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Publication
Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2011, 289, 23 cm (El Balancí; 654)
Description
Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt -- a passionate man with his own dark secrets --has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways. With echoes of Wuthering Heights and Rebecca, Robert Goolrick's intoxicating debut novel delivers a classic tale of suspenseful seduction, set in a world that seems to have gone temporarily off its axis.… (more)
Media reviews
Don't be fooled by the prissy cover or that ironic title. Robert Goolrick's first novel, "A Reliable Wife," isn't just hot, it's in heat: a gothic tale of such smoldering desire it should be read in a cold shower. This is a bodice ripper of a hundred thousand pearly buttons, ripped off one at a
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time with agonizing restraint. It works only because Goolrick never cracks a smile, never lets on that he thinks all this overwrought sexual frustration is anything but the most serious incantation of longing and despair ever uttered in the dead of night. Show Less
Through repetitive and rhythmically hypnotic prose, Goolrick drives home the characters' loneliness, sexual yearnings, self-loathing and fear. He infuses his novel with the inevitable notion that things will end badly for this damaged family. But he lets us discover for ourselves the breadth and
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magnitude of dysfunction and the deadly conspiracy in which Catherine and Ralph are, ironically, both complicit. Show Less
Publishers Weekly
Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a
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newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a "reliable wife," she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close. ( ) Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member bookworm12
Ralph is a wealthy middle-aged man living in Wisconsin in 1907. He lived a lazy, opulent youth, gallivanting around Europe on his father's dime. He married a spoiled Italian girl before moving home. After she broke his heart he lived alone for years before deciding to write an advertisement for a
This book seemed to revolve around sex, being obsessed with it, thinking it was evil, etc. I wish that there had been a lot less of that and a lot more focus on the deception and secrets. It made it seem far too harlequin for my taste, all heaving bosoms and lustful glances. I can understand a bit of that, but not the whole book. The writing and story were both pretty good, but the rest was just far too distracting from the real plot. I was interested in the story, but tired quickly of the sex and lost interest. By the end I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters. I thought they all deserved each other.
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wife. Catherine answers the ad and meets him in Wisconsin. She's not what she seems and her secrets run deeper than Ralph could fathom. This book seemed to revolve around sex, being obsessed with it, thinking it was evil, etc. I wish that there had been a lot less of that and a lot more focus on the deception and secrets. It made it seem far too harlequin for my taste, all heaving bosoms and lustful glances. I can understand a bit of that, but not the whole book. The writing and story were both pretty good, but the rest was just far too distracting from the real plot. I was interested in the story, but tired quickly of the sex and lost interest. By the end I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters. I thought they all deserved each other.
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LibraryThing member FemmeNoiresque
Apparently is a huge bestseller. This surprises me. It reads like a masturbatory (literally - it reads like the endless, often prosaic erotic fantasies of the author) male-oriented historical gothic romance, and who knew there was a sizable market for those?
The sex scenes have actually turned out
The depiction of Catherine consistently failed to convince me she had any kind of real inner life. He described all of her actions, and motivations, but she was a straw man in so many ways that the powerful personal connection that apparently exists between the two never seemed anything other than an expression Goolrick's own desires. That I didn't believe for a second that the two central characters had a connection of such understanding and depth in the first instance made their mind-blowing physical frisson in the second instance (and the male protagonist's apparent prowess in particular) frankly unbelievable. The emotional and psychological makeup of the characters were lacking, so it had the overall effect of the author casting himself as the hero of his own sexual fantasies.
I was nearly put to sleep by the predictable Alice, the poorly sketched (and highly irritating) Antonio, and the folksy housekeeper. I don't quite buy the characters, nor their psychology. The bleak setting is of interest, and it would have been a great improvement had this been better balanced with the many, many, expository character backstories and the lust of the main couple. I wish that the everyday routine of life among the elements was bound into the narrative, as the gothic disasters such as well-drownings, murder-suicides and people eating dictionaries seemed kooky and glib, even though I realise they are ripped from the historical headlines.
A reason it disappointed me is that there was so much there that was ripe for proper exploration. Too much telling, not enough indicating. As it is, it reads like a clumsily edited second draft. None the less, I plugged on through to the end. I imagine it would have been a good book club read; certainly I wish I had someone to discuss it with me as I read.
The sex scenes have actually turned out
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to be a high point, but not for any juicy/scandalous/etc factor. They seemed to be the very essence of what Goolrick wanted to write about. The approach of how he depicted sex in a negative way, as a powerful drug for an addict, and sex in an positive, expansive, inter-personal way was the most complete thing about the novel.The depiction of Catherine consistently failed to convince me she had any kind of real inner life. He described all of her actions, and motivations, but she was a straw man in so many ways that the powerful personal connection that apparently exists between the two never seemed anything other than an expression Goolrick's own desires. That I didn't believe for a second that the two central characters had a connection of such understanding and depth in the first instance made their mind-blowing physical frisson in the second instance (and the male protagonist's apparent prowess in particular) frankly unbelievable. The emotional and psychological makeup of the characters were lacking, so it had the overall effect of the author casting himself as the hero of his own sexual fantasies.
I was nearly put to sleep by the predictable Alice, the poorly sketched (and highly irritating) Antonio, and the folksy housekeeper. I don't quite buy the characters, nor their psychology. The bleak setting is of interest, and it would have been a great improvement had this been better balanced with the many, many, expository character backstories and the lust of the main couple. I wish that the everyday routine of life among the elements was bound into the narrative, as the gothic disasters such as well-drownings, murder-suicides and people eating dictionaries seemed kooky and glib, even though I realise they are ripped from the historical headlines.
