THE WIFE'S TALE: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE WIFE'S TALE
BY LORI LANSENS

ABOUT THE BOOK:

On the eve of their Silver Anniversary, Mary Gooch is waiting for her husband Jimmy--still every inch the handsome star athlete he was in high school--to come home. As night turns to day, it becomes frighteningly clear to Mary that he is gone. Through the years, disappointment and worry have brought Mary's life to a standstill, and she has let her universe shrink to the well-worn path from the bedroom to the refrigerator. But her husband's disappearance startles her out of her inertia, and she begins a desperate search. For the first time in her life, she boards a plane and flies across the country to find her lost husband. So used to hiding from the world, Mary finds that in the bright sun and broad vistas of California, she is forced to look up from the pavement. And what she finds fills her with inner strength she's never felt before. Through it all, Mary not only finds kindred spirits, but reunites with a more intimate stranger no longer sequestered by fear and habit: herself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lori Lansens was a successful screenwriter before she burst onto the literary scene in 2002 with her first novel Rush Home Road. Translated into eight languages and published in eleven countries, Rush Home Road received rave reviews around the world. Her follow-up novel, The Girls, was an international success as well. Rights were sold in 13 territories and it was featured as a book-club pick by Richard & Judy in the UK, selling 300,000 copies. Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, Lori Lansens now makes her home in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

REVIEW:

THE WIFE’S TALE is the story of Mary Gooch, who has slowly let her life fade away as she eats to fill a need within herself that she can’t face. She is in a constant battle between her body and food, with her past haunting her in the form of hunger. She remembers when she was thin and happy and pregnant. This was a time before she gained all this weight and lost the baby. However, as you will see in THE WIFE’S TALE, Mary finally decides to put an end to this and try to take back her life.

Mary finds that she is unable to leave the comfort of her home and try anything new or even to travel. She stays in her small Canadian home where she has been married for twenty-five years to her wonderful husband, Jimmy Gooch. Jimmy, who once had big dreams as a basketball star until misfortune struck , is also trapped in this small town. As Mary’s story begins, her husband has disappeared on the night of their twenty-fifth anniversary. She isn't worried and able to handle any concern she feels by erasing that fear with food. She is really more fretful about what to wear to dinner to celebrate than she is about Jimmy Gooch’s disappearance. She assumes he will just get home any time now and so doesn’t waste time worrying about it.

When it dawns on Mary that Jimmy really isn’t coming home, which takes her a while, she begins a journey emotionally and physically in a new direction. Setting out for California, where Jimmy’s mother lives, she leaves behind the woman who only wear the dark colored medical scrubs and who is categorized as obese.

On this journey, Mary realizes that she no longer hears food calling to her as she hasn't eaten in days except for some fruit and energy bars to keep her going. Not having traveled, she finds herself with none of the necessities in life she needs like clothing and feels like she is on a different planet. She comes to realize that she must find something besides Jimmy and that is herself. Will Mary be able to do this? Will she find her Jimmy along with herself?

Lori Lansens writes a compelling story of Mary’s adventure and attempts at reinventing herself. By writing of Mary’s memories so that she can understand her weight issues and pain, Lansens gives the reader something we can all relate to. An often funny, powerful, realistic story of an overweight woman who feels trapped and helpless in her own body, THE WIFE’S TALE teaches a lesson in hope. I loved this book and thought of how much it reminded me of one of my favorite books, Wally Lamb’s SHE’S COME UNDONE. This touching story would make for an excellent book club book choice as it certainly promotes discussion.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MIRIAM AND THE
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
FIVE COPIES OF THIS FABULOUS
BOOK TO GIVEAWAY!



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HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY:GO TO THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE SITE HERE WHERE THEY HAVE ALL THE DIFFERENT COVERS FOR THE WIFE'S TALE ACCORDING TO WHAT COUNTRY IT IS PUBLISHED IN. TELL WHICH COUNTRY'S COVER YOU LIKE THE BEST.

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

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GOOD LUCK!