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Authors, Books, Character, Literary Wives, literature, Plot, Reading, Women, Writers, Writing
I regret to say that I did not finish A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick, though I made it through 3/4s of the book and so feel I can say I gave it my best shot. The book may appeal to certain readers, though I am not one of them. I offer little here by way of critique or review of the book except to say that the difficulty I had with reading it came from marked flaws in the realization of believable characters.
The plot, briefly, is of a wealthy man, Ralph Truitt, who “purchases” a mail-order bride, of sorts. This woman, Catherine, turns out not to be who she says she is, but rather an imposter intent on killing Ralph for his money. I am not spoiling anything by telling you this, as it’s pretty clear from the start that this is her plan. What I won’t tell you is how she is luridly and intimately involved in Ralph’s past in a way that is beyond distasteful. To find out, you’ll either have to chance it with the book or perhaps look for more information in the posts my co-hosts write for this novel (see links below).
As a far as plot goes, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with it. A skilled writer could do something interesting with it, and there are flashes of that something in this book — unique turns of phrase, some interesting twists. But there is way too much repetition, and not enough action happening over the course of more than 100 pages to warrant the page count. However, plot aside, my struggle with the novel is the lack of credible character development – this was a deal-breaker for me.
For starters, Ralph is a shallow character with a textbook case of sexual obsession…could be interesting, except Goolrick doesn’t go there. Why is Ralph this way – is it a choice or is it a mental disorder? And what does he suffer by struggling with his obsession? How does he grow as a person through his obsession? What is his moment of grace, the moment when he can choose to change and become something other than what and who he is? These are all worthy questions to explore. However, none of them are investigated. Ralph is sexually obsessed as a child and grows into a sexually obsessed adult. He never apologizes for it or questions it or seeks to restrain it; he simply revels in it. This is hard to like. Nothing about him is attractive or sympathetic, in spite of the useless and tired old saw that he had an overly religious, borderline abusive mother, an overly indulgent if disconnected father, and a skewed image of God. Over and over again, we read is that Ralph is thinking about sex, about his past sexual exploits, and about all the people all around him having sex. How is this supposed to compel me to care about this character, much less continue reading? It seems to me Ralph chooses to give in to his compulsion and never thinks critically about it. If he is mentally ill, then the book should be about grappling with this form of mental illness. If he is simply a sex addict, then it should be about that. But it isn’t about either of those. I’m not quite sure what the book is about, but it isn’t about the reality of what it is to live as a sexually obsessed, psychologically damaged individual. For the record, I tend NOT to gravitate towards books that have a central focus on sex, and this one absolutely has that focus, across the board, for all the main characters. Had the lack of adequate character development not been so glaring, it is quite likely this focus on sex would have been the next reason in line for why I didn’t finish the novel. It is entirely possible that the emphasis on sex overshadowed the need to develop sound character — this seems to me a common, though no less depressing, problem in popular fiction. Moving on….
Via an odd flashback, we learn that years earlier, Ralph meets a woman in Italy, Emilia, whom he falls in love with and brings to America. He builds an entire world for her, but she is shallow and unfaithful and loves only his money. Ralph’s choice of Emilia in light of his sexual obsession and her shallowness is entirely inexplicable. There is nothing about her character that would warrant either his choice of her as a mate, nor such a dramatic change in his character – full-throttle libertine to chaste spouse in one fell swoop? No way, not for someone like her. Also inexplicable is how Ralph is duped by her disguised greed – his worldliness would seem to make this an impossibility. Also inexplicable is his grief at her death and his subsequent sublimation of his previously physically compulsive sexual obsession for a no less active mentally compulsive sexual obsession. None of this makes any sense, nor does it ring true psychologically.
Fast forward to the present and Ralph’s weird liaison with Catherine. I’m not even going to discuss Catherine except to say that she is a very sorry excuse for a woman. Ralph’s contract to marriage with Catherine is also a ruse, in more ways than one, and does nothing to soften him – or her – and make him even remotely likeable. What is a wife in this book? How is she defined? Based on the portion of the novel I read, a wife is 1) cold-hearted and fanatical, 2) unfaithful, 3) a schemer, 4) greedy and selfish, 5) a murderer, 6) a whore, and 7) vengeful. Entirely too much negativity for me. I have a lot of compassion and empathy, but the cold-blooded plan Catherine cooks up with her lover to murder Ralph for his money and the appalling abuse she takes at her lover’s hands are beyond sympathy. Nor did I really care much for their sick sordid relationship and what they were plotting, simply because I didn’t really care about Ralph. The whole triangle is a mess and left me feeling page after page like I was reading a novelization of All My Children or As The World Turns. I kept wondering, “What is this book about? What am I supposed to take away?” There were simply no answers… when I read I’m looking for more – more depth, more complexity, more realism, and more psychological richness.