A reason it disappointed me is that there was so much there that was ripe for proper exploration. Too much telling, not enough indicating. As it is, it reads like a clumsily edited second draft. None the less, I plugged on through to the end. I imagine it would have been a good book club read; certainly I wish I had someone to discuss it with me as I read.
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LibraryThing member JanetBoyer
"In Ralph Truitt's mind, in the dead of night, the knots of death and birth formed an insane lace, knitting the town together, in a ravishment of sexual acts and the product of these acts. All skin to skin in the dark, just underneath the heavy tortuous garments in the day...That morning, in the
After hearing the premise of A Reliable Wife--a rich businessman in rural, snowy Wisconsin advertising for a "reliable wife" in 1907...and not "getting" what he thought in more ways than one--well, it sounded utterly irresistable.
I devoured it over the weekend, but have truly mixed feelings after reading it. Rather than rehash the plot, as the blurb at Amazon.com and fellow reviewers have done, I'll depart from my usual manner of reviewing and just share what I felt were the wonderful and disappointing traits of A Reliable Wife:
1. A Reliable Wife is an astounding debut novel. Goolrick's prose is mesmerizing. His turns of phrase, metaphors and similies will stay with you long after you finish the book. In fact, as one who is crafting her first novels, I took notes on the magnificent way the author "showed" instead of "told".
2. The first 1/4 of the novel simmers with lust repressed under a proper, restrained veneer. Reading the portions about Ralph Truitt were almost maddening; my pulse raced at times (not just because of the compelling sexual prose), but because Goolrick injects his story with the hot breath of grief, rage, passion, regret and emotional paralysis--to the point that I braced myself for an inevitable POP! at any moment.
3. I almost wished that Goolrick stayed with Ralph Truitt's perspective only (3rd person limited omniscient) as opposed to jumping around in Catherine Land's mind, too. Yet, I suppose this story of deception, desperation, survival, and the many faces of "love" would be a different book altogether if the author had done so...
4. There's way too much sex in this book. In the first part of the book, the powerful sexual punch Goolrick delivers works because it's juxtaposed against the cold, stark, blazing white setting of both frozen Wisconsin and the frozen Ralph Truitt. But halfway through, especially with Catherine, it becomes a sex fest. Too much of a good thing, unfortunately.
5. I felt that the ending was anti-climatic; I knew that Truitt would have discovered the "bombshell" that the ending delivered, so his "forgiveness" seemed almost foolish. But, for some, love is stupid...
6. Considering Ralph's rage towards his first wife and, to some extent, his son--I had a hard time believing that he was OK with Catherine's exploits in St. Louis. (And, that it would be OK with him for her unusual "ministrations" upon her return to Wisconsin...)
If you enjoy literary fiction and exquisite writing--that is, you love the journey more than the destination--then you'd likely appreciate this debut novel from Goolrick. He's such a good writer, I'm going to order his acclaimed memoir The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life.
For me, though, I'm a bit saddened for some reason. I'm not sure what I was hoping The Reliable Wife to deliver, but I am sure that many of the scenes will stay with me as a "mind movie" thanks to Goolrick's deft massage of language.
-- Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book
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mirror, he had seen his face, and it was a face he didn't want to be seen. And these people around him were not blind..." -- From A Reliable Wife After hearing the premise of A Reliable Wife--a rich businessman in rural, snowy Wisconsin advertising for a "reliable wife" in 1907...and not "getting" what he thought in more ways than one--well, it sounded utterly irresistable.
I devoured it over the weekend, but have truly mixed feelings after reading it. Rather than rehash the plot, as the blurb at Amazon.com and fellow reviewers have done, I'll depart from my usual manner of reviewing and just share what I felt were the wonderful and disappointing traits of A Reliable Wife:
1. A Reliable Wife is an astounding debut novel. Goolrick's prose is mesmerizing. His turns of phrase, metaphors and similies will stay with you long after you finish the book. In fact, as one who is crafting her first novels, I took notes on the magnificent way the author "showed" instead of "told".
2. The first 1/4 of the novel simmers with lust repressed under a proper, restrained veneer. Reading the portions about Ralph Truitt were almost maddening; my pulse raced at times (not just because of the compelling sexual prose), but because Goolrick injects his story with the hot breath of grief, rage, passion, regret and emotional paralysis--to the point that I braced myself for an inevitable POP! at any moment.
3. I almost wished that Goolrick stayed with Ralph Truitt's perspective only (3rd person limited omniscient) as opposed to jumping around in Catherine Land's mind, too. Yet, I suppose this story of deception, desperation, survival, and the many faces of "love" would be a different book altogether if the author had done so...
4. There's way too much sex in this book. In the first part of the book, the powerful sexual punch Goolrick delivers works because it's juxtaposed against the cold, stark, blazing white setting of both frozen Wisconsin and the frozen Ralph Truitt. But halfway through, especially with Catherine, it becomes a sex fest. Too much of a good thing, unfortunately.
5. I felt that the ending was anti-climatic; I knew that Truitt would have discovered the "bombshell" that the ending delivered, so his "forgiveness" seemed almost foolish. But, for some, love is stupid...
6. Considering Ralph's rage towards his first wife and, to some extent, his son--I had a hard time believing that he was OK with Catherine's exploits in St. Louis. (And, that it would be OK with him for her unusual "ministrations" upon her return to Wisconsin...)
If you enjoy literary fiction and exquisite writing--that is, you love the journey more than the destination--then you'd likely appreciate this debut novel from Goolrick. He's such a good writer, I'm going to order his acclaimed memoir The End of the World as We Know It: Scenes from a Life.
For me, though, I'm a bit saddened for some reason. I'm not sure what I was hoping The Reliable Wife to deliver, but I am sure that many of the scenes will stay with me as a "mind movie" thanks to Goolrick's deft massage of language.
-- Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book
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LibraryThing member Cariola
I was up until 3 a.m. last night finishing this novel; I just couldn't sleep without knowing how it ended. It is definitely one of my best reads so far this year. Goolrick creates two intriguing and believable characters in Ralph and Catherine, the northern Wisconsin mogul and his mail-order wife,
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and he is especially adept at giving them interior lives. Although they initially seem like opposites, we soon learn that they share pasts flawed by misplaced love, tragedy, and self-loathing. Goolrick so successsfully sets forth these characters and their stories that the novel's twists and turns, while often unexpected, never seem unbelievable. The spareness of his style is a perfect compliment to the empty white landscape of the Wisconsin winter and to the empty lives of Ralph, Catherine, and Antonio. But don't let it fool you: it's beautiful, haunting, and poetic as well. I'm looking forward to the author's next book and hope we don't have to wait too long for it. Very highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member kren250
The plot seemed so intriguing: an older, rich businessman from early 1900s rural Wisconsin puts a mail-order bride ad in the paper. Answering it is a young and beautiful woman with a mysterious past. She journeys to meet him, and the two try to make a life for themselves in the frozen and desolate
Well...it does, and right from the start. The writing is just awful. I don't mean in a "gosh, this writing style is a bit annoying" kind of way, but in an "how in the heck did this book ever manage to get published?" sort of way. It is truly one of the worst written books I have ever read. And it's not even one specific thing I can mention that was bad, but just an all-over mess. I somehow managed to finish the entire thing (although I admit I skimmed here and there) just because otherwise I would feel guilty for leaving a negative review if I hadn't read it all. So now I can leave my negative review with a clear conscience;-).
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countryside. Such an interesting plot, how could this book go wrong?!Well...it does, and right from the start. The writing is just awful. I don't mean in a "gosh, this writing style is a bit annoying" kind of way, but in an "how in the heck did this book ever manage to get published?" sort of way. It is truly one of the worst written books I have ever read. And it's not even one specific thing I can mention that was bad, but just an all-over mess. I somehow managed to finish the entire thing (although I admit I skimmed here and there) just because otherwise I would feel guilty for leaving a negative review if I hadn't read it all. So now I can leave my negative review with a clear conscience;-).
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LibraryThing member Scratch
I think I have figured out what it is about Goolrick's writing that bothers me. His prose is very repetitious. He tends to repeat himself. He repeats himself to create a certain tone. He repeats himself and we get it already.
LibraryThing member DevourerOfBooks
Wow. Fantastic.
Ralph Truitt has been alone in the rural Wisconsin for some 20 years, since his wife and daughter died and his son left home. Yes, he has his housekeepers, his immense wealth, and solicitous townspeople, essentially all of whom work for him. Still, though, Ralph feels alone. He feels
It is amazing the number of twists and turns that Goolrick was able to pack into his 290 page book. Because of that, I don’t really feel comfortable sharing much more of the plot with you, as I don’t want to spoil anything (although the book jacket descriptions do actually give away a bit more than I have, so be warned if you don’t want to know more). Ralph and Catherine are both spectacularly flawed individuals, but they each have a redeeming bit of humanity which takes them to deliciously wicked instead of just terrible, horrible characters. I was mesmirized by both of them, particularly Catherine, who commands more of the attention in the story than does Ralph.
The story was perfect. Goolrick added in the perfect amount of mystery and suspense without getting into ‘thriller’ category and without sacrificing the depth of his main characters. I loved many of his little extras - such as the stories of all of the different people in this small, rural, 1907 Wisconsin town who would go crazy during the long winters - and many of his turns of phrase, particularly the “it was just a story of…” section at the end. Primarily, though, his writing seemed effortless and I simply floated along on his story, captivated by the world he was presenting to me. I know a book is good when I seem to be absorbing it more than actually reading it, which means that this book was very good.
This is a lovely piece of fiction that should appeal both to those who like mainstream fiction (’literary’ fiction) and those who lean more towards mysteries and thrillers. Definitely anyone who appreciates good writing with great characters should go straight out and get this book to read.
Ralph Truitt has been alone in the rural Wisconsin for some 20 years, since his wife and daughter died and his son left home. Yes, he has his housekeepers, his immense wealth, and solicitous townspeople, essentially all of whom work for him. Still, though, Ralph feels alone. He feels
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so alone, in fact, that he decides to advertise in the papers in Chicago for “a reliable wife.” When Catherine Land answers his advertisement, she seems perfect until she arrives in Wisconsin. Ralph can see immediately that she is not the woman he expected - her lovely face does not match the plain picture she sent along with her response - but he has no idea just how different she is than his expectation, or just what she really is. Ralph has secrets of his own, however, and his own reasons for looking for a wife at this point in his life. Reasons Catherine could never have expected.It is amazing the number of twists and turns that Goolrick was able to pack into his 290 page book. Because of that, I don’t really feel comfortable sharing much more of the plot with you, as I don’t want to spoil anything (although the book jacket descriptions do actually give away a bit more than I have, so be warned if you don’t want to know more). Ralph and Catherine are both spectacularly flawed individuals, but they each have a redeeming bit of humanity which takes them to deliciously wicked instead of just terrible, horrible characters. I was mesmirized by both of them, particularly Catherine, who commands more of the attention in the story than does Ralph.
The story was perfect. Goolrick added in the perfect amount of mystery and suspense without getting into ‘thriller’ category and without sacrificing the depth of his main characters. I loved many of his little extras - such as the stories of all of the different people in this small, rural, 1907 Wisconsin town who would go crazy during the long winters - and many of his turns of phrase, particularly the “it was just a story of…” section at the end. Primarily, though, his writing seemed effortless and I simply floated along on his story, captivated by the world he was presenting to me. I know a book is good when I seem to be absorbing it more than actually reading it, which means that this book was very good.
