The Wives - Rambling Readers

eBook, 297 pages

English language

Published Dec. 30, 2019 by Graydon House.

ISBN:: 978-1-4880-5435-8

(1 review)

Imagine that your husband has two other wives.

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don’t care. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself.

But one day, while you’re doing laundry, you find a scrap of paper in his pocket—an appointment reminder for a woman named Hannah, and you just know it’s another of the wives.

You thought you were fine with your arrangement, but you can’t help yourself: you track her down, and, under false pretenses, you strike up a friendship. Hannah has no idea who you really are. Then Hannah starts showing up to your coffee dates with telltale bruises, and you realize she’s being abused by her husband. Who, of course, is also your husband. But you’ve never …

Imagine that your husband has two other wives.

You’ve never met the other wives. None of you know each other, and because of this unconventional arrangement, you can see your husband only one day a week. But you love him so much you don’t care. Or at least that’s what you’ve told yourself.

But one day, while you’re doing laundry, you find a scrap of paper in his pocket—an appointment reminder for a woman named Hannah, and you just know it’s another of the wives.

You thought you were fine with your arrangement, but you can’t help yourself: you track her down, and, under false pretenses, you strike up a friendship. Hannah has no idea who you really are. Then Hannah starts showing up to your coffee dates with telltale bruises, and you realize she’s being abused by her husband. Who, of course, is also your husband. But you’ve never known him to be violent, ever.

Who exactly is your husband, and how far would you be willing to go to find out?

And who is his mysterious third wife?

8 editions

Radioactivestardust reviewed The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Review of 'Wives' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I hoped till the bitter end that conclusion b) would not be the ending. Sadly it was conclusion b).
I found the book highly entertaining, I especially liked the beginning and since then I had hoped this book would hold a certain message for woman. To liberate themselves if they can't get out of a relationship that is based on dependency. I have no clue what the message is after I finished this book.

The portrayals of mental illnesses is believable when you reach the end. Over the course of the book I had doubts, but the end clarified things. However the mental illness was not treated the right way. I always loved that Fisher writes tragic heroines, or woman who mess up without being demonized for it. After all, we are not all the same. We are not all super nice sacrifical good hearted females who could never do …

I hoped till the bitter end that conclusion b) would not be the ending. Sadly it was conclusion b).
I found the book highly entertaining, I especially liked the beginning and since then I had hoped this book would hold a certain message for woman. To liberate themselves if they can't get out of a relationship that is based on dependency. I have no clue what the message is after I finished this book.

The portrayals of mental illnesses is believable when you reach the end. Over the course of the book I had doubts, but the end clarified things. However the mental illness was not treated the right way. I always loved that Fisher writes tragic heroines, or woman who mess up without being demonized for it. After all, we are not all the same. We are not all super nice sacrifical good hearted females who could never do anything remotely bad. But until now, I found her stories to be encouraging and empowering. I cannot find any of this in this book. And this makes me pretty sad.

The book is well crafted, it has a good quality, the end falls into place and makes sense. I do not agree that there were plot holes, like other reviews stated. (But if you believe there is a plot hole totally leave a comment, I am really curious about that) I rather like the tension unreliable narratives create, it's kind of a secret pleasure. Fisher got some serious writing skills.

The overall message of the book though... I cannot agree to that.

Subjects

Fiction
Mystery
Psychological thriller