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Jan 31, 2012

Lora rated it:

Actual rating: 1.5 stars generously rounded up to 2

There are some spoilers.

This novel centers around Ralph Truitt, a man who's been wronged many times — and his misfortunes are far from over. Mind you, Truitt isn't a saint, but in this reader's opinion he doesn't deserve what happens to him in this novel.
It all starts when Truitt puts an ad in the paper looking for a "reliable wife". But the women he comes to marry is anything but reliable. (She's also a f More...

11 comments like (35 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Annalisa rated it:

Halfway through this book, sick of every character having a wanton, unquenchable libido, I wanted to shout at Goolrick, "If you want some that bad, get some and then come back to the story." It wasn't raunchy or descriptive or anything like that. It was just an undertone that tainted the novel with an erotic feel. I didn't question one lustful character with a history of excessive sleeping around, but every single one was a bit much. I will give Goolrick credit that despite this being More...

6 comments like (14 people liked it)

Aug 13, 2011

The Holy Terror rated it:

At first I was drawn to this book because of it's apparent similarities to the movie, Original Sin, which I happen to love and think is both dark and sexy - hey, it's a guilty pleasure. This book though, is a lot different from what I originally imagined it would be. It's incredibly well-written, dark and poetic, sexy, disturbing, and sad. I was surprised at some of the twists and turns the story took and I have to say I was pleasantly misled into thinking I knew what was going on. This is one o More...

19 comments like (18 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2010

Amber rated it:

**Contains Spoilers*

I read the summary, I was intrigued. I read the critical acclaim remarks, I was impressed.

I read the book and I was... disappointed.

While there are several places where the glimmer of genius shone through the prose--a turn of phrase or a beautiful sentence--it was by far one of the most self-indulgent, masturbatory works I've ever read. The Author is far too in love with his writing to see the flaws he creates. Four pages of "He More...

24 comments like (108 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2011

Ehrrin rated it:

from NPR: Best Books For A Book Club? Lynn Neary's '09 Picks:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2011

Jessica S. rated it:

The story had potential, even though it's been done a hundred times. A lonely, rich man places an ad in the paper for "a reliable wife," and a beautiful, mysterious woman answers, with the hidden intent of killing him and taking his fortune.

The main problem I had with this book was the length--it could have easily been cut in half had the author not felt the need to repeat and over-elaborate on every little detail. It took an immense amount of discipline not to fast forwar More...

9 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2009

Robin rated it:

Even though I have alredy sent this, I am updating for my Best of 2009 list:

This was a terrific novel with the gothic feel of past novels such as REBECCA and the recent THIRTEENTH TALE. In 1907 Catherine Land answers an ad for a “reliable wife” to the wealthy businessman Ralph Truitt. He knows nothing of her sordid past nor does he have any idea of her plans, which is to leave rural Wisconsin a wealthy widow (in her suitcase is a small blue bottle filled with a nasty substance). B More...

4 comments like (23 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2012

Edith rated it:

I picked this book up at the library because of Sara Gruen's (author of Water for Elephants) comment on the front cover- "Astonishing, complex, beautifully written, and brilliant." Okay, so I haven't read Water for Elephants yet but it's been highly recommended and I have it on my shelf. I figured if Sara Gruen was touting this book, it must be pretty good.

Oh my, it was not what I expected. I have never read those "dime a dozen" romance novels whose covers featur More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2010

Tara rated it:

They say that men think about sex approximately every seven seconds. This book mentions sex approximately every seven seconds and seeing the author is male, I no longer question the seven second theory. The storyline is a pretty good idea. Man places an ad in the paper for a reliable wife. Woman responds with hidden intentions of killing the man slowly with arsenic, making herself a wealthy widow. However, upon meeting the man's son, her plans may or may not change. The son addition may sh More...

27 comments like (66 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2011

Raya rated it:

I know they say sex sells, but this was ridiculous. If they weren’t doing the deed, they were talking about it, or thinking about it, or it was just lingering in the air somehow. That by itself didn’t make this a bad novel. It just lacked so much substance and the intrigue I was hoping for. It’s like the author relied on sex to make up for a badly executed novel.