This is a lovely piece of fiction that should appeal both to those who like mainstream fiction (’literary’ fiction) and those who lean more towards mysteries and thrillers. Definitely anyone who appreciates good writing with great characters should go straight out and get this book to read.
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LibraryThing member SilversReviews
A lie from the first moment they met....Ralph knew she wasn't the girl he had placed an ad for.
But Catherine never thought twice about how she lied to this man she was going to marry and how her destitute life before Ralph made her such a phony…but the lying didn't even faze her.
Her life before
Neither had been honest with each other. Both Ralph and Catherine had plans after the marriage took place, but her plans were not the same plans Ralph had for her. Too bad they were not on the same page.
Deceit, unfaithfulness, poison, a life that was a lie, regret, unbelievable forgiveness, and a hint of mystery.....that is what A RELIABLE WIFE was made of. And.......an incredible writing style that will keep you reading way into the night, and one you will not want to put down.
But Catherine never thought twice about how she lied to this man she was going to marry and how her destitute life before Ralph made her such a phony…but the lying didn't even faze her.
Her life before
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Ralph Truitt was always in her blood and on her mind...the men, the late nights, the lights, the music. But she had to not let it interfere with her life as she knew it now. She pretended that her previous life never existed even though she longed for her old life style. She had to "play" the part of a reliable, demure wife who had no history. Neither had been honest with each other. Both Ralph and Catherine had plans after the marriage took place, but her plans were not the same plans Ralph had for her. Too bad they were not on the same page.
Deceit, unfaithfulness, poison, a life that was a lie, regret, unbelievable forgiveness, and a hint of mystery.....that is what A RELIABLE WIFE was made of. And.......an incredible writing style that will keep you reading way into the night, and one you will not want to put down.
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LibraryThing member Kasthu
A Reliable Wife is set in Wisconsin in 1907. Ralph Truitt is a local, wealthy businessman who advertised in a Chicago newspaper for “a reliable wife.” Catherine Land answered the advertisement, and sets in motion a plot to poison her husband.
The novel is marred by heavy-handed prose that aims
Ralph Truitt’s obsession with sex becomes tiresome by page 30, and the plot is filled with some major gaps. Why would Ralph hire someone to find his son, but not have them check into his wife’s past, for example? And it’s good to know that I wasn’t the only one bothered by the plagiarized scenes from other books. The novel is billed as suspense, but it’s hard to see such in a novel where one of the main character’s motives are displayed right from the get-go—heck, even in the blurb on the back of the book!
Don’t take my word for it though. There are plenty of people who loved this book. It just wasn’t for me.
The novel is marred by heavy-handed prose that aims
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to be literary, but isn’t. A really depressing theme and plot does not make a novel great. And I got really, really bored by the obsessive way in which Goolrick describes things. An entire chapter on waiting for a train? Really? A hallmark of a great novel is one in which the theme is subtle, but powerful, and makes you think about it long after you’ve read the book; in this one, Goolrick hits his reader on the head—over and—over—with his theme. Ralph Truitt’s obsession with sex becomes tiresome by page 30, and the plot is filled with some major gaps. Why would Ralph hire someone to find his son, but not have them check into his wife’s past, for example? And it’s good to know that I wasn’t the only one bothered by the plagiarized scenes from other books. The novel is billed as suspense, but it’s hard to see such in a novel where one of the main character’s motives are displayed right from the get-go—heck, even in the blurb on the back of the book!
Don’t take my word for it though. There are plenty of people who loved this book. It just wasn’t for me.
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LibraryThing member miyurose
'It was a story of a son who felt his one true birthright was to kill his father. It was the story of a father who could not undo a single gesture of his life, no matter the sympathies of his heart. It was a story of poison, poison that causes you to weep in your sleep, that comes to you first as a
It was just a story about despair.'
Right from the start, Goolrick shows us the people we are dealing with. Ralph Truitt is a quiet, steadfast, private, and powerful man who expects things to be as he wants them to be, even thinking he can control what time the train arrives. As Catherine Land dons a modest dress with her jewels sewn into the hem and throws her traveling clothes out the window of the train, we see she is not who we think she is, or who Ralph Truitt thinks she is. In many ways, she’s not even who she thinks she is. This is a story full of surprises, without being full of suspense. It certainly wasn’t the story I was expecting when I started, and it was even erotic at times. And a lot of strange things happen in this Wisconsin town in the long winter season. A tragedy is inevitable, but there is some redemption in the end. Along the way, we are treated to some beautiful prose and complex characters.
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taste of ecstasy. It was a story of people who don’t choose life over death until it’s too late to know the difference, people whose goodness is forgotten, left behind like a child’s toy in a dusty playroom, people who see many things and remember only a handful of them and learn from even fewer, people who hurt themselves, who wreck their own lives and then go on to wreck the lives of those around them, who cannot be helped or assuaged by love or kindness or luck or charm, who forget kindness, the feeling and practice of it, and how it can save even the worst, most misshapen life from despair.It was just a story about despair.'
Right from the start, Goolrick shows us the people we are dealing with. Ralph Truitt is a quiet, steadfast, private, and powerful man who expects things to be as he wants them to be, even thinking he can control what time the train arrives. As Catherine Land dons a modest dress with her jewels sewn into the hem and throws her traveling clothes out the window of the train, we see she is not who we think she is, or who Ralph Truitt thinks she is. In many ways, she’s not even who she thinks she is. This is a story full of surprises, without being full of suspense. It certainly wasn’t the story I was expecting when I started, and it was even erotic at times. And a lot of strange things happen in this Wisconsin town in the long winter season. A tragedy is inevitable, but there is some redemption in the end. Along the way, we are treated to some beautiful prose and complex characters.
