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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lori Lansens loves her misfits, December 7, 2009
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I liked Lori Lansens' last novel enough that I wanted to read this one right away. I liked this one too, though not quite as much. With its endearing conjoined heroines, The Girls was such an original story. The Wife's Tale, on the other hand, is very familiar--almost an archetypal ugly duckling tale. Yes, it's a story we've all read before, an oldie but a goodie. And here it is in a nutshell: On the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary, Jimmy Gooch leaves his morbidly obese, middle-aged wife, Mary. She goes in search of him, and winds up finding herself. There's more to it than that, of course, but you can make those discoveries on your own. What I will say is this--coming into this novel, knowing the above premise, my first thought was, "the husband's a monster!" But Lansens writing is more subtle than that. The husband is not a monster, and Mary Gooch has a lot of issues. While the story is familiar, Lansens is not regurgitating the same old black and white story. There's a little more nuance going on here, and some readers may not appreciate that not all the loose ends get tied up by the end. I, however, don't believe every novel has to end tied neatly with a red bow. This wife's journey is a tale worth reading.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nicely written, but a fairy tale..., April 10, 2010
Although Lori Lansens has an immensely readable style that easily keeps pages turning, "The Wife's Tale" is a familiar story. Anyone who has seen "Shirley Valentine" or read "She's Come Undone" will know where this is going from page one. An obese protagonist is on a journey to self-acceptance. There were several things about this novel that didn't endear me to it. For one, the portrayal of obesity was cartoonish at times. I didn't find Mary's transformation very realistic. Most people who struggle with their weight (I am maintaining a 70 lb weight loss myself) battle with it on a near daily basis. Abusing food is an ongoing issue, not something you magically part with because you find that you like your own company. Also I found the treatment of Los Angeles in this novel to be a fairy tale. Mary happens upon a suburb where everyone offers her makeovers and rides. It's as if she's come upon Mayberry a few miles east of Malibu. There were also some melodramatic twists towards the end that felt unnecessary. Ultimately, what I liked least was Mary herself. I found her kind of blah. We're supposed to cheer her on but honestly I just found myself wondering, "Would a guy really like her? And why?" And, yes, I realize that means I didn't really get the point of the book at all. Which exactly is my point. This novel doesn't earn its feminist conclusions. All in all, this is a light read that is easy to get through but short on substance. I probably won't read this author again because I find her to be a bit overrated. (Yes, I read "The Girls" too.)
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review by www.cymlowell.blogspot.com, February 23, 2010
Imagine that you were left all alone one night. No spouse, no money, down on yourself, no children, no relatives active in your life, no future, and really no past except for the absent spouse. What would you do? Would you go down in flames? Or would you soar like a phoenix, reborn from the ashes of prior life? This is the story of Mary Gooch, an obese rural Canadian woman who declared that she would commit suicide if she weighed more than 300 pounds. With that figure in the rearview mirror, she continued to gain. The day before her 25th wedding anniversary, her husband disappeared. He left a note saying he had won the lottery and left her some money in the bank. Mary then embarked on the journey of her life. The Wife's Tale is a beautiful story, compelling told to the point that Mary becomes our hero. I was excited to follow her evolution, cheering for her at every step in the path. I celebrated her achievements and self-realizations. When she encountered adversity, or defeat, I hoped she would brush herself off and move forward, which she inevitably did. This is a story of self-determination at its finest. We should all seek to find ourselves. Mary does in her own way. I can only hope that I would be as strong as Mary. In the end, this is a story of self-fulfillment. Each of us is the master of our own destiny, reaping the harvest of what we sow. Mary sowed affection, generosity, and faith in the strangers that she met. She was rewarded with a new life. Perhaps, she was far better off in her new life than had the prior life continued. The Wife's Tale is also a spiritual guide. Though not a religious book as such, the life of Mary is a testament to the healing power of redemption. A new life born from the bold. I loved this book and so will you!
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