It is hard for me to be critical of Goolrick. As a writer myself, I know how extremely difficult it is to create believable characters with psychologically sound motivations. Writing anything well is hard work. I do not say he is not talented; however, these faults in character development, at least for this reader, were deal-breakers. I simply needed to stop the car. Perhaps the last ¼ of the novel shatters all of my 3/4 view impressions and, if so, I’d be happy to stand corrected. But who am I anyway? The critics loved this book. I leave it to more erudite readers than myself to determine its value. I abandoned it with a slight pang because I felt I might be letting my co-hosts down with a lackluster discussion. But that was quickly relieved by losing myself in a book that did have what I was looking for – the next book on our Literary Wives list: The Aviator’s Wife, by Melanie Benjamin. Hope you’ll be back in August for the finale to this segment of the series.
For more perspectives on A Reliable Wife, please visit Ariel at One Little Library, Emily at The Bookshelf of Emily J., and Audra at Unabridged Chick.
Did you read this pick? What did you think?
Emily January said:
I love that you discuss Ralph’s sexual obsession more fully and critique it through your lens as a writer. The lack of character development did not stand out to me in a way that I could articulate, but now that you’ve said it, I completely agree. I think your review is detailed and insightful and has not suffered from your not having finished the book. Your insight that I connect with most is that Ralph is not a character that we care about. I agree.
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Angela said:
Thank you for thinking I did alright on this, Emily. I waited until the last minute and was worried — kept struggling over whether I should try one more time to finish the novel, but I just couldn’t make myself. Like you, I connected with Ralph a bit at the beginning, but his sexual obsession and shallowness soon made me lose what little sympathy I had for him. I can’t read a book if I don’t care about the characters. Have you ever read Patricia Highsmith? She’s remarkable in her ability to make the reader care about someone (a murderer and a thief) that you might not necessarily think you could care for. You don’t like her Tom Ripley, but you can’t wholly dislike him either. Weirdness in a character is OK as long as it’s well-done and deep, like she does it.
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Lynn said:
Yep, Angela, the sexual obsession stuff was even worse than the sex in American Wife for me. Though I neglected to include it in my own review at http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-reliable-wife-by-robert-goolrick.html. I will say you might have had a bit different perspective by the end of the book, but I don’t know. If I’d not FORCED myself to reread it for this discussion, I would probably not have any positive reaction… I really dislike this book!! Thank you for echoing many of my own feelings about it, especially after the first time I read it!
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Angela said:
Worse, and different, Lynn. I’m glad you noticed it too. I’ll be curious to see what you thought of the book — will pop over and read your review shortly! 🙂 I liked Ariel’s positive perspective, though I am not sure I would have been able to see it. I just couldn’t get past the inadequate character development. If the character is faulty, the “message” (which I really couldn’t see at all) seems useless to me. Did you say you REREAD the book? Girl, you have a stronger stomach than I do. Wow.
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Lynn Gerrard said:
I admit I was rather proud of myself for retreading and attempting a more in-depth analysis. As I noted in my review I was much more aware of the writing devices employed and could at least appreciate that… There just wasn’t anyone to like or believe in, for me! Yes, I have a cast-iron stomach!! LOL
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Angela said:
Lynn, I tried to leave a comment on your blog, but it got rejected/deleted. I’ll try again today. I loved how you identified some of the technical elements — these were lost on me. A 2nd read can help with seeing those things. But not much else. 😉
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Ariel Price said:
Wow! I hadn’t thought about the fact that the character development was seriously missing, but you’re definitely right. I felt like I could tell that Goolrick meant for certain things to be important—like Ralph’s mom stabbing his hand and Catherine’s meeting with her sister—but ultimately I didn’t see how those instances changed the characters. Tony certainly didn’t grow at all.
And I agree about the sex—it really seemed pointless. I just wasn’t sure what to do with it. I kept thinking, “Why are we thinking about sex again? What does this have to do with anything?” The sex addiction didn’t really seem to have an impact on the relationship at all. I know you didn’t finish it, but I liked the fact that at least Ralph and Catherine were happy in their marriage together. They’re both weird, twisted people, but they loved each other (after trying to kill each other….).
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Angela said:
Yes, I absolutely agree with you, Ariel. I saw those events and happenings as things which should/could have been significant, but they were never followed through on. The characters were basically one-dimensional and static, which doesn’t do much for plot, conflict, catharsis, etc. I very much appreciate that you were able to find a silver lining in the book, that you saw some positives. I wanted to, but couldn’t…..I suppose being happy in a marriage is a positive, but what is the happiness based on? And if, as you say, they had tried to kill each other, where does the trust that is so essential in a marriage come in? I don’t understand the view of marriage in the novel.
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Audra (Unabridged Chick) said:
I shared on Emily’s blog that I wondered if the ‘reliable’ part was really about fulfilling marital duties — as Catherine gave herself/her body in her paper marriage to Ralph and her obsessive ‘marriage’ to Antonio. Was she ‘reliable’ in that way?
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Angela said:
Hmmmm…..maybe. But her lack of resolve with Antonio and her duplicity with Ralph make her quite a bit less than reliable. It seems to me a play on th word reliable, maybe that there is nothing reliable in a relationship???? I don’t know.