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LibraryThing member allenkl
Sadly, as with so many best sellers, this book is merely best sold or best merchandised. Save your time, skip this one.
LibraryThing member amandacb
I agree with others that while the premise for this book is exciting, the excecution of said premise is tedious. The female protagonist is such a heartily unlikeable character, and well, the man, too. If they are so unlikeable, why should I read about them?
LibraryThing member alaskabookworm
An American-Gothic novel set in the beginning of the 19th century, “A Reliable Wife” is a story that turns romance on its head. Goolrick’s book is engaging and haunting.
Ralph and Catherine begin their relationship via correspondence. Barely knowing each other, they marry under ominous
Goolrick explores the nature of redemption and love and desire and insanity. He asks the question about why some people lose their way in life while others find themselves.
Overall I found this a deeply satisfying novel and cunningly enough told that it has kept me thinking about it for days afterward. I recommend it.
Ralph and Catherine begin their relationship via correspondence. Barely knowing each other, they marry under ominous
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circumstances and with very different motivations. All these factors spell a certain kind of doom for these characters, from which Goolrick skillfully crafts this unusual love story. Goolrick explores the nature of redemption and love and desire and insanity. He asks the question about why some people lose their way in life while others find themselves.
Overall I found this a deeply satisfying novel and cunningly enough told that it has kept me thinking about it for days afterward. I recommend it.
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LibraryThing member msf59
In 1909, a wealthy businessman, form the deep woods of Wisconsin, places an ad for a “reliable wife”. A woman with a dark, mysterious past, accepts the offer. The first half of the book kept my interest but the relentlessly bleak tone and unpleasant characters, finally wore me down. I guess the
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author’s message was that repression of feelings is “bad” but I felt hammered to death over it. Lighten up, buddy! Yes, there is plenty of torrid (not the fun kind!) sex here but I did not find it very engaging. Show Less
LibraryThing member bhowell
DRAFT: EARLY REVIEWERS
This is a dark tale which commences in the bitter cold of a Wisconsin winter in 1907. The atmosphere of cold rural isolation, cruelty, and violent passion immediately reminded me of Ethan Fromme by Edith Wharton. I note that one other reviewer also mentioned the similarity.
I
Catherine Land who lives in Chicago answers a newspaper ad for a wife from Ralph Truitt who is a rich businessman in rural Wisconsin.
to be continued
This is a dark tale which commences in the bitter cold of a Wisconsin winter in 1907. The atmosphere of cold rural isolation, cruelty, and violent passion immediately reminded me of Ethan Fromme by Edith Wharton. I note that one other reviewer also mentioned the similarity.
I
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read the book in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is described on the back of the book as "A masterfully told debut novel driven by love , madness, and murder.....". I would substitute sexual obsession for love only because it is more accurate. Catherine Land who lives in Chicago answers a newspaper ad for a wife from Ralph Truitt who is a rich businessman in rural Wisconsin.
to be continued
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LibraryThing member StoutHearted
Rural Wisconsin in 1907 holds many secrets and surprises along its snowy, austere landscape. People fall into madness at no notice. The isolation makes seemingly normal residents just snap. And wealthy Ralph Truitt, after 20 years of loneliness as a widower, advertises in the paper for "a reliable
Catherine Land answers his call, but with ulterior motives. From our first introduction to her, as a decadent, lusty woman who throws off her finery for her spinster's disguise, we know she is a woman of deceit. But Ralph has secrets as well, and shadows of the past haunt him still, guilt follows him, self-loathing surrounding him for his constant lustful thoughts.
There are twists and turns throughout the novel. Even we, the readers, are deceived from time to time. Lies and lust are the themes of the novel; the latter leading to some very steamy scenes. Isolation is another theme, not only in the rural seclusion in the blinding snow, but the lies isolate, and even the characters' wealth or, in some cases, illusion of wealth isolates. With great money comes the ability to create your own world, a devise several of the main characters use.
There's a dreamy quality to the writing that lulls the reader along into accepting whatever fantastical events that follow. Repetition of key phrases, especially the mantra "such things happen," force the reader to take the narrator at his word.
Still , the characters are not wholly likeable or unlikeable, but we at least can understand them, since the author takes time to develop them. They are at times disturbing or pathetic, but not entirely predictable. They become a product of the land's effect on people, leading to a shocking climax. Is this story too farfetched? As the author would say, "such things happen."
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wife."Catherine Land answers his call, but with ulterior motives. From our first introduction to her, as a decadent, lusty woman who throws off her finery for her spinster's disguise, we know she is a woman of deceit. But Ralph has secrets as well, and shadows of the past haunt him still, guilt follows him, self-loathing surrounding him for his constant lustful thoughts.
There are twists and turns throughout the novel. Even we, the readers, are deceived from time to time. Lies and lust are the themes of the novel; the latter leading to some very steamy scenes. Isolation is another theme, not only in the rural seclusion in the blinding snow, but the lies isolate, and even the characters' wealth or, in some cases, illusion of wealth isolates. With great money comes the ability to create your own world, a devise several of the main characters use.
There's a dreamy quality to the writing that lulls the reader along into accepting whatever fantastical events that follow. Repetition of key phrases, especially the mantra "such things happen," force the reader to take the narrator at his word.
Still , the characters are not wholly likeable or unlikeable, but we at least can understand them, since the author takes time to develop them. They are at times disturbing or pathetic, but not entirely predictable. They become a product of the land's effect on people, leading to a shocking climax. Is this story too farfetched? As the author would say, "such things happen."
