A Reliable Wife
It’s a snow day here in Atlanta. Not much snow, but we’re completely unequipped to deal with it. Our Nordic-like conditions this morning reminded me of Robert Goolrick’s excellent novel A Reliable Wife. And then I remembered that I forgot to write about it after reading it last winter. Mea culpa. Well, better late than never.
A Reliable Wife takes place in the frozen wilds of Wisconsin. A wealthy industrialist has separated himself from everyone who lives and works near him. They are essentially his employees. He waits in the cold for his new wife to arrive by train. A wife that he has never met that has responded to his advertisement in the Chicago papers for “a reliable wife.” As one might expect, a person who answers such an add must be looking to escape to a better place. This wife brings with her secrets of an unexpected past.
A Reliable Wife reads like a classic – not a “modern classic” but a 19th Century literary classic. It’s a neat trick that Goolrick pulls off here, and he does it with a light touch. I highly recommend this novel (just out in paperback) for your winter reading needs. BGB’s Russ also named it to his Top 3 Books of ’09 list.
January 8, 2010 11:07 am 
Subscribe