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Audra (Unabridged Chick) said:
I don’t think the last 1/4 shatters what the first 3/4ths set up so you’re fine DNFing it! I ended up loving this one, but I think it hit a right note for me atmospherically. I love noir-style fiction — dark, moody, anti-heroes, sex and drugs — and so the real un-savoriness of the characters didn’t bother me. I wasn’t wild abt Goolrick’s writing style and the sex emphasis — not just the non-stop sex but the obsession with thinking about it — was extremely tiresome.
I shared on Emily’s post that a reader clued me into the fact that in Goolrick’s real life, he’s experienced horrible abuse and had a tragic sexual relationship that has left him, for something like 25 or 30 years, without seeking out a romantic partnership. Know that has made me think this book might have been about working through some of his personal demons/angst, which might be why it feels so … randomly, unnecessarily dark.
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Angela said:
Even though I didn’t care for the book, I am happy that both you and Ariel found positive things in it, because it does help me to see it differently, Audra. I appreciate that. I read your post on Emily’s blog and it got me thinking, too. I think you are probably right with your insight, however, I struggle with characters who seem to justify their perpetuation of a pattern of abuse. I saw the theme in the novel,and was waiting for some resolution, some growth or catharsis. While you and Ariel point out some possible ways of seeing this at the end, I’m not sure I buy it. As someone who has been a victim of abuse, I realize healing from it takes a lifetime and great and constant effort. It is so easy to relax and let oneself be a victim or, worse, never to take the step to try to break free of the cycle. A therapist once told me that I had the power to change and control MY OWN behavior and that as long as I continued to allow my actions and choices to be determined by the abuse/my past, I was continuing to allow that person to control my life. Writing at all is necessarily autobiographical — we write from our experience and how we process it — but I would hope that ultimately the act of writing is itself a healing and that themes and characters come through the work that point towards that. Abuse is never justified, nor is abuse ever acceptable simply because one has been abused. No amount of reasoning can make this OK, and I think that was part of the trouble I had with the lack of psychological realism in the characters. They wallowed in their victimhood and used it to justify their actions and no one ever moved beyond it. It is OK to show a character who perpetuates the cycle — that is real — but to never give the character a moment of grace, in which he or she can make the choice to move beyond, is not real. Everyone is always presented with this choice, even many times. I’m not sure this happens in the novel, at least for me. But I can see how, from what Ariel said of the ending, others can take that away from it. Perhaps my reaction, aside from the technical problems I had with it, is also based in part on my own experiences and it seemed to devolve into more darkness and resolve in not enough light. I’m so glad you shared that about Goolrick’s own life, Audra. That helps me to at least put things in a different perspective. 🙂
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Cecilia said:
Emily pointed me in your direction when I commented on her blog that I couldn’t finish the book. I went in with such high expectations because of how popular the book was but I was just so turned off by the characters that I couldn’t turn another page. I agree that you did a very insightful and thoughtful analysis even though you didn’t finish the book! I agree with your review and disliked the book for the same reasons.
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Angela said:
Hi Cecilia! Thanks for coming over to read my perspective. It is nice to know that I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t get through the book. I did try — it is hard for me, especially once I invest time in a book, to make the choice to abandon it, because it feels like such a waste all around. But this one required that. Thank you for your kind words. I hope you’ll come and visit again. 🙂
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Ruth Nina Welsh said:
Although this wasn’t my kind of book, Angela, and I can quite see why you didn’t finish it, I did manage to get to the end. I’m actually glad I did make it to the end as there was a little ‘light’ there. As you say, there are a number of difficulties, but as I have a bit of a policy not to say negative things about writers, I’ll offer this thought on the conclusion and the title. I felt there was redemption, after a fashion, for both Catherine and Ralph by the end of the book, but Catherine in particular. I thought it telling her comment on pg 286: ‘She had agreed to marry him without realizing that marriage brought a kind of simple pleasure, a pleasure in the continued company of another human being, the act of caring, of carrying with you the thought of someone else.’ That Catherine made it to this place, after all that had gone before is redemption and grace I think. It seems a simple thing to know and understand, but the fact that this was new to her shows the terrible place she was in. Her creation of the garden is also telling. Plants represent renewal, beauty, things that need care and cherishing and this becomes her focus. She travels the farthest in the book I think, because she had the farthest to travel. Maybe in this sense she does then become ‘A Reliable Wife.’ The parameters of the novel are so far from the norm that I think it’s impossible to compare with normal life. But in terms of her life, she definitely makes some positive progress.The characters are all deeply damaged, though, and, as such, it’s not a pleasant read!
Hope you are making a little progress with your own projects. Mine is coming on really well! 🙂
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Angela said:
Your thoughts here make a huge difference for me, Ruth. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to find in the novel, but simple couldn’t get through all of the other stuff to the end. I am sincerely glad that “moment of grace” appeared, however, because I felt that it was