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LibraryThing member bookwormygirl
I must admit that the synopsis for this book was what intrigued me. I'm quite fascinated by the time period it's set in (early 1900s). but at the same time I was never quite sure whether or not I would actually like the story. Well let me say, that I was quite surprised. I actually enjoyed this
While the story itself revolves around characters whose pasts have left them all miserable, struggling with their present lives and looking for ways to atone for their sins - quite frankly, none of them (Catherine, Ralph nor Antonio) were likeable. Yet I found myself rooting for them... hoping that they would find some hope in this cold and dark, gothic tale.
When Ralph places an advertisement for "a reliable wife" - Catherine responds that she is "a simple, honest woman." Exactly what he's looking for - yet she's nothing like what he expected. Catherine has her own agenda... marry Ralph and then kill him. Simple, tidy and no one would be the wiser... but she didn't expect Ralph to marry her and quickly ship her off in search of his long lost son Antonio.
Mr. Goolrick's writing is compelling from the first page. I found that the descriptions of the bitter cold and desolate Wisconsin countryside gave this dark story the perfect atmosphere. The story itself was tense and engaging with a few surprising twists that I did not see coming.
Full of betrayal, bitterness and the hope of love and forgiveness - I simply could not put this one down.
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story much more than I thought I would.While the story itself revolves around characters whose pasts have left them all miserable, struggling with their present lives and looking for ways to atone for their sins - quite frankly, none of them (Catherine, Ralph nor Antonio) were likeable. Yet I found myself rooting for them... hoping that they would find some hope in this cold and dark, gothic tale.
When Ralph places an advertisement for "a reliable wife" - Catherine responds that she is "a simple, honest woman." Exactly what he's looking for - yet she's nothing like what he expected. Catherine has her own agenda... marry Ralph and then kill him. Simple, tidy and no one would be the wiser... but she didn't expect Ralph to marry her and quickly ship her off in search of his long lost son Antonio.
Mr. Goolrick's writing is compelling from the first page. I found that the descriptions of the bitter cold and desolate Wisconsin countryside gave this dark story the perfect atmosphere. The story itself was tense and engaging with a few surprising twists that I did not see coming.
Full of betrayal, bitterness and the hope of love and forgiveness - I simply could not put this one down.
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LibraryThing member mckait
It was just a story about...
You will have to make up your own mind. This is a compelling story woven within the lives of A lonely man, a broken woman and sorrow. But there is more. There is love, joy, and contentment. The story is interwoven with emotion. There are so many twists and turns the
The lives of Ralph and Catherine have been flawed and empty for many years. The story of their coming together, a poor young woman and a hollow man of wealth is one that will pull you in from the beginning. You keep reading to see where the next turn takes you and and when you find out, you read more because you are so drawn into the complexity of characters and plot that closing the covers of this book begins to feel physically impossible.
What happens to this couple, for so they have become, and the people around them is labyrinth. For me, I was anxious to find my way out, and reluctant to leave it behind. This books is a keeper. I believe it will become a classic piece of literature that will be discussed, shared, read and read again. I will recommend it to everyone I know.
You will have to make up your own mind. This is a compelling story woven within the lives of A lonely man, a broken woman and sorrow. But there is more. There is love, joy, and contentment. The story is interwoven with emotion. There are so many twists and turns the
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reader is left feeling amazement, but never left unbelieving. The lives of Ralph and Catherine have been flawed and empty for many years. The story of their coming together, a poor young woman and a hollow man of wealth is one that will pull you in from the beginning. You keep reading to see where the next turn takes you and and when you find out, you read more because you are so drawn into the complexity of characters and plot that closing the covers of this book begins to feel physically impossible.
What happens to this couple, for so they have become, and the people around them is labyrinth. For me, I was anxious to find my way out, and reluctant to leave it behind. This books is a keeper. I believe it will become a classic piece of literature that will be discussed, shared, read and read again. I will recommend it to everyone I know.
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LibraryThing member TrishNYC
Ralph Truitt, a fifty something gentleman living in 1907 Wisconsin places an ad in the paper for "a reliable wife". He is not looking for love but someone that he can have companionship with in his later years. He had been married twenty years previously but had since lost his wife and their off
I found parts of the book to be extremely repetitive and it sometimes felt like the author had run out of material and so just went on and on. For example Truitt is obviously obsessed with sex and it is constantly on his mind. His sexual yearnings are described and rehashed ad nausem, ad infinitum. We get it, he was sexually frustrated and he was in serious lust with his new wife. I did get the sense he was this obsessed in part because of the loneliness he felt in the cold dry environs of his community and the lack of a loving home as a child and in later life. But the constant repetition of these thoughts got tiresome after awhile. Almost everyone in the book was obsessed with sex and there are explicit sex scenes described in exact detail and often enough for me to roll my eyes and go "not again". But despite these criticism, I did enjoy this book as it presented the hopelessness, desperation and survivalist thinking that characterized the lives of these characters so well that you cannot help but empathize with them. They have been hardened by life and its challenges but they are also suffering the effects of their life choices. There is an odd love story here that would normally not work for me but for some reason does in this context. And I found the end to be surprising in an unrealistic way. With all that had happpened between them, Truitt's response just did not seem human. But all in all, I liked the book even if the book definitely had its problems.
