How To Be a Good Wife (Chapman) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
This novel surely belongs within that subgenre of Gothic literature associated with the persecuted woman…But How to Be a Good Wife is distinguished from the typical tale of the persecuted woman by its absence of Gothic shadows. Here all is white. The house is spotless; the outside world is blanketed in snow; the sky is cloudless. The effect is to heighten the horror. There is darkness, but it resides within Marta's sick mind. More crucially, Chapman has written Marta's story with a brilliant twist: it can be read either as a descent into insanity or as the tale of a woman severely psychologically traumatized…Chapman's accomplishment is to confine us so closely within poor Marta's nightmare that no certain reading of her experience is possible.
Patrick McGrath - New York Times Book Review


[C]hilling.... Cracks begin to appear in Marta’s formerly comfortable life.... As she examines more closely what’s beneath her family’s habits and some of her own memories, she becomes certain that she has uncovered a terrible dark truth that—if she reveals it—will tear their lives apart. Despite a far-fetched conclusion, Chapman excels at creating tension and suspense.
Publishers Weekly


In an unnamed Scandinavian village, Marta lives a claustrophobic life with her controlling husband, Hector. Her son is grown, her nest empty, and her husband's solution to her increasingly dark and unsettling moods are the little pink pills he forces upon her each day. In an act of rebellion, Marta stops taking the pills and begins to experience startling flashbacks and increasing waves of anger and suspicion. Are they the result of drug withdrawal, or is she remembering another life, before Hector?
Library Journal


[C]lever chiller.... Marta stopped taking her medication after her son left home and is being visited by a series of images—or are they repressed memories?...  Although some may find the ambiguous ending frustrating, others will be drawn into this claustrophobic examination of the meaning of marriage. —Joanne Wilkinson
Booklist


A mad housewife learns that her problems may not all be imaginary in Chapman's disquieting debut.... [T]he twist that propels expectations in a whole new direction is masterfully wrought. However, the outcome...will leave readers, particularly feminists and/or victims' advocates, very dissatisfied indeed. Gripping but rather implausible.
Kirkus Reviews