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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I picked up this book while I was killing time in a bookstore out of state. The title and cover really caught my eye, and I was so intrigued by the premise.
This novel follows dual perspectives and two different timelines. Nellie is a picturesque housewife from the 1950s. She seems to have the perfect life AND the perfect husband, but her life is not everything everyone believes it to be. Alice, a modern woman, was a successful publicist until she lost her job. Her and her husband decide to leave the city life behind and move into a house in the suburbs that needs a little TLC. Alice discovers letters that uncover the former house owner: Nellie. Alice becomes obsessed with learning what happened to Nellie in this house.
This is a very interesting book because one of the main characters is HIGHLY unlikable. Alice is insufferable at times, and despite having the seemingly perfect and supportive husband that most woman would kill for, she continues to make choices that hurt him, and she continues to lie to him even when she is given the opportunity to tell him the truth. I found it slightly unbelievable and entirely disheartening that she did not tell her husband why she got fired from her job, instead she told him that she quit. She also continued to lie to him about wanting children and strung him along, even though she was on birth control. Then, at the end she gives him an absurd ultimatum that made no sense to me (I get it from a novel perspective and furthering her character's state of mind, but as a soon-to-be wife, I hated it). Nellie on the other hand was amazing. She was thoughtful and tactful in her schemes against her abusive husband. I loved Nellie and I think she epitomes strength and intelligence.
I really enjoyed that we got Nellie's perspective through letters, and I also loved seeing her in comparison to Alice. Women have come a long way from the oppressive times of the 1950s. I think this book opens up the conversation that some women want to be housewives, and that is okay, but it is not okay when that is the only option. I loved this book, and I really enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Nellie.
The only reason I docked this book a star is because I hated Alice so much, but otherwise I highly recommend this!
This novel follows dual perspectives and two different timelines. Nellie is a picturesque housewife from the 1950s. She seems to have the perfect life AND the perfect husband, but her life is not everything everyone believes it to be. Alice, a modern woman, was a successful publicist until she lost her job. Her and her husband decide to leave the city life behind and move into a house in the suburbs that needs a little TLC. Alice discovers letters that uncover the former house owner: Nellie. Alice becomes obsessed with learning what happened to Nellie in this house.
This is a very interesting book because one of the main characters is HIGHLY unlikable. Alice is insufferable at times, and despite having the seemingly perfect and supportive husband that most woman would kill for, she continues to make choices that hurt him, and she continues to lie to him even when she is given the opportunity to tell him the truth. I found it slightly unbelievable and entirely disheartening that she did not tell her husband why she got fired from her job, instead she told him that she quit. She also continued to lie to him about wanting children and strung him along, even though she was on birth control. Then, at the end she gives him an absurd ultimatum that made no sense to me (I get it from a novel perspective and furthering her character's state of mind, but as a soon-to-be wife, I hated it). Nellie on the other hand was amazing. She was thoughtful and tactful in her schemes against her abusive husband. I loved Nellie and I think she epitomes strength and intelligence.
I really enjoyed that we got Nellie's perspective through letters, and I also loved seeing her in comparison to Alice. Women have come a long way from the oppressive times of the 1950s. I think this book opens up the conversation that some women want to be housewives, and that is okay, but it is not okay when that is the only option. I loved this book, and I really enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Nellie.
The only reason I docked this book a star is because I hated Alice so much, but otherwise I highly recommend this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
shrutislibrary's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"Women have so few choices, Nellie. Our gender can be our greatest strength, but it is also our greatest weakness."
Have you ever been on a train you were promised would be a fast ride, which started pretty slow and steady, then arrived at the last station without ever hitting the highest speed you had anticipated?
Well, this book felt exactly like that. It didn't ever cross that maximum speed limit.
Let me explain.
The story follows two parallel timelines, one in 2018 navigating the recent move of married couple Nate & Alice Hale who leave their city life behind in New York City to shift to quiet suburban life in Greenville. The other jumps back in time following Richard and Nellie Murdoch who lived in the same house that the Hales recently bought back in 1956.
Unsettled by the house move which is crumbling in aspect but has a lovely garden to its credit & her husband Nate's designs to get her pregnant, Alice is feeling discomfort, unease & uncertain of her future. Will she become the boring suburban housewife, just content in cooking and cleaning for her hardworking husband?
