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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

How to be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman 273 pages



My first reaction, after finishing this book, was to write a short review that simply said, “somebody tell me what this book means!”  However, after a day has gone by, I think the purpose of the book was to tell a story in such a way as to show how difficult it is to determine the truth, when someone’s mental stability is in question.

Marta has been married to Hector for years and the story of their meeting and early days seems ordinary until Marta begins to have flashes of memories which disturb her.  She has been taking pills, although who prescribed them, and what they are meant to treat, is not made clear.  She deceives Hector into thinking she is still taking them, but we find that she has actually been off them for some time.

We meet Hector’s mother who gave Marta a copy of “How to be a Good Wife” when she was married to Hector.  We meet the couple’s son and his fiancé.  All the story is told from Marta’s point of view, and I have to say I was rooting for her throughout the book.


The book is a fast read but the further I got into it, the more I felt I did not know who was mentally unstable and who was fine.  The ending is expected, in a way, but wait, on the other hand, what really happened?  I am eager for some other readers to experience this book and tell me what they think happened.

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