Questions About The Wife

by Meg Wolitzer

Reader Q&A

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Answered Questions (6)

What's the secret at the end of the book? Spoil it for me please.

Angela Blech. No comeuppance, no rising above the circumstances, just ick..

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Should I bother with reading this book before watching the movie? Glenn Close is winning #AllTheAwards for it so I'm thinking of just skipping reading it and just enjoying the movie.

june3 I agree with Marcie.
There are very few movies that can hold a candle to the depth and power of the original book. The Wife is not very long, and then…moreI agree with Marcie.
There are very few movies that can hold a candle to the depth and power of the original book. The Wife is not very long, and then you can read some of Meg Wolitzer's other books. My favorite is "The Interestings."(less)

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I had loved "The Interestings" and decided to try an earlier novel of hers. I found this one very readable but the characters seemed hollow. Do others agree?

gillianmarie I feel like that’s kind of the point - we are given a cursory look at Joan’s personal and family history and never learn much about her because she is…moreI feel like that’s kind of the point - we are given a cursory look at Joan’s personal and family history and never learn much about her because she is “The Wife” - she is defined through her relationship to Joe. Much like Rachel Cusk’s recent work Outline, where the main character is extricating herself from a marriage: we don’t even learn her name in the first book of the trilogy. We only get a vague idea of who she is, because she doesn’t know herself. (Her character is fleshed out in the next two books of the series.) (less)

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Just finished reading this. Would be interested in opinions of others.

Beth Read the reviews

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Is there a lot of profanity and sex in this book?

Helen There’s a fair amount of both. But there’s also profound prose and a look into a snapshot of American history, and “the wall that separates the sexes.

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