begins fantasizing about her old boyfriend Shep. The entire summer showcases Sandy's sexual awakening and extra marital affairs. But like all things there are emotional and physical consequences.
This book was very Jong-like (Erica Jong author of fear of flying) full of emotion and personal exploration as another reviewer also mentioned. This book was well written by a talented woman, Judy Blume. I never had the privledge to read her childrens books but I imagine they were good.
I too was disappointed in the ending but the book definetly demontrated the importance of communication and tenderness in marriage. All in all I read the book from cover to cover and enjoyed Sandy's journey.

Where to begin in reviewing Judy Blume’s WIFEY? Do you start with the prolific Blume? Do you start with the book cover which jumped up, forbidden, from many a book rack and end table? Or do you examine the text itself, which is a feminine answer to Updike, Roth and the like. Or all three? WIFEY, published in 1978, was a very adult book about NJ housewife Sandy Pressman in the summer of 1970 as she comes to terms with decisions she’s made regarding her marriage and the trade outs that come with a comfortable life in the suburbs. The book is full of the staples of Updike, Yates, Roth and the likes, from adultery, the Country Club, overlooked children and sex, lots of sex. WIFEY is a dirty book, even when read in 2014. What may read as less shocking is Sandy’s attitude towards sex may be less shocking than in 1978. Blume, who by this point had already published some of her greatest YA novels, including the seminal classics ARE YOU THERE GOD, IT’S ME, MARGARET and THEN AGAIN MAYBE I WON’T, tackles the dawn of the 1970s with aplomb, feeling out not only the sexual climate of the time, but also the political, racial and social temperaments. Unfortunately the current cover is a bit anonymous – if you can go find that sultry original cover, pair the book with GOODBYE, COLUMBUS and luxuriate in another place and time.

I never believed that Judy Blume would write a story like this book. I remember this book when I was in third grade and read it in my senior year of high school. This book explodes with Wifey's sexual fantasies. Her boring routine of fixing chicken on Wednesdays and sex on Saturdays has brought out fantasies that she dares to explore. She is involved with her sister's husband, although it is wrong. But hey, she's enjoying it while she can. Of course, there are pressing issues such as divorce and being found out. Ms. Blume gives her readers the pleasure to find time and curl up to a good book. She is considered to me a great influential writer of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Judy Blume captures yet another mundane suburban life and puts a candid and humorous spin on it with Wifey. One can't help but identify--or at least sympathize--with New Jersey housewife Sandy Pressman and her strained marriage, repressed husband, and demanding extended family. All 33-year-old Sandy wants is to live a little, burst her protective bubble, and earn some respect from her condescending hubby Norm.
Blume's style is so honest and Sandy's fantasies are so vividly sexual--and often absurd--that Wifey, while a quick and easy read, holds some strong literary merits for its brazenness and commanding humor. Pick up this *adult* read (many of Blume's books are for young teens, but this is NOT one of them!) and escape into Sandy's fantasy world and exasperating reality.

This author is quite good. I enjoyed every page of this book. I do recommend it for the mature reader though. This is not a typical Judy Blume work. This is a tale of a woman and a sexual odyssey. The books is absolutely hilarious at times, and sad in others. I suppose the sad part is that I know of a goodly number of women that it could actually be about. Being a man, it was certainly an eye opener for me and gave me a bit of food for thought. This is a nice easy read and well worth the time. I highly recommend it.

My entertainment attorney has been talking about this book for more than a year and when I spotted one copy on the shelf, I had to pick it up and dig into it that very same night. I truly enjoyed the novel from page one, and I thought the main character was purely delightful. A woman that had been repressed sexually by her husband for the entire length of their marriage who finally decided to take a walk on the wild side. Norman, the husband that didn't believe in sexual adventure, was a study in what is wrong with dominant men who think they run the show. Judy Blume is a wonderful author and one of my personal favorites.

My reaction while reading:
If you want to learn more about the 60s/70s from the perspective of a priviledged white female, this is the book for you! I could barely finish it because the characters & situations were annoying and unbelievable.

However, after I finished the book I started thinking about why this book was so unsatisfying/irritating. I concluded that perhaps the book was *too* realistic. It showed how frustrating life can be and that it doesn't wrap up nicely in the end, we just keep moving on. It's easy to say that this book is "dated" since it was published in the 70s, but quiet desperation is still a reality for many people, male or female.

