Hey There, Bookworms!
In case you’re new here, you should know that I’m an equal opportunity bookworm. Much as I absolutely ADORE you, my digital community, I sometimes interact with people face to face. In fact, I am a part of not one but TWO in-real-life book clubs. I refer to one as “Wine and Whining” and the other as “My Neighbors are Better Than Your Neighbors.” I’m very literal in my descriptions. Anyway. This month’s selection for My Neighbors are Better Than Your Neighbors was bittersweet.
That’s right, one of my neighbors is moving and shall no longer be my neighbor… Except in spirit, obviously. I don’t know that she’d be pleased with me using her actual name, so I’ll give her a pseudonym. We’ll call her Agatha. Agatha is a fabulous neighbor and a great book club member. She is retired now, but she used to work as a psychologist (or something closely related) PLUS her brother lives on a mountain with goats. You really can’t beat a book club member who can speak with authority on the human mind AND goats. (Alright, she’s not a goat expert or anything, but any time you can work goats into conversation, you do it!)
Since Agatha is moving, she chose this month’s book. She toyed with the idea of choosing Gone Girl, but since most of us had read it already, she opted for The Silent Wife: A Novel by A.S.A. Harrison. (No lie, I totally Freudian slipped while typing that and put in A. S. S. I wouldn’t mention it if it weren’t COMPLETELY APPROPRIATE for this book. Seriously, the dog was named Freud!) Have you ever read a book and thought to yourself, “So and so would LOVE this!” The Silent Wife is SUCH an Agatha book.
So here’s the deal. Jodi and Todd are married. Well, married-ish. They’ve been living together 20+ years and consider themselves to be in a common law marriage. They live in Illinois, which is NOT a state that recognizes common law marriage (this fact becomes rather important.) Jodi cooks, keeps house, and sees patients in her part time practice as a psychologist. Todd is a real estate developer who divides his time between his comfortable “marriage” and his busy adultery schedule. He likes ’em young, and sometimes, professional (oh yeah people. I’m talking hookers.) Jodi’s not dumb. She’s aware of the infidelity, but since Todd always comes home to her, she’s willing to overlook it. A very modern approach, if you will.
This all works out fairly well, the denial, the cheating, the cute dog named Freud… Until Todd knocks up his young chippy (who happens to be the daughter of his best friend.) Todd is SUCH a slimeball. I mean, he’s got a back story that explains WHY he’s a slimeball, but still. Gross, right? So, the pregnant side girlfriend throws a major monkey wrench into the whole business, and craziness ensues.
Freud also suffers from Snarky Eyebrow Syndrome. (Source)
The Silent Wife was billed as the next Gone Girl. I think the blurb writer was aiming too high in that description. That’s probably part of the reason this book fell flat for me. There were some twists, the occasional turn… But overall I felt like I could see them coming. I had too much knowledge of each character’s past and motivations to be well and truly SHOCKED by anything. Plus, well… This isn’t typically my genre. Psychological thrillers (really, thrillers in general) tend not to be my cuppa. That said, to a receptive audience, this book would be great. It’s solidly written and well characterized, just not really my bag. It is, however, a TOTAL Agatha read. If you gravitate toward this genre (Charleen of Cheap Thrills, I’m looking at you. And Lyssa of Psychobabble. You too.) The Silent Wife might just be a winner.
It makes me a little sad to know Agatha won’t be around in the coming months to push me out of my reading comfort zone. Perhaps we can just Skype her into the meetings. Just because we’re an IRL book club doesn’t mean we can’t utilize technology, right?
Since we’re on the subject of neighbors, I’m sure you’ve ALL got stories. Good neighbors, bad neighbors, apartment neighbors who regularly bring home strange men and give you fleas (oh wait, was that JUST me?) Tell me your neighbor stories!
Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader
Adios to Agatha! I hope you’ll be able to stay in touch with her.
I recently read this and I agree with your thoughts on Todd. What a puke.
We’ve been MOSTLY lucky with neighbors. BUT we have a new one that is WEIRD. He is constantly asking us if we’ve been walking on his lawn. (What?? No you weirdo, we aren’t!) I guess he’s protective of his yard? The yard that now features a broken down truck, a washing machine, and FOUR lawnmowers? Yea, maybe that’s it.
Words for Worms
Ooooh that’s classy. He doesn’t want anyone to mess with the feng shui of his sexy busted truck and washing machine decor.
Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader
Classy indeed! I have to do something about this guy. Ugh.
kristinshafel
I unknowingly moved into an apartment with fleas once! It was HORRIBLE. My landlords didn’t want to do anything about it as far as fog-bombing or spraying or whatever you do. They offered me the apartment across the hall that was opening up a few weeks later, which of course I took. GAH!
Words for Worms
YUCK! I am so paranoid about bugs, as a direct result of our flea incident. We had our apartment complex spray for bugs so many times- it was the 4th round or so when they noticed that the light fixtures had fleas in them. The girl upstairs had been keeping a contraband dog in her place. I love dogs, but if you’re going to have a dog? Treat it for fleas! Those bites are MISERABLE. Said neighbor also ended up on one of those trashy daytime court shows. It was an adventure.
Wayne
Dunno what’s worse fleas or noise. I had a very unneighborly neighbor would moved into my complex about a year after I bought the place. He immediately started playing his stereo very loud about 12 a.m. which continued throughout most of the night. When I innocently asked him to turn the damn thing down he snarled at me and said something like “I’m a lawyer (right!) and I know my rights.” He was an alcoholic of course and neither the cops or homeowner’s association wanted to get involved. I had fantasies about hiring some “goodfellas” and making him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Finally he moved out fortunately. 🙁
Words for Worms
People are weird!
Wayne
I think he was a nasty drunk.
Emily H.
tee hee hee! I find it funny you “named” her Agatha!
Words for Worms
LOL I know! I was reading a book with an Agatha in it, and she likes mysteries so I thought an Agatha Christie reference would have worked too.
Charleen
I actually didn’t much care for it either… because (wait for it…) it wasn’t thrillery ENOUGH! Ha! Apparently there’s a very select niche audience for this book. (Not really a review, but you can read my thoughts on it here: http://wp.me/p2ZSql-gh)
Also, neighbors… our upstairs-across-the-hall neighbor is basically a human cigarette. He stands on his balcony every night (so it’s like kitty-corner up from ours) and smokes, which means we can’t open our windows to take advantage of the lovely summer breeze. (Isn’t smoke supposed to go up? I swear, he must blow it down in our direction.) Keep it inside, Mr. Nasty!
Words for Worms
Ha! I love that. The Silent Wife: The Diet Coke of Thrillers. Cigarette smoke has a way of permeating the ENTIRE WORLD with its stinky.
Megan M.
I bet Freud was an amazing party guest. How could you not be entertained by someone with Snarky Eyebrow Syndrome who thinks everything is about sex?
Meh. Neighbors. I usually don’t know any of them. We move around a lot and tend to keep to ourselves. That probably makes us sound like drug dealers or something. I swear we’re not into anything illegal! LOL
Words for Worms
He would have been hilarious to have at parties… I mean, until he started asking you about your mother. Then it’s like, “noooo go psychoanalyze the guy nobody likes!” You’re probably on federal lists now for publicly saying that you’re not a drug dealer. Because no drug dealer ever says “hey I’m a drug dealer.” So… There’s that. The internet is stalking you.
Andi (@estellasrevenge)
I loved this post. Much more than I enjoyed, Gone Girl, actually. I don’t know that I’ll be reading this one but I do know that Agatha will be losing one hell of a neighbor as she departs. And I’m also a fan of goats in conversation.
Words for Worms
LOL! Oh Gone Girl. I really liked it, but I’ve heard from a few people who weren’t thrilled with it. Hard to live up to all that hype. The good news is that wherever Agatha finds her new book club, she’ll be able to regale them with goat stories via her mountain man brother. I know they milk their goats… I need to make a point to ask about cheese at our next meeting before I lose my chance…
Kelly
As you know, I adored this book, but I totally see how it’s not for everyone…especially if psychological thrillers in particular are not your forte. Glad you got to try it out though!
Sad you’re losing Agatha as a neighbor. I’m moving on Monday and while I’m very excited, one thing I will miss most here are my awesome neighbors. They organize a party for the neighborhood each month, and every September is the annual all-day “block party” (which takes place right in front of our house)…complete with pie-eating contests, talent show, dunk tanks, etc. Seriously, am I ever going to find awesome neighbors like this again? Le sigh.
