The Wife: A Novel

With her history of training and teaching writing Wolitzer beautifully develops (on a big plane trip) the background of a woman's decision to leave her famous husband after many many many years of marriage...50s happy daze years of marriage. The dismal reality of "a man's world" over all else brings me up short as I look in the mirror...even the not famous nearly unknown writers can laugh during this read.

I chose this book because the topic interested me. I am a writer like the heroine and her husband. I was intrigued with the book's premise. The author did a great job developing the characters and their marriage.

Besides being aa author who can make herself into many different characters through speech patterns and dialect, this book really captures the relationship between her husband, colleagues, and her. It was really good, and I'm reading another one that's got the same style. Thank you, Ms. Wolitzer.

Wolitzer's writing flows effortlessly and makes you feel almost inadequate. Her characters are three dimensional. Her plot almost secondary to the beauty of her words. Buried in this story of this heartbreaking marriage is a cautionary tale for all young women in love. Bravo!

I read this because "The Interestings" was also a wonderful book, and I'm glad it led me to this. Joan (the narrator) is dark, interior, thoughtful, intelligent, and tells a captivating story. I couldn't put it down! (It's also a fairly quick read. I definitely recommend it!)

Enjoyed the book. Realized early on when she was a good writer and he was not that this was happening. Could certainly be a true life story. Good writing style. Very descriptive and emotional Liked the book very much.

I read this because "The Interestings" was also a wonderful book, and I'm glad it led me to this. Joan (the narrator) is dark, interior, thoughtful, intelligent, and tells a captivating story. I couldn't put it down! (It's also a fairly quick read. I definitely recommend it!)

Enjoyed the book. Realized early on when she was a good writer and he was not that this was happening. Could certainly be a true life story. Good writing style. Very descriptive and emotional Liked the book very much.

I kept reading. This prose is very well wrought; it captures you personally and impels you to continue even after you have guessed its central conceit. Or maybe it just appeals to a feminist of a certain age.

Without giving away actual plot points, I found this book to be very interesting and although the ending was realistic, it was not satisfying. But it is still a great read if you can deal with non-happy endings.

Excellent use of narrative as she switches back and forth from past to present. Love the relationship details, the slow adjustments marriage requires, mostly on the part of the wife. Not a feminist polemic, but an interesting object lesson on the publishing world as well as the world of marriage at the time we baby boomers were coming of age. I love her character portrayals.

I really enjoyed this novel, it's premise; the wife who stifles her talent and potential to help her spouse build their career and over time builds a long simmering resentment of her spouse's success is a story that's tough to tell in a refreshing way but I think Meg Wolitzer just about pulled it off. Ms. Wolitzer's humorous, revealing and spot on descriptions of the literary world of the 50's, the salad days of an aspiring writer, the heady days of a successful first novel, and the difficulty in later years to remain relevant and popular as a writer added depth to a run of the mill story. I figured out pretty early in the novel the "secret" which made the middle drag a little for me but overall this book is a solid, thought provoking view of the damage wrought in a relationship when secrets and resentment are allowed to flourish.

Wolitzer gets under the skins of characters and readers. She charges so hard, fast, and adeptly in the beginning of her stories that often she runs out of steam. I've found this in the three books of hers I've read. However, don't let this stop you. The first eighty percent of her books are wonderful!