I have waiting far to long to do a full-length review any sort of justice, so this is what you get. That’s beauty of being the author of this blog.

Title: A Reliable Wife
Author: Robert Goolrick
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
ISBN: 1565129776
Pages: 320
Year: 2009
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Source: Personal Collection
Rating: 2.5/5

I thought this was a beautifully written novel. I thought the plot was interesting even if I had no empathy for any of the characters. And I loved the dark side to it.  But (and here is the big BUT that caused my rating for this book to plummet)  there was simply too much focus on sex. And now the review is going to digress into a general rant.

I don’t think I’m a prude (although maybe I am given this post) but I kind of feel that books are better than sex. I understand that it is a part of life and I don’t mind it being in a book. But I do mind when it is so much of the book. And when it seems entirely unnecessary. I don’t need to know about Ralph’s inner desires. I just don’t. And I don’t think people in general are as driven by sex as the characters in this book are. We fill our music and movies and television with sex. Can’t we have one medium that remains above this?

If there had been less…what’s the right word…desire?…in the book, I think I could have really liked it. But that just turned me off (ironic?) so much that I just couldn’t get into it. I know a lot of people out there LOVED this book so don’t let me stop you from reading it. In fact, I am going to leave you with some gushing reviews since this post really isn’t any kind of review at all (and now after reading those, I think I must have missed something).

• Michelle’s Masterful Musings
• Literate Housewife
• The Book Lady’s Blog
• S. Krishna’s Books
• There are actually a bunch more. These were just the four most recent in my google reader. Everyone else except me and my book club) loved this book.