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springs. His ad is answered by Catherine Land a woman who begins to lie about who she is right from the beginning. First off she sends in a picture of another woman because she fears that Truitt will be turned off by her beauty if he knows of it before hand. But this turns out to be one in a long line of deceitful actions. Her motives turn out to be pretty base; poison her husband and inherit his wealth. I found parts of the book to be extremely repetitive and it sometimes felt like the author had run out of material and so just went on and on. For example Truitt is obviously obsessed with sex and it is constantly on his mind. His sexual yearnings are described and rehashed ad nausem, ad infinitum. We get it, he was sexually frustrated and he was in serious lust with his new wife. I did get the sense he was this obsessed in part because of the loneliness he felt in the cold dry environs of his community and the lack of a loving home as a child and in later life. But the constant repetition of these thoughts got tiresome after awhile. Almost everyone in the book was obsessed with sex and there are explicit sex scenes described in exact detail and often enough for me to roll my eyes and go "not again". But despite these criticism, I did enjoy this book as it presented the hopelessness, desperation and survivalist thinking that characterized the lives of these characters so well that you cannot help but empathize with them. They have been hardened by life and its challenges but they are also suffering the effects of their life choices. There is an odd love story here that would normally not work for me but for some reason does in this context. And I found the end to be surprising in an unrealistic way. With all that had happpened between them, Truitt's response just did not seem human. But all in all, I liked the book even if the book definitely had its problems.
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LibraryThing member janiep
Sad and depressing. I did not find any of the characters appealing. Sex and greed are the major themes.
LibraryThing member TammyPhillips
Not recommended. Very wordy and crude. Plot mediocre.
LibraryThing member actonbell
A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick, is the story of how Catherine Land answers a rather pathetic sounding classified ad placed by a lonely, tormented rich man. From the beginning of her correspondence with him, Catherine is up to no good at all: she plans on slowly poisoning Ralph Truitt and
Automatically, I expected this tale to turn into one of those beautiful, gradual love stories in which Catherine falls in love with Ralph and realizes the dream of having both love and money in her life. However, the story involves other people who make the plot more complicated, but not more interesting. In other words, I'm not raving about this book. I found the writing style to be incongruent with the time period, which was just after the turn of the century (1908), and I felt that the characters were not very fleshed out. Their past lives were told in a quick, glancing way, while the flowers Catherine loved so much were described in lush detail. There is a climatic scene near the end that seems to drag on and on, and just before the too-happy ending, the author actually beats into the reader what this story has been all about. Just in case she missed it.
One of the themes of Goolrick's book is that life in Wisconsin was harsh for most people back then, and people went mad and did insane things. This is true, but parts of this tale seemed either too unlikely or not explained well enough. Goolrick also commits repetition of information, which I found to be very annoying, besides being a detriment to the movement of the story.
I feel so weird for panning this book! It's not that Robert Goolrick is a bad writer, it's that this particular story was executed poorly. Despite its flaws, I did not have trouble finishing it, but I did wince as I did so. This is my humble opinion after hearing such good things about this book.
So don't throw tomatoes at me!
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having his fortune for herself. Automatically, I expected this tale to turn into one of those beautiful, gradual love stories in which Catherine falls in love with Ralph and realizes the dream of having both love and money in her life. However, the story involves other people who make the plot more complicated, but not more interesting. In other words, I'm not raving about this book. I found the writing style to be incongruent with the time period, which was just after the turn of the century (1908), and I felt that the characters were not very fleshed out. Their past lives were told in a quick, glancing way, while the flowers Catherine loved so much were described in lush detail. There is a climatic scene near the end that seems to drag on and on, and just before the too-happy ending, the author actually beats into the reader what this story has been all about. Just in case she missed it.
One of the themes of Goolrick's book is that life in Wisconsin was harsh for most people back then, and people went mad and did insane things. This is true, but parts of this tale seemed either too unlikely or not explained well enough. Goolrick also commits repetition of information, which I found to be very annoying, besides being a detriment to the movement of the story.
I feel so weird for panning this book! It's not that Robert Goolrick is a bad writer, it's that this particular story was executed poorly. Despite its flaws, I did not have trouble finishing it, but I did wince as I did so. This is my humble opinion after hearing such good things about this book.
So don't throw tomatoes at me!
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LibraryThing member LiterateHousewife
Ralph Truitt, a man who is the virtual king of his small Wisconsin town, put an ad in the the paper looking for a "reliable wife." Although he has all of the wealth and power he could ever need, he can't get away from his past. He spent many years celibate and sober in hopes of making right the
A Reliable Wife is a book that requires discussion. There are so many themes and topics ripe for conversation and debate.Thankfully I have been able to participate in a thoughtful Twitter book club as well talk about it in more depth with a friend. I think I could be happy spending hours talking about the interplay between Ralph, Catherine, and Tony, the distinction between nature and nurture, and the role of weather, gardens, and dark sexuality. As much as I want to dig down deep into every little crevice, the story is enjoyable and accessible at the surface level.
I couldn't have been more than two chapters into A Reliable Wife when I wondered where it had been all my life. I was drawn into the characters immediately and my interest never let up for a moment. The writing was beautiful throughout and I consider its conclusion to be among the best I've read. I relished every bit of this novel, finishing it with a sense of satisfaction that can only come from the knowledge that I will read it again many times over.
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mistakes he made with the wife of his youth and their children. Ralph, now at a distinguished age, wants to try a different tactic. For that, he needs an honest, simple wife. Catherine Land answers Ralph's ad for her own reasons. She uses deceit to get what she wants, believing that the transition from living in 1904's Chicago to Ralph's rural community worth the sacrifice to satisfy her needs and fulfill her fantasies. Despite the best laid plans, things do not go as planned for Ralph or Catherine. They both find that when you use someone to reach your own ends, things get messy.A Reliable Wife is a book that requires discussion. There are so many themes and topics ripe for conversation and debate.Thankfully I have been able to participate in a thoughtful Twitter book club as well talk about it in more depth with a friend. I think I could be happy spending hours talking about the interplay between Ralph, Catherine, and Tony, the distinction between nature and nurture, and the role of weather, gardens, and dark sexuality. As much as I want to dig down deep into every little crevice, the story is enjoyable and accessible at the surface level.
