Wife on the Run in Aussie Readers

Sep 07, 2014 Brenda rated it liked it

Shelves: aussie-authors, sent-by-publisher, 2014-release, contemporary-fiction, arc, own-read, uncorrected-proof

3.5★s

The horror Paula McInnes felt as she was viewing the screen in front of her was intense. This could not be happening! But the school principal assured her it was – she gathered her shell-shocked thirteen year old, Caitlin, and they headed home together. But she was startled to find her eleven year old son Lachie sitting on the front step waiting for her…

As Paula tried to process what had happened, she needed her husband Hamish home from work so they could discuss the situation. But of cours 3.5★s

The horror Paula McInnes felt as she was viewing the screen in front of her was intense. This could not be happening! But the school principal assured her it was – she gathered her shell-shocked thirteen year old, Caitlin, and they headed home together. But she was startled to find her eleven year old son Lachie sitting on the front step waiting for her…

As Paula tried to process what had happened, she needed her husband Hamish home from work so they could discuss the situation. But of course he wasn’t answering his phone – a person more dedicated and involved in his work she had yet to find, but the detriment to their family life was great. When his reaction on speaking to Caitlin ended up with Hamish in hospital with a serious injury, the problems accelerated. But it was what Paula discovered while Hamish was in hospital that was the final straw.

Paula’s seventy year old dad Sid had been living in the caravan in their back yard for some months; a spritely old man who had lost his beloved wife a year earlier, Sid was a wonderful Gramps to the children, and Paula loved him dearly. When Paula decided to take Caitlin and Lachie, along with her dad and the caravan and travel around Australia for at least three months, he supported her fully. She needed to get away – couldn’t stand the sight of her husband any longer – and her rules were simple; no technology at all. The children were devastated; how could they possibly manage without their phones, their Facebook; but Paula was adamant…

Travelling from Melbourne and sharing the driving with Sid, Paula felt the rigidity and stresses of her life gradually leave her. As they made their way across the Nullabor Plains after leaving Adelaide, Paula could see the changes in Caitlin and Lachie; she could feel the changes in herself. But what about the past? She just wasn’t ready to make any decisions yet…

Wife on the Run was written beautifully for the most part by Aussie author Fiona Higgins. The characters were well fleshed out – I loved Sid and his dry sense of humour. The descriptions of their travels throughout Australia, around the coast of Victoria into South Australia and up to Adelaide are all locations I know well, so visualising the beauty of the countryside was easy. The story seemed to move in an uneasy rhythm; parts of it where I raced along, laughing out loud, then parts I didn’t enjoy and so skimmed a few pages. This is a book about family, love and loss and about finding yourself when you didn’t think it possible. Recommended.

With thanks to TRR and the publisher for my uncorrected proof to read and review.
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Oct 05, 2014 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, arc-are

In Fiona Higgins' Wife on the Run, Paula McInnes has been married to her husband Hamish for 17 years and is the mother of two teenage children, fourteen year old Caitlin and thirteen year old, Lachie. The family lives an ordinary, comfortable life in the Australian suburbs which is irrevocably changed when first Caitlin is the victim of a Facebook 'sex' scandal, and then, when Hamish is injured in an accident, Paula discovers what her husband has really been doing during his late nights 'working
In Fiona Higgins' Wife on the Run, Paula McInnes has been married to her husband Hamish for 17 years and is the mother of two teenage children, fourteen year old Caitlin and thirteen year old, Lachie. The family lives an ordinary, comfortable life in the Australian suburbs which is irrevocably changed when first Caitlin is the victim of a Facebook 'sex' scandal, and then, when Hamish is injured in an accident, Paula discovers what her husband has really been doing during his late nights 'working' from home.
Shocked and angry, Paula makes a snap decision to pull her children out of school and, along with her father Sid, embark on a three month caravanning tour around Australia, leaving Hamish behind. Freed from their structured routine, and with a ban on technology enforced, the family quickly embrace the pleasures of the journey - beautiful scenery, friendly locals, 'drinkypoo's' at sunset and for the teens, a growing sense of independence thanks to Grandpa Sid's 'life lessons'.
With her guard down, Paula is surprised to find herself susceptible to the charms of a charismatic Brazilian they meet on the road. Meanwhile, after a ten day bender, Hamish decides his life is empty without his wife and children in it, and sets out to catch up with them, but ends up making a detour or two along the way. Both Paula and Hamish are on the run, but neither of them are exactly sure if it is from or to one another.

Told from the dual perspectives of Paula and Hamish, Wife on the Run unfolds at a quick, entertaining pace. Part social commentary, part 'road trip' farce, Higgins tempers the serious themes of the novel - the perils of social media, marital breakdown, aging and self discovery - with some slightly absurd plot twists including an ever obliging tour bus operator, an illicit rendezvous, a Brazilian (of both types), and a lucky bet on the Melbourne Cup.

Strong but flawed characters, and the complicated dynamics between them, should resonate in one way or another with most readers. There is no denying that Paula is a bit of a control freak but she is largely a sympathetic character despite the mistakes she makes. Hamish is often a boorish sleaze but not entirely irredeemable, Sid is a treasure, and the children are fairly typical teens. The supporting cast is rich and varied, including 'Doggo', Marcelo, 'Farken' Frank, and Lisel17, all whom offer surprises you probably won't see coming.

Natural, if often earthy, language and dialogue is spiked with 'Australian-isms' and more than one surprisingly explicit sexual scene. There is plenty of humour, both overt and sly, but also astute and serious observations. The landscape, as the characters travel through South Australia, Western Australia and up to the Northern Territory, is familiar with a hint of the exotic.