Wifey was Judy Blume's first attempt at adult fiction, and I think it's among her best work. Even though I'm a guy, I was completely engrossed in the story of Sandy Pressman. It's so refreshing to read about real-life situations and real feelings, and Judy Blume is a master at making the reader feel an emotional connection to her characters. First-rate dialogue...likeable characters...what more could you want from a book? Read this book! You won't be sorry.

This book was fast-paced, funny and trashy. Her husband, Norman drove me nuts with his to-do lists, the special treatment of the dog, and how he hated his meal schedule interrupted. I was appalled with his saying that she only had half a brain! How she ever managed to stay with him for twelve years is beyond me. Yet, I believe these things "do" happen in real life and that's what I loved most about this book.

Sandy's sexual escapades are not the only good part of the book. Everyone has a teenage romance that they wish could last forever. Sandy and Shep are the example of this, but reality comes inot the book and wrecks the relationship, as it often does in life. Sandy, Shep, and Lisbeth are the only down-to-earth characters in the entire book. Norman, Myra, the hoochies from the club, and even Jennifer and Bucky are shallow and boring characters. With an tense and unexpected turn at the end of the book, the novel's plot thickens. I reccomend reading Wifey instead of renting a movie on a lazy weekend.

I remember reading Judy Bloom as a young girl, and I alays found her books entertaining and at many times funny (who can forget Super Fudge?). One of the things I love about her books the most is that they usualy deals with iffy subjects in the most casual and funny way. Wifey was such a fast read, I read it in one day. The issues that the main character deals with are easily relatable, and that made it all the more interesting. I would suggest this one to anyone ready for a slightly steamy, funny and quick read. Way to go Judy!

The basic plot-Sandy is a New Jersey housewife in the 1970's. She's in a loveless marriage with a jerk of a husband, begins to have affairs (although actually with the exception of one man, the rest are one-nighters), contemplates getting a divorce, briefly considers suicide when her lover refuses to leave his wife and kids for her, and catches a sexually transmitted disease, which of course means that her husband then finds out about the affairs.

In the end, Sandy's still basically the same person she was at the beginning. She's still with her husband in a loveless marriage and is still depending on others for her happiness rather than accepting any responsibility for it herself.

I started out actually empathizing with this woman, but that changed the minute she had sex with her sister's husband. That, in my opinion, is simply unforgivable (there are millions of men in the world to have sex with who aren't your sister's husband!).

The book does have an opening scene that immediately draws the reader in, but the ending of the book (I thought) left a lot to be desired. It felt as if the book ended before the story did.

In short-A heroine that I didn't particularly care for (I sure wouldn't want her for a friend-or a sister), one that experienced no character growth (yes, she had some sexual adventures, but that was it) and an unsatisfying ending.

I have every book that Judy Blume has written. Wifey is one of those feminist fiction novels of the 70's that really makes the reader aware of the feminine ghetto of the suburbs, the white flight of the inner cities and how important it is for corporate women to be a certain mold and make. The right parties, the house on the hill. As Sandy's sister puts it "you gotta be busy or it will drive you nuts".

Imagine having the same routine everyday of your life since you were married. Chicken on Wednesdays and Sex on Saturdays. Sandy Pressman was getting quite bored with her everyday life. It was summer time and the kids were away at summer camp. Sandy was home alone; she planned to read several books over the summer but her plans changed. One day Sandy heard a man on a motorcycle driving down her street and she went to the window. Standing there, a man dressed in only a white sheet and stars and stripes helmet, gets off the bike, and revels all to Sandy by removing his garment. Sandy, disturbed yet intrigued by the man on the bike calls her husband.
All through out this novel is explicit details of Sandy's love life, not only with Norman. So if you enjoy reading a fun filled, dirty book, Wifey by Judy Blume is just the book for you.

Description from the dust jacket:

The bestseller about a very nice housewife with a very dirty mind! WIFEY is tired of chicken on Wednesdays and sex on Saturdays. This morning, a mysterious motorcycle flasher revealed himself to WIFEY and brought her frustrations into rigid focus! WIFEY sees her wildest fantasies taking flight, and WIFEY has an itch - and uncontrollable - urge to catch up with them!

I just read "Smart Women". It was fantastic. The characters are very developed and very round. I have always read Bloom as a child, "Super Fudge" and "Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing". I didn't even know she wrote adults books. "Summer Sisters" was amazing too. Read them both!