I couldn't have been more than two chapters into A Reliable Wife when I wondered where it had been all my life. I was drawn into the characters immediately and my interest never let up for a moment. The writing was beautiful throughout and I consider its conclusion to be among the best I've read. I relished every bit of this novel, finishing it with a sense of satisfaction that can only come from the knowledge that I will read it again many times over.
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LibraryThing member busyreadin
We read this book based on the wonderful reviews it has received.
I think the premise of the mail-order bride with the hidden agenda was very interesting and kept my attention. That part of the story was all that I liked about the book. I found it to be very overdone with the sexual moods, which I
I think the premise of the mail-order bride with the hidden agenda was very interesting and kept my attention. That part of the story was all that I liked about the book. I found it to be very overdone with the sexual moods, which I
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didn't think added to the story. Show Less
LibraryThing member exlibrisbitsy
Whatever you think this book is about when you pick it up, prepare to have your expectations totally blown out of the water. In A Reliable Wife three characters get tangled in a web of lies, deceit and shame as they all struggle with difficult life situations, hidden and open desires, and bitter
The novel opens when Catherine Land answers an ad in a Chicago paper looking for a reliable wife. She plans to marry the rich man from the country, Ralph Truitt, and then slowly kill him with arsenic. Then take the money and live in splendor for the rest of her life with her "useless lover". As the story unfolds about these three characters you find out that each feels that they are beyond redemption. In a lot of ways they are all horrible people that have done horrible things, they've lived bad lives or had bad things inflicted on them by design or by chance and they feel they can never escape. The story is dark and cold and full of despair, sadness and loss. At the same time you can't help flipping pages wanting to see what will happen to these people next, will things ever change for these people? How did they turn out the way they did? What exactly are the relationships between them and why are things this way? The way the lives and circumstances of these people crossed and tangled made the story very interesting as you watched the characters develop and change and come more and more into the light as the story progressed.
I was also impressed at how sympathetically each of the characters was painted. Especially since you know from the start that one of them is there to slowly murder another. Regardless of you knowing Catherine is plotting a murder she becomes a very sympathetic character and you watch as she agonizes over the decision and you see how frightened and confused she becomes as the story progresses in a very realistic manner. It was wonderful to read about all three of them at their best and at their worst and yet understanding them as human beings anyway despite their monstrous pasts.
I've heard on twitter some people complained that A Reliable Wife had too much sex in it. I think that sex, in this book, was used as a very strong illustration for the longing and desires that all of the characters have. They all want love and acceptance, they all want to feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves or perhaps just want to feel free from obligation. Sex is used to illustrate those desires and also to shine a light on how the three relate to one another and how that changes and grows as the book progresses. I think it was very well done and without it we couldn't have understood the characters on the level that we did. The sex showed vulnerability in people that from the outside looked strong and unflinching, wicked and untouchable.
For fans of historical fiction that has a bitter edge of realism, and shows a truly dark underside to all of humankind both redeemable and unreedemable than I really think you should check out this book. Whatever you think it is, it's not. It's so much more.
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and terrible pasts. These are not good people, and yet each in their own way beg for redemption even while believing they deserve none. It is a riveting book about the pain people can inflict on one another and themselves, the bitterness that grows out of that, the helplessness of some people to continue the cycle and the ultimate despair from the belief that the long cold winter will never end.The novel opens when Catherine Land answers an ad in a Chicago paper looking for a reliable wife. She plans to marry the rich man from the country, Ralph Truitt, and then slowly kill him with arsenic. Then take the money and live in splendor for the rest of her life with her "useless lover". As the story unfolds about these three characters you find out that each feels that they are beyond redemption. In a lot of ways they are all horrible people that have done horrible things, they've lived bad lives or had bad things inflicted on them by design or by chance and they feel they can never escape. The story is dark and cold and full of despair, sadness and loss. At the same time you can't help flipping pages wanting to see what will happen to these people next, will things ever change for these people? How did they turn out the way they did? What exactly are the relationships between them and why are things this way? The way the lives and circumstances of these people crossed and tangled made the story very interesting as you watched the characters develop and change and come more and more into the light as the story progressed.
I was also impressed at how sympathetically each of the characters was painted. Especially since you know from the start that one of them is there to slowly murder another. Regardless of you knowing Catherine is plotting a murder she becomes a very sympathetic character and you watch as she agonizes over the decision and you see how frightened and confused she becomes as the story progresses in a very realistic manner. It was wonderful to read about all three of them at their best and at their worst and yet understanding them as human beings anyway despite their monstrous pasts.
I've heard on twitter some people complained that A Reliable Wife had too much sex in it. I think that sex, in this book, was used as a very strong illustration for the longing and desires that all of the characters have. They all want love and acceptance, they all want to feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves or perhaps just want to feel free from obligation. Sex is used to illustrate those desires and also to shine a light on how the three relate to one another and how that changes and grows as the book progresses. I think it was very well done and without it we couldn't have understood the characters on the level that we did. The sex showed vulnerability in people that from the outside looked strong and unflinching, wicked and untouchable.
For fans of historical fiction that has a bitter edge of realism, and shows a truly dark underside to all of humankind both redeemable and unreedemable than I really think you should check out this book. Whatever you think it is, it's not. It's so much more.
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Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009-03-31
Physical description
289 p.; 23 cm
ISBN
9788429767612