Review: My Lovely Wife

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS

What a disturbing piece of work. The premise is full of promise—a husband and wife who together fantasize about and then plan the murder of young women in their community. From the beginning, however, there is something just a tad askew, and this author makes deliberate choices to foster that feeling of imbalance and unease.

The initial choice is in the format—a first-person narrative, told by an unreliable, self-centered father of two. His style is almost “simple” as he periodically drifts into a retelling of the past that is disjointed and served in bite-sized snippets sprinkled generously over the pages. He makes the leap so often as to create a dizzying and sometimes surreal reading experience.

The second choice is in making the narrator so damn unlikable. His entire life is clearly a series of events controlled by his wife, though he is supposedly blissfully unaware of just how completely he is being manipulated. The reader, however, is permitted to glimpse this lack of awareness as his story unfolds and his world systematically and deliberately shrinks, threatening to suffocate him in the process—or at least that’s what he tells us. It is as if he is sleepwalking through a fog, though if the reader chooses to do so, he can squint and just make out what’s hidden there. In this way it is a tale of two halves—a straightforward story that can be, if desired, examined for myriad not-so-hidden clues as to what lies just around the bend.

Another interesting and disconcerting choice by the author is to render the narrator somehow “less” by never even giving him a name. This makes it difficult for the reader to fully engage, as without a name we are left with the knowledge that we really don’t know him at all beyond what he is willing to share. Every fact, story and recollection is suspect, as they are offered only after being processed through his filter, possibly full of omissions and half-truths. It is impossible to believe that the narrator is as gullible and naive as he presents himself to be.

In the end, though I can’t say I “liked” this book, I did appreciate the author’s artistry, particularly her ability to keep me from ever feeling “sure-footed”. I questioned everything, making the reading more mental-gymnastics than enjoyable.

Four stars for a unique approach and flawless follow-through. Just not my cuppa joe.

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