Who am I? A failed wife, an amateur novelist, a liar? These questions plague Alice.
The 1950s plotline unfolds when Alice chances upon the letters written by Nellie to her mother Elsie and the family cookbook passed down from her mother to Nellie. Through this correspondence, we, like Alice, witness the unravelling of Nellie Murdoch's perfectly happy life & marriage.
This novel shows the lack of agency women had back in the olden days, & even now when it comes to making choices in their lives in general & their marriages in particular: be it regarding their bodies, sex, childbearing, career, or whether or not they should be wearing kitten heels or flats to Tupperware parties. It explores themes like female desire, women's roles in traditional heteronormative societies as efficient homemakers, 'good' wives & attentive mothers, and what a successful marriage should look like.
How far one can suffer lies, deception and abuse in marriage & how far one can do those things to present the facade of a happy marriage is the central concern. Or is it as Oscar Wilde once said "the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties."
The writing was pretty factual, and the persona of Nellie was the most enigmatic one. She displayed all the qualities of a 1950s wife. The whole book could play like a movie because of the way it was written. The thing is that I thought that the mystery element was going to be a lot stronger, but alas the key mystery/shocking event I could guess from a mile away so it didn't matter when it was delivered to me, only the mode of it varied. So overall the reading experience was okay, nothing very 'thrilling' happened as I had expected.
Have you ever been on a train you were promised would be a fast ride, which started pretty slow and steady, then arrived at the last station without ever hitting the highest speed you had anticipated?
Well, this book felt exactly like that. It didn't ever cross that maximum speed limit.
Let me explain.
The story follows two parallel timelines, one in 2018 navigating the recent move of married couple Nate & Alice Hale who leave their city life behind in New York City to shift to quiet suburban life in Greenville. The other jumps back in time following Richard and Nellie Murdoch who lived in the same house that the Hales recently bought back in 1956.
Unsettled by the house move which is crumbling in aspect but has a lovely garden to its credit & her husband Nate's designs to get her pregnant, Alice is feeling discomfort, unease & uncertain of her future. Will she become the boring suburban housewife, just content in cooking and cleaning for her hardworking husband?
Who am I? A failed wife, an amateur novelist, a liar? These questions plague Alice.
The 1950s plotline unfolds when Alice chances upon the letters written by Nellie to her mother Elsie and the family cookbook passed down from her mother to Nellie. Through this correspondence, we, like Alice, witness the unravelling of Nellie Murdoch's perfectly happy life & marriage.
This novel shows the lack of agency women had back in the olden days, & even now when it comes to making choices in their lives in general & their marriages in particular: be it regarding their bodies, sex, childbearing, career, or whether or not they should be wearing kitten heels or flats to Tupperware parties. It explores themes like female desire, women's roles in traditional heteronormative societies as efficient homemakers, 'good' wives & attentive mothers, and what a successful marriage should look like.
How far one can suffer lies, deception and abuse in marriage & how far one can do those things to present the facade of a happy marriage is the central concern. Or is it as Oscar Wilde once said "the one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception absolutely necessary for both parties."
The writing was pretty factual, and the persona of Nellie was the most enigmatic one. She displayed all the qualities of a 1950s wife. The whole book could play like a movie because of the way it was written. The thing is that I thought that the mystery element was going to be a lot stronger, but alas the key mystery/shocking event I could guess from a mile away so it didn't matter when it was delivered to me, only the mode of it varied. So overall the reading experience was okay, nothing very 'thrilling' happened as I had expected.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, and Blood
leroyreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Addiction and Sexual content
ashleyjo817's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, and Abortion
honeyhistory103's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
This is a really engaging read - I wouldn’t call it particularly revolutionary, but I really enjoyed the 1950s sections and the commentary on women’s roles and the expectations placed upon them. I had a bit harder of a time with Alice - though her problems are ones many can sympathize with, she read as very superficial, especially within her relationships. It was never entirely clear why any of the characters - particularly her husband or her best friend - liked her, nor her them. Overall, perhaps an enjoyable beach read, though I wouldn’t list it among “best books.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Rape
mikitiale's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Not my cup of tea. I enjoyed the flashbacks into Nellie's life but most of Alice's point of view was frustrating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, and Abortion
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, and Misogyny
Minor: Addiction, Vomit, and Murder
gewaechshausgeist's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Abortion
Minor: Cancer and Infidelity
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