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A review by debz57a52
Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown
4.5
I think books with parallel stories in the same place, but across different times is a really interesting conceit, and I've found engagement in the few books like that that I've read. This might be my favorite, though.
Alice gave up her busy life in the busy city and her busy job to settle into a sweet old home in the suburbs with her husband, who had just gotten a work transfer. Honestly, I did the same thing a few years ago, so I understood the way Alice felt a little unmoored. I, too, had never been much of a homemaker, but really tried to throw myself into it. I, too, was challenged by the expectations of society to provide, and unsure of what to do with my life when I wasn't meeting the needs of my husband and children and house. And eventually, I was bored of doing that and found a job similar to my old one, but maybe a little more sane.
Alice had no such luck, but she did have a stash of things in the basement from the former inhabitants, including Nellie, and she had a neighbor who was willing and able to be her friend and confidant when Alice needed someone.
Nellie's notes in her cookbook and her letters to her mother seemed innocuous, but as the story progresses, Alice notices slight hints here and there that maybe Nellie's life was not the idyllic stereotype of a 1950's housewife, and things turn a little dark. At the same time, Alice discovers that her life is not what she thought and she draws strength from Nellie's struggles. I appreciated Alice's more modern parallel to Nellie's experience - I think it was necessary to breakup the saccharine and dated expectations from back then. In the end, it felt a little like "Lamb to the Slaughter," in both timelines, and I didn't mind that in the least.
Alice gave up her busy life in the busy city and her busy job to settle into a sweet old home in the suburbs with her husband, who had just gotten a work transfer. Honestly, I did the same thing a few years ago, so I understood the way Alice felt a little unmoored. I, too, had never been much of a homemaker, but really tried to throw myself into it. I, too, was challenged by the expectations of society to provide, and unsure of what to do with my life when I wasn't meeting the needs of my husband and children and house. And eventually, I was bored of doing that and found a job similar to my old one, but maybe a little more sane.
Alice had no such luck, but she did have a stash of things in the basement from the former inhabitants, including Nellie, and she had a neighbor who was willing and able to be her friend and confidant when Alice needed someone.
Nellie's notes in her cookbook and her letters to her mother seemed innocuous, but as the story progresses, Alice notices slight hints here and there that maybe Nellie's life was not the idyllic stereotype of a 1950's housewife, and things turn a little dark. At the same time, Alice discovers that her life is not what she thought and she draws strength from Nellie's struggles. I appreciated Alice's more modern parallel to Nellie's experience - I think it was necessary to breakup the saccharine and dated expectations from back then.