Samantha
This book sounds like something I might like, I might have to try it out. I liked Gone Girl up until the ending, then I wanted to throw the book across the room. My cousin read it a few months later and had the same reaction. Maddening.
Oh, neighbors. I live in a house that is separated into four or five apartments. There are three on my side, and we all park in the same driveway. With those neighbors, my biggest gripe is parking. I’ve been here longer than both of them and one of them decided she was going to ninja my parking spot by parking her motorcycle on that side and then parking behind it. Then my other neighbor parks too close behind me, so getting my car out in the morning is like a game of Snake. Oh, and the first one sometimes has a friend that comes over at 7:30 a.m. and PARKS RIGHT BEHIND ME. I end up raging my way out of the driveway in the morning especially after I run through the giant hole. Then on the other side, the neighbors I share the balcony with have someone who lives (or visits? Idk) that smokes out there every time I open my bedroom door for air. And it is so permeating! Plus, you know, I have to share the balcony.
Honestly, I love my little apartment. If I get another job I might have to move and I don’t want to give it up, but the neighbor change might be a relief.
Wayne
heh, heh get a stun gun if (and only if!) they’re legal in your state/city. Pound on their apartment door if they box you in again. Ask them nicely to move their car or motorcycle. If you feel threatened you know what to do. . . 😉 In my experience landlords don’t want to get involved in neighbor disputes. And unless you know a cop personally they probably won’t get involved since it is private property.
Lyssapants
You’re right, this sounds like my cuppa. And I’m really gullible when it comes to predicting dramatic turns in TV and movies and books, so maybe this will be awesome for me.
Words for Worms
I thought you’d especially appreciate all the psychology bits. You know. Therapy.
Lyssapants
woot.
Sarah Says Read
Distinctly NOT my cuppa, because ugh jerky-jerk men. But you know, hooray for reading outside of comfort zones!
Words for Worms
Agreed. Jerky jerk men. Poo.
Nish
I loved Gone Girl and Amazon gave me this book recommendation. I usually take Amazon recommendations with a pinch of salt but this book does remind me of Gone Girl – the premise at least.
I think I”ll like this one better, hopefully. Gone Girl was a bit too unpredictable/unrealistic towards the end, and this hopefully is a little less wild.
Words for Worms
Definitely- if you liked the Gone Girl feel but with a little less “WHOA” then this is the book for you!
Nish
@Words for Worms: you put it way better than I did :), yes, I think this book would work really well for me.
curiousseaturtle
I’m pretty sure I’ll read it since I love psychological thrillers AND I’m kind of a wimp so I like to see what’s coming next…I’ve been known to Wikipedia the endings to scary movies so I’m not surprised when I watch them…laaaaame-o!
Words for Worms
I’m terrible with movies- I do the same thing!
klutzyleo
My terrible neighbor story makes me sad because we started out as friends. However, when I was in San Francisco for my friend’s wedding my dog managed to leave my house and go to my neighbor’s. My husband called me to let me know that Kode had destroyed his crate, broke open the back door and found a way out of our yard. When my neighbor talked to Rob about it she told him that she was going to shoot him the next time she saw him anywhere near her yard. She knew Kode and wasn’t afraid of him and it’s not like this is something that happens all of the time. It happened that once because I was gone and he doesn’t like when I leave for long periods of time.
Words for Worms
Oh my goodness! It’s unfortunate you had a falling out! Sheesh its not like the dog attacked her or dug up her flower beds. Seems like a bit of an overreaction to threaten such violence…
Wayne
Hmm, I actually bought this book today. Todd so far looks like a couple of my self-indulgent friends. The female character seems a little clueless as a psychologist. Why did she marry this bozo in the first place? I guess we’ll have to see.
RebeccaScaglione - Love at First Book
Todd sounds like the kind of slimeball I would totally love to read about!
Words for Worms
Ha! If you take kickboxing classes, you could imagine Todd’s face on the bag. That would be excellent motivation. I wanted to punch him.
Wayne
He is a total slimeball and totally convinced he is doing the right thing. Kind of like a spider caught in a much bigger spider’s web. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the book Rebecca 😉
Wayne
I’m trying to decide who was the most clueless. Todd or Jodi. What was that girl thinkin’ when she got involved with this Alison broad with underworld connections. Todd was a slimeball fool of course and great at self-deception. Jodi needed to go to more professional conferences. One every four years isn’t enough. Yikes! Now I know why people stay away from psychs.