Thursday, July 18, 2013

Book Review: The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison


Title: The Silent Wife
Author: A.S.A. Harrison
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: June 25, 2013
Source: e-ARC received from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review

Plot Summary from Goodreads: (kind of spoiler-y, does not get my seal of approval)

Jodi and Todd are at a bad place in their marriage. Much is at stake, including the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago, as she, the killer, and he, the victim, rush haplessly toward the main event. He is a committed cheater. She lives and breathes denial. He exists in dual worlds. She likes to settle scores. He decides to play for keeps. She has nothing left to lose. Told in alternating voices, The Silent Wife is about a marriage in the throes of dissolution, a couple headed for catastrophe, concessions that can’t be made, and promises that won’t be kept. Expertly plotted and reminiscent of Gone Girl and These Things Hidden, The Silent Wife ensnares the reader from page one and does not let go.

My Review:

"Jodi's great gift is her silence, and he has always loved this about her, that she knows how to mind her own business, keep her own counsel, but silence is also her weapon.  The woman who refuses to object, who doesn't yell and scream--there's strength in that, and power."

Anything that gets compared to Gone Girl = immediately added to my TBR list.  No questions asked.  Such was the case for The Silent Wife, which promised me a completely dysfunctional couple, lots of drama, and death.  COUNT ME IN.  (I am so morbid.)  Apologies if I contrast it a lot to Gillian Flynn's novel, but I think it's fair to use that as a comparison point when the book's own description mentions it, eh?

If you skipped reading the plot summary I provided above, GOOD--this is one of those instances where I think the plot description is way too spoiler-iffic.  It gives away a big event in the novel that I think is better approached without any forewarning.  As I've been known to do, I only skimmed the summary of this book before reading, so that particular event was a surprise for me.  This built the suspense of the novel more than if I had known about it from the start.  However, even if you did read the summary, I think you'll find this novel has more than enough drama to keep you glued to the pages.

Is The Silent Wife exactly like Gone Girl?  Nope.  It does have some similar elements: a very dark and foreboding atmosphere.  Two characters that are completely unreliable in their accounts of each other.  Terrible actions that each character finds justifiable in their own ways.  But beyond that, The Silent Wife is a drama all its own.

For one, it's not nearly so twisted as Gone Girl.  I know that a lot of people who didn't like Gone Girl were particularly turned off by the extremity of some of the twists--they were too much of a reach.  I never felt this way in The Silent Wife.  Dark, hateful, amoral things happen throughout the plot, but the characters almost seem to stumble into them innocently.  This keeps the plot action from feeling contrived, to the point where things like cheating, lying, and yes, even murder, seem completely natural for this cast of characters.

The two protagonists, Jodi and Todd, are endlessly interesting to me.  Jodi is calm and cool on the outside, but tension and suspense simmer around her constantly as you get further and further into her psyche.  She's a psychologist by trade, and as a therapist she feels that she knows deeply about herself; however, as the novel progresses it becomes clear that her persona is far more complex than she lets on.  On the flip side, Todd is so self-centered, he can never truly see how his actions impact others.  Jodi is self-centered too, but in a different way--her obsession with routine and neatness blinds her to reality much of the time:

"No need to stare reality in the face if there's a kinder, gentler way.  No need for all that grim urgency."

I could spend hours psychoanalyzing these two, and maybe that's half the fun of the novel.

The only downside, for me, was in the ending.  It's not bad, but I felt like there were a few too many coincidences thrown in at the end to tie it up.  I'm not a big fan of the "convenient" ending, and this had a tinge of that.  However, the book did manage to keep me thinking about it long after I read the last word--so it's not a loss by any means.

The Silent Wife was a winner for me.  Jodi and Todd aren't nearly as insane as Gone Girl's Amy and Nick, but their subtlety plays well on the page.  I needed a fix in the dark fiction department, and I got it in spades.  I may not have adored the ending, but the rest of the novel wormed itself so far into my brain that I'll forgive the conveniences that were thrown in at the end.

So, readers, what else can I read to follow up on my "dark fiction" fixation?

