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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant technical exercise, but not a satisfying novel, March 17, 2010
This review is from: Wish Her Safe at Home (New York Review Books) (Paperback)
I'm conflicted about whether or not to recommend Wish Her Safe at Home. On the one hand, the author does a brilliant job of putting the reader inside the head of a mentally ill woman, and showing us how everything she says and does seems perfectly reasonable when seen from her point of view (while at the same time making us see what her behavior must look like to other people). On the other hand, the view from inside that head is necessarily a very constricted one, and after a while I found that Rachel's affected speech patterns and odd mannerisms began to seem repetitive and monotonous.
Of course, it's possible that what I saw as a flaw in the book is actually an example of the author's skill in depicting the behavior of the mentally ill, which must often seem repetitive and monotonous to those who are forced to witness it. All I can say, however, is that, long before the end of the book, I groaned impatiently whenever Rachel dropped another curtsey, or sang a snippet of another obscure show tune, or uttered another "I thankee, sir!"
I thought at first that this problem (if it is a problem) might have been solved if the story had been written as a short story rather than a novel. But I eventually decided that compressing the story wouldn't have worked, because the action is so carefully paced -- at first, Rachel seems a bit weird, but no more so than many people; by the middle of the book, it's clear that she has serious mental health issues (to use today's jargon); and by the end, she's obviously barking mad -- that it needed to be spread out over the course of a full-length novel.
In the end, I concluded that Wish Her Safe at Home is a brilliant technical exercise that doesn't quite succeed in being a satisfying novel. But the book is interesting enough that the best advice I can give about it is to say, read it yourself and make up your own mind about it.
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wish Her Safe at Home, December 1, 2009
This review is from: Wish Her Safe at Home (New York Review Books) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Rachel Waring is a middle-aged, plain and common English woman stuck in a dead-end job she hates in 1980. Her best friend is her bitter, chain-smoking roommate. She has never been in love, never been married, both her parents are dead and she has very few friends. Thus, when she receives notice that she inherited her great-aunt's beautiful old mansion in Bristol, Rachel is shocked and thrilled. She visits the house, falls in love with it, notes that it has one of those famous blue plaques on it signifying it was lived in by a (minor and no longer remembered) member of the anti-slavery movement. Confronted with the decision to either continue her real, drudging existence in London, or to create a new, exciting one in Bristol, Rachel chooses completely to go with the exciting one. Even though that way lies madness.
And one can't help but admire her for doing so. Her early allusions to her life thus far- painfully awkward and very lonely- make the reader cry out for her. The story is told entirely from Rachel's perspective. You are in her head the way that you are in your own, listening to the internal dialogue. Rachel is a masterfully written unreliable narrator. There are times when, like Rachel, you are not sure what she says aloud and what she says in her head.
Stephen Benatar's ability to write this novel points to what a fantastic writer he is. As readers, you have complete, unadulterated access to Rachel's thoughts. When she is uncomfortable, you are uncomfortable. When she is sad, you are sad. When she is rebuffed by someone to whom she tries to make an advance, you feel the sting, too. And that's what is so heartbreaking. Rachel tries so very hard to be happy and warm and friendly, but people avoid her. She has no close friends and those that are kind to her, the reader does not fully trust. Can anyone blame her for turning inwards to a fantasy world of her own making, where everything is perfect?
Rachel Waring is a woman who, after an awkward and lonely existence, decides to do something about her life and for a brief, perfect moment, succeeds completely. It's impossible not to cheer her on.
I highly, highly recommend this book. It takes place in the 1980s but to me, seemed to take place decades prior to then- I can't quite pinpoint why. The writing is wonderful and the characters are skillfully drawn. And I love, love, love an unreliable narrator!
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wish Her Safe At Home, December 8, 2009
This review is from: Wish Her Safe at Home (New York Review Books) (Paperback)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I did not enjoy this book very much. Why the high rating? Because I believe it to be indisputably well-done. I think I'm the unappreciative one here, the Philistine; and I would definitely defer to the opinions of others.
The book concerns itself with a woman who has left her London flat in order to take up self-styled living arrangements in a large house in Bristol; and, thereafter, her slow disintegration for reasons not entirely clear. It's definitely worth reading for anyone who finds its "product description" interesting. Most interesting of all for anyone who enjoys it, the book bears a second reading -- or repeated readings -- because we eventually learn that the narrator is entirely unreliable and basically fabricating various elements of her existence.
The author is quite strict with his own form; we learn precious little of the reality surrounding Ms. Waring. In this novel, you have to pay close attention. Toward the end, descriptions of what she's wearing bring sudden, vivid realizations; descriptions of conversations which seem truncated give one some first clues that the narrator is being regarded oddly or warily by others. We are forced into the narrator's head by an elliptical writing style which is impressively (!) carried on throughout the novel. I kept thinking somehow that the author would falter in maintaining this writing style. He never, ever did; not once.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd have liked less subtlety. It is, perhaps, the American in me. And the lack of subtlety I might have appreciated would not so nearly have recommended this book as a minor classic or future classic in its own right. Most assuredly, the book is worthy of a second read. I also couldn't relate to the character, no fault of the author's: He is male; she is female. He did this startlingly well. One imagines that Mr. Benatar might make a wonderful actor or a wonderful verbal storyteller.
There are moments when I definitely appreciated what had been accomplished. In this novel, you're on the inside looking out. And the next time you see certain types of people in the streets, you might think twice. I don't want to give anything away. But here, a studied execution and eye to detail make for art that's thought-provokingly worthy.
P.S. I loved the title.
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