The Wife’s Tale
by Lori Lansen
Truthfully, I am a bit of a nonfiction aficionado with a taste for
fine literature; if I read fiction it is Austen, Bronte,
Dostoyevsky, or my personal favorite Pearl S. Buck; so I just
don't stray from that path too often. However, upon the
prompting of a dear friend who told me to just pick up a novella
and read it with open arms; I took her advice. In the shade of the
pergola my husband built for me, sipping ice tea whilst my
doggies wandered about; I jumped in.
I chose Lori Lansens The Wife's Tale because I had heard
good things about her previous work The Girls; I thought
perhaps this book would be equally thought provoking.
I am amazed at how Lori shares experiences in first person as if
she is the character so for the reader. The characters come to
life, are tangible and vivid.
Mary, the Protagonist in The Wife's Tale is a morbidly obese
woman struggling with loss of self, intimacy and has a toxic
secret she has pushed deep inside of herself.
It is only when her husband of 25 years decides to leave her for
places unknown that she begins a poignant journey of self discovery, forgiveness and joy.
The read is bawdy and raw at times in its descriptions of Mary,
but without those descriptions the reader would not know who
she really is.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; sometimes when we
be