27 comments:

  1. I'm trying to know very little about this book. Gone Girl was ruined for me because I knew too much. LALALALA!

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Haha, I promise my review doesn't have spoilers...just the plot summary does!! :)

  2. I just finished this one yesterday. Wowee, what a ride. I liked it better than Gone Girl because it wasn't SO hard to believe. Someone on Twitter described this as quiet, I thought that was apt. Want something else dark and twisty? Tampa by Alissa Nutting. Holy smokes. CRAY-CRAY!

    Reply
    Replies
    1. GAHHH I have heard SO many things about Tampa. Every review makes me want to read it more, but I feel kind of twisted for feeling that way. lol.

    2. You'll feel twisted while you're reading it as well. It is INSANE. Disturbing. I don't even know if I'll be able to review it!

    3. Ooooh you must! Dying to see what you have to say! :)

  3. I skimmed the review because it's my IRL book club read this month! I'm excited that you liked it- that bodes very well!

    Reply
    Replies
    1. I'll be interested to hear what your book club thinks! Definitely a lot for you to discuss.

  4. [POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

    I'm curious what it was you didn't like about the summary. Is it that it gives away that we're leading up to a murder? Because that's also mentioned in the first couple pages of the book: "a few short months are all it will take to make a killer out of her." I've had plenty of occasions where I thought the blurb gave away too much, but this wasn't one of those cases for me.

    Reply
    Replies
    1. I didn't like that it reveals that Jodi murders Todd. The first few pages do indicate that she's going to kill someone, but not who--and given the circumstances it could have been Todd, Natasha, etc.

    2. That's a good point... chalk it up to my being influenced by the blurb that I never considered she might have another target in mind. Of course, I also have issues with the book being marketed as a psychological thriller, which I didn't really feel it was (although this blurb doesn't include those words, the one I read did, and I found it misleading).

  5. I am excited to get to this one. Gone Girl blew my mind... I want more of that (even if it is just a small piece).

    Reply
  6. I skipped the synopsis from Goodreads after I read the part about it not getting your seal of approval, but the review sounds so interesting! I enjoyed Gone Girl and think that it's perfectly okay to compare the books since it was already done for you :)

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Thanks for saying so. :) I always feel a little weird comparing 2 books so hard, because even if they are similar in some way, I also want to give them credit as standalone novels. But in this case, I think the comparison is helpful since Gone Girl is so well known.

  7. I skimmed your review and also the comments, but this book hadn't been on my radar before, so will have to add to TBR. For other dark fiction, I think you've already read The Dinner? I wonder if you've read Apologize! Apologize! It's another one it's best not to know too much about. I recently bought the author's newest book, The Last Summer of the Camperdowns, but like most books I buy, it's sitting unread while I read books for review.

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Haven't read The Dinner yet, and I should because it's been recommended to me about a million times!

  8. I skimmed the synopsis like I usually do (so glad I'm not the only one). I haven't read Gone Girl either though, so hmmmm... which should I read first...

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Ooooh hard to say. You could try either one first because the atmosphere is a bit different in each. I guess it depends on whether you want something SUPER twisted or just mildly crazy. Haha.

  9. I wonder how long Gone Girl will be the standard of comparison for dark and twisty marital tales. I don't read a lot of stories like this, but it's good to know this one is a good pick when the mood strikes!

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Ah, probably until another "summer blockbuster" book takes the world by storm! And until the hype from the upcoming movie dies off...

  10. This sounds like my kind of read. Your reference to Gone Girl is a reminder to get to that one as well. Thank you for the wonderful review.
    -Dilettantish Reader

    Reply
    Replies
    1. I would love to hear what you think about both of them! Hope you get to pick one up soon.

  11. This is on my pile to read and I've seen so many positive reviews about it. I really enjoyed Gone Girl and am looking forward to this one too, glad you enjoyed it!

    Reply
    Replies
    1. Yes, I'm seeing a lot of good buzz in the blogosphere. Hope you enjoy it when you get around to it!

  12. At first I was annoyed that the synopsis was so spoiler-ific, but considering the focus on the reasoning of actions, it sort of makes sense. I found the synopsis not at all how I found the novel, if that makes sense.

    I think we pretty much felt the same way about this one, it was a gooden/

    Reply
    Replies
    1. I do agree that the synopsis reads very differently than the feel you end up getting from the novel itself. Glad you enjoyed it too!

 
Imagination Designs