A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Post your discussion here.

I picked up my interlibrary loan copy today. :P

Lisa wrote: "I picked up my interlibrary loan copy today. :P"

Nobody likes a show off! (jk)

I'm waiting for my copy. I should have it next week.

I got my copy of A Reliable Wife on Friday (call it a divorce present). I'm anxious to start reading it. I need to clear some things off the shelf first.

I'll probably start in the next day or two, after I finish The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. I'm also trying to read Dune for the Modern Library Challenge book group. I'm happy if I read about 25 pages a day in that.

How are you enjoying Deliverance Dane? OOOOH - I can't wait to talk about it with someone who's read it. It's making the rounds of some members of my face to face book group. But it will take time before everyone reads it.

So far, I like it. It's got a dark almost ghost story quality.

It does. In some ways it reminded of The Thirteenth Tale.

I reread The Crucible this year, and also read Cotton Mathers account of the Salem Witch trials; which my son was studying in English Lit this year. I'm glad I did, because it was a great refresher for Physick.

I picked up my audio copy from the library today. I started it on my way home which was only about 10 min, but I think it is going to be really good. Still on the waiting list for the other one, but I have moved up to #2!

Started reading tonight! :=)

I was fortunate to have gotten an ARC of Deliverance and devoured it right up. I'm interested in a conversation with you all when you've finished it, too!

I finished The Reliable Wife today, but am waiting to post my response until a few of you have completed it. Plus, I think I need a little time to gather my thoughts on this one.

You have intrigued me. I have to read for comps, or else. This will be my reward for being a studious person (and not playing with my new mac). Looking forward to reading and discussing it with everyone.

I won't post any spoilers at this point, just make a few general comments about the book until more people have finished reading it. So......

Ralph wanted a reliable wife and Catherine wanted money and love. This is a dark tale of hidden secrets and the lengths people will go to get what they want. Set in snowbound rural Wisconsin and the seedy streets of St. Louis, the reader is introduced to a world of depravity and licentiousness. This book was like a train wreck that I couldn't help watching out of pure morbidity.

The plot was suspenseful, but I found the characters to be morally corrupt and not really redeemable. Ralph was a tiny bit sympathetic, but enough already with the never-ending sex on the brain. Catherine's tug-of-war with good and evil left me exhausted and still not liking her even in the times that the good won out. I thought Ralph's son was a caricature of a spoiled, rich unloved son. Despite my dislike of the characters, I still found myself reading and drawn to the outcome.

I'm anxious to see how everyone else felt about this book.

I'm not liking these characters much so it's slow going. I picked up The Book of Night Women which is sitting in to tbr pile and it sucked me right in.

I finished this book over the weekend and was so disappointed. I'm not sure what the Bookmarks reviews saw that I didn't, but I was not impressed.

I agree with Lisa's assessment completely. I would add that the "twists" seemed completely implausible and the choices of the characters didn't ring true for me. Additionally, the writing style of the author was not my cup of tea.

Sample quote: "It was, she realized now, the beginning of desire. It was glory, the light,and the crimson clouds. It was the face of Jesus. It was love. Love without end. Desire without object. She had never known or felt it since."

I felt there was a bit too much of these cliche-filled ramblings. I've had a tendency lately to give up early on if something isn't grabbing me, but I read this one to the end and still had trouble finding redeeming qualities.

I will say his descriptions of the landscape and settings were successful, but I didn't get a real sense of the time period as much as the location. Good read for the beach as you felt those Wisconsin winters.

I got the sense that the majority of the world was either morally bankrupt, insane, sexually depraved, alcoholic or drug addicted. I thought the characters made some weird choices and had some pretty bizarre reactions to the plot unfolding around them, which as Melissa said seemed completely implausible.

Ditto, ditto, ditto! I said in my review that I thought if there was ever a male sexually represssed author who wanted to write a gothic bodice ripper this was the one. I intensely DISLIKED this book!

I am still number 8o on the waiting list for this book in our county-wide library system as of yesterday. Based on the comments, I am quite reluctant to actually buy this book.

I have a feeling that waiting list will shorten considerably pretty quickly - I don't think most people will finish this book. I wouldn't recommend buying either!

I was listening to this on audio and couldn't get into the story, so I thought maybe I would pick up a print copy. After reading all of the postings on here, I think I am going to focus on our other selection because many people seem to be enjoying it...and my copy is FINALLY ready for pickup tomorrow!

I was going to buy this book, but with all the comments I'm reading here I think I'll go on to other books unless someone can come up with a good reason why I should read it!