Diary of a Mad Housewife: A Novel

published	2005 by Thunder's Mouth Press
binding	Paperback
isbn	1560256877 (isbn13: 9781560256878)
pages	311
description	Made into a major motion picture that garnered an Oscar nomination, Diary of a Mad Housewife is a classic of women’s fiction that gave a ...more [close] Made into a major motion picture that garnered an Oscar nomination, Diary of a Mad Housewife is a classic of women’s fiction that gave a wry voice to the nascent feminist stirrings of the 1960s and helped incite a revolution in the consciousness of a generation. After many years, this best-selling novel of Manhattan ennui is finally back in print. When Bettina Balser begins to suspect that she is going mad, she starts a secret diary as a form of therapy and escape. Her fears pour onto the page: “Elevators, subways, bridges, tunnels, high places, low places, tightly enclosed spaces, boats, cars, planes, trains, crowds....” Through her observations of herself and those around her, Bettina seeks meaning in her exceedingly dreary life. Her frank examinations lead to many changes, including an extramarital fling, and her voice touches a timeless nerve, resonating on many levels— from the ever-evolving feminist consciousness to the gnawing existential search that is universal. Diary of a Mad Housewife’s humor and insight are as alive and pertinent today as they were yesterday, and will charm and disarm men and women of any generation. [close]
date added	03-01-07 edit book

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oriana rated it:

09/12/07

bookshelves: read-2007

Oh this book is just terrific. The prose is so light and airy and flows so beautifully... which all belies the pretty serious things that go on.

Written in the late '60s, re-released a few years ago by Thunder's Mouth, this is the story of Bettina Balser, an upper-middle-class housewife who is freaking out about the stifling life she finds herself in the thick of. The characters (her husband, his 'classy' friends, the housekeeper, their children and neighbors) are perfectly drawn, and the di...more Oh this book is just terrific. The prose is so light and airy and flows so beautifully... which all belies the pretty serious things that go on.

Written in the late '60s, re-released a few years ago by Thunder's Mouth, this is the story of Bettina Balser, an upper-middle-class housewife who is freaking out about the stifling life she finds herself in the thick of. The characters (her husband, his 'classy' friends, the housekeeper, their children and neighbors) are perfectly drawn, and the dialogue is impeccable. This story is wholly believable, and fantastically put together. Highly, highly recommended.

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Update. You know, this book has really stuck in my head since I recently finished it. And I'm actually really unhappy (in retrospect) about the ending. I don't want to 'ruin' it, though this isn't really that kind of book, but basically, everything just gets tied up in a far too terrific way. Bettina and her husband have been in a silent, seething fight for months, the kind of fight that encompases their entire lives, really, where neither would even consider backing down, because it would be anathema to even think that they might be at fault. And but then there's this crazy climax scene where finally everything comes out, kind of, and hubby just breaks down. Not only does he back down, but he completely puts the whole thing on himself, takes responsibility for all the awfulness that they've both been going through. Not that I think he was wrong to do so (obvs, the book is from Bettina's pov, so we're likely going to side with her), but it's almost too wonderful to have him go through such a change of heart like that. It's like a fantasy ending, the kind of resolution that people who happen to be in sometimes-contentious relationships (no one I know of course) only dream of. Which just made me sadder and sadder the more I've been thinking about it, that Sue Kauffman either just took the happily-ever-after, easy way out, or was so depressed by her own situation (sorry, I read most everything as if it's autobiographically-based) that she had to dream up an if-only and put it together, maybe as something to hold up as a beacon of hope.

I still like the book immensely, but I sorta want to retract my earlier rapturous proclamation of the book's believability and all that. ...less

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Diary of a Mad Housewife: A Novel

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