The premise of A Reliable Wife sounded intriguing. It’s the early 1900’s. A guy puts an ad in for “a reliable wife” and, i More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2011

Lou rated it:

Beautifully written emotions of loss, love and redemption. The plot is well woven and exciting you take a step into the darkness of the heart and of their mistakes and losses of love and finding of new love and chances of redemption. You really want love to be found and the relationship to work for the two main characters but also you anticipate who will be killed off an enjoyable easy read, atmospheric set in rural Wisconsin 1907 during bitter cold snow.
http://more2read.com/?review=a-reli More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2010

Kim rated it:

A decent, engrossing read, but it's really not anything unique. It's a little bit Michael Lesy's Wisconsin Death Trip (which Goolrick cites as the inspiration), and a lot Cornell Woolrich's Waltz Into Darkness, which inspired the 2001 film Original Sin with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie. If you're acquainted with any of these works, you'll be in familiar territory here.
Just cutting to the chase - the storyline is predictable and the ending a little unsettled. It's not wholly wit More...

4 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2011

Chana rated it:

I am so good at only reading when I have time but this time I stayed up all night, I did not want to put it down, I was captivated from the very beginning and that feeling never went away. Even the ending was as good as the rest of it, and I am convinced that endings are the most difficult part of a book to write.
A lonely wealthy man in Wisconsin advertises for "a reliable wife". His ad is answered, a correspondence ensues and then she finally arrives on the train. But who is More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 18, 2010

Dagny rated it:

I kindled this book, inspired by a stormy Friday night home alone, hoping for a romantic transportation to a Wisconsin winter a century ago. The premise is good, some fellow, (a rich rural industrialist) advertises for a reliable wife and this female character turns up much prettier than the picture she sent, but that is just the least of her deception. Anyway, on it goes, murky pasts and dramatic ongoings, but soon I found myself realizing that this book was a hollow, repetitious, skeletal fra More...

5 comments like (15 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2011

Dorothy rated it:

This book was recommended to me quite some time ago by family members, but the time never seemed right to read it. This week, though, as I needed a new book and nothing on my TBR bookshelf appealed to me, I remembered this book and decided to give it a try. I'm very glad I did.

Goolrick has an almost poetic way with the language and builds suspense beautifully in this, his first, novel. It is a very gothic tale. As I was reading it, for some reason I kept thinking of Edgar Allan P More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 26, 2011

Kelly rated it:

What Catherine Land did not realize that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own.

Is it just me, or did Ralph axe her after the book was over? For someone who struck me as a

Catherine did not get what was coming to her. Perhaps I missed it. But besides repetitive story telling, this was what irked me the most.

And woah Nelly Time Out NY. I'm no authority on 'Hitchcock,' but this is a hell of crap example of 'weighty.' Perhap More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 08, 2009

Jackie rated it:

This book, the #1 IndieNext list pick for April 2009, is an infinite loop of love turning to hate and hate turning to love and what all that kinetic passion does to the people who experience it. Set mainly in rural Wisconsin in the depths of the winter of 1907, this is a story of a wealthy man and his mail-order bride at it's very basic root. Both of these people have dark histories that they are trying to forget--or are they? They are strangers to each other--or are they? All that is true i More...

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2010

Denise rated it:

I read this novel in one day, my first novel of 2010, and I could not put it down. It is the type of novel that gets under your skin and is difficult to shake for several days. It was a unique story, the characters were extremely compelling, and the atmosphere was very dark and Gothic. If this novel was ever made into a movie, I would expect it to be set in perpetual snow and gray fog.

Other reviewers here have set forth the main story here so I won't reiiterate it. I agree with More...

1 comment like (12 people liked it)

Dec 07, 2008

Laura rated it:

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick,

ISBN 9781565125964, Algonquin Books

$23.95, March 2009

With A Reliable Wife, Robert Goolrick has given us a rare treat, a story so good we are loathe to start another book for fear it will fail utterly in comparison.

It is 1907 and Ralph Truitt is seeking a wife. Catherine Land is the woman who answers his call. In the midst of a swirling snowstorm, she steps off of the train and into his life. She is not what he More...

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

Apr 18, 2009

Sarah rated it:

I waited two days from the time I finished this to update my review. In all seriousness, I could not decide between three and four. I couldn't figure out if I loved it or liked it.

There were certain parts that I thought warranted five stars, but others that I simply didn't care for. The opening scene of Ralph Truitt waiting for the train, with the whispering town all around him was so evocative, desperate, and beautiful. The parts in St. Louis after Catherine Land found Truitt' More...

0 comments like (26 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2011

Valerie rated it:

This was not really what I expected this story to be... the repetitive phrases, continuously rehashing incidents, and sex sex sex!! Don't get me wrong... I don't mind a little sex in a story... but the author can't go 2/3 pages without mentioning sex in some capacity or other. Became quite boring to me, actually. I almost put the book down after the first 11 pages because of all the repetitive phrasing ("The train was late"... how many times did he REALLY need to say that to get the p More...

5 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2010

Heather rated it:

This book gets three stars for being well-written, but as far as my actual enjoyment of it, this would be more like a two-star read. I was expecting something fabulous, especially since Borders is currently pimping the hell out of this book. There’s a huge display for it at the front of the store, copies of it at every checkout, and if that’s not enough, one employee even recommended it to me as I was browsing. Sadly enough, I had already been sucked in by the display on a previous visit, so More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 22, 2010

Heather rated it:

Wow. This story was really…..different. I felt conflicted the whole time I was reading it. One minute enjoying it, the next not so much. I knew going into this that it was going to be a dark story. I had read a few reviews beforehand and knew that some people thought it was gratuitous and raunchy. Yeah. There is a HUGE sex theme running throughout the story. And I’m not talking about sweet romance kinda lovin’. It’s raw, in your face, raunchy, and even creepy at times. I thought it was too much, More...

9 comments like (9 people liked it)

Apr 13, 2011

Carol rated it:

5 star writing, 4 star plot...
A truly compelling debut, this psychological read will stay with me for a long time. Highly sensuous and filled with brooding passion, there are many passages I could write in a journal and keep but to quote them here reveals too much of the story. Desire, passion, obsession are all themes that are explored beautifully. Goolrick can write. He knows that erotica is not just about the sex.

Set against the chilling landscape of early 1900's Wisconsin, Go More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 15, 2011

Valerie rated it:

Ralph Truitt, a wealthy business man in turn of the century Wisconsin, has everything a man could want – power, respect, money, prestige – everything but love. Overcome by his need for companionship, he places a newspaper ad for a “reliable wife,” - a simple, honest woman. Catherine Land answers his ad and the deception begins, for all is not as it appears. Catherine is plagued by her own demons, her own past, and her own ambitions. However, while plotting to poison her new husband and become we More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 04, 2009

Sara rated it:

This book builds slowly, establishing characters and situations and gradually introducing layers of complexity to the story and its inhabitants. Goolrick’s writing is gripping, keeping the reader drawn to the page while the story inches deliberately forward.

The desperation of the people in this isolated settlement is shown through the stories of rampant and sudden madness that overtakes them in the depths of the interminable winters. Everyone in this story is desperate somehow – More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Apr 20, 2009

Nalana rated it:

I received this book (ARC) as a winner of a goodreads.com contest. I was very excited to recieve this book, as the story sounded unique and interesting.

Overall, the story was good. The intertwined relationships between the characters was surprising and a unique twist to the story. Unfortunately, I found the characters to be rather flat - I never felt connected to them or felt their pains or joys. They were quite two-dimensional.

I gave the book three stars because I appre More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2011

Megan rated it:

I couldn't even get through the first chapter. The writing style was simply not for me. The first several pages were a chore...all the waiting and the failing and the failing and the waiting. In the cold. For the train. With the WAITING and FAILING. I GET IT. It was like Joey when he was getting ready to do Monica and Chandler's wedding. The waiting and the failing and the failing and the waiting. Gah!
Since I found myself avoiding the book rather than picking it up to read, I decided to m More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 27, 2008

Stacey rated it:

Intense. Atmospheric (has been compared to Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, and I can see that). Sooooo good. Some of the sexual content will not be for everyone, and tipped my own scales in terms of comfort level, but I could not let this story go. Or maybe it couldn't let me go. You just get so consumed by what is going on. I *had* to know how it would end.

1 comment like (13 people liked it)

Apr 03, 2009

Shannon rated it:

Don't let the title deter you. This book was a great escape. The characters were not ones that I could relate to, which is rare when reading a novel. Usually there is one character that I can identify with. Each character is shockingly selfish, driven and not likable. I found myself blowing through the pages to see their next wicked move. The author has one moment that caught me by complete surprise. I never suspected the twist. It was the feeling when someone jumps out at you from arou More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)