Provocative, sharply insightful and wildly entertaining, Wife On the Run is not what you may expect from the synopsis but it is an engaging journey through love, heartbreak and self discovery.
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Sep 07, 2014 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: australian, aww2014, issues

Wife and mother of two teenagers Paula McInnes has her safe and comfortable world rocked twice in days, both times by technology. The first time involves her 14yo daughter Caitlin and a facebook picture, the second involves her husband of 17 years Hamish and some indiscretions she discovers via his mobile phone. Determined to get away from it all, Paula decides to load up her two children and her 80yo father and just get away from it all. Do that caravan trip around Australia that she’s always p Wife and mother of two teenagers Paula McInnes has her safe and comfortable world rocked twice in days, both times by technology. The first time involves her 14yo daughter Caitlin and a facebook picture, the second involves her husband of 17 years Hamish and some indiscretions she discovers via his mobile phone. Determined to get away from it all, Paula decides to load up her two children and her 80yo father and just get away from it all. Do that caravan trip around Australia that she’s always planned to do.

There are several rules on the trip but the most important one is no personal technology. iPods are to be communal, played in the car between destinations. Anything else Paula wants strictly prohibited, wanting them to focus on the experience, not uploading it to facebook. She agrees with her father’s suggestion that they bypass the official homework and Paula hands the kids education over to him for some ‘life lessons’.

But running away is never the answer and when Hamish sets out in pursuit and Paula and the crew pick up a traveler on the road, things are going to get a bit more complicated. Paula is going to have to sort out her head and what she wants….and then face her future.

I absolutely loved Fiona Higgins’ book The Mothers’ Club so when I heard about this one I immediately added it to my the top of books I had to read. I’m really interested in books that are exploring social media and the negative aspects of them as well, so this book plays into that interest perfectly. My children are younger than Paula’s but I feel like I’m going to need to be prepared for this sort of thing early. My son is 6 and has an iPod touch which we monitor but already he’s asking what facebook is and can he have it. When I was in high school, it was prior to the myspace, facebook etc craze and cyber bullying hadn’t even been thought of.

Paula has what is no doubt, a very bad day. Firstly she’s called to her daughter’s school to be shown a post on facebook that has been made, concerning her daughter. There’s a graphic photo and her 14yo daughter has been excused from school until they discover the culprit, get the photo taken down and sort it all out. To make it worse, after her husband has an accident, Paula discovers incriminating messages on his phone, which devastates her. It’s clear that things haven’t been going well for them for a while and she makes the decision to take off on a trip around Australia with her children and her father while Hamish is still recovering in hospital.

I love the idea of the trip around Australia, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I also didn’t blame her for her desire to get away, especially from her husband. Hamish struck me as a bit of a traditional sort of guy, he went to work and earned the money and contributed very little to what happened at home. In the book you get Hamish’s point of view occasionally and some of his thoughts made me cringe. As a woman who has had two children, his views on his wife’s body post childbirth and her lack of interest in sexual relations were really blunt and at at times, cruel. Even as he’s chasing his wife and family across the country, attempting to prove that he can change and that he wants Paula back and for them to begin a new life together, Hamish is betraying her. He seems incapable of actually putting anyone other than himself first and every time he was back on the page, I just wanted him gone again.

The journey Paula and her family take sounds like such fun, especially once Paula loosens up and turns her two kids over to her dad for ‘life lessons’. When the kids complain that Paula’s cooking is ‘crap’ he gives them the week’s shopping budget and instructs them to buy what they want with the warning that they’ll have to eat it and it’ll have to last them the week because they won’t be buying anything else. The two children go mad buying the sort of food that they think they want to eat but after a few days, it’s clear that they’re learning a valuable lesson about what sort of food their bodies need. I absolutely loved the character of Paula’s dad. He’s such a funny old bloke, full of wisdom and charm. I have to admit, I did find his luck on the punt a bit far-fetched until I saw this article, which may have been the inspiration for his success in the 2012 Melbourne Cup! I also feel a bit miffed, as I backed the winner of the Melbourne Cup in 2012 but did not get anywhere near as lucky as Paula’s dad!

I loved the way this book explored social media and its impacts on not only teenagers but also an entire family – this photo is after all, the catalyst for everything that follows. It’s also an exploration of marriage, or rather the implosion of one. Paula is horrified to discover what Hamish has really been doing on his laptop late at night, especially who he has been doing it with. Hamish’s thoughts, as I’ve mentioned, are often really hard to read. In a society where women are already judged on their ability to “snap back” to their pre-baby bodies after giving birth, hearing those sorts of thoughts from the man who fathered Paula’s children…. who watched her give birth to them….. who was supposed to love her, was horrible. I felt so sorry for her, that he felt that way looking at her, even though he didn’t voice those thoughts to her. I actually loathed Hamish far more for his view of Paula than I did for his other actions.

I have to admit, my interest did wane during some of the more fantastical parts of the road trip, such as the “Brazilian” Marcello and Hamish’s repeated interactions with a mysterious Indigenous man who appears to help him at the most desperate times. However the parts of the story concerning family and marriage and relationships kept me utterly fascinated. ...more

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Apr 18, 2015 Tanya rated it liked it

I really enjoyed the Mothers Group so had high hopes for this book...unfortunately, it fell a little flat.

The book started with a bang, great premise, and jumping straight into these characters lives. The middle, however, seemed to drag as they negotiated predictable plot twists. The end then, took an even further turn (although that had a few surprises in store at least!).

I didn't find Paula or Hamish to be very likeable characters, about halfway through the book I came to the realisation that ...more

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