A review by lovelymisanthrope
Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown
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: Rape, Murder, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Miscarriage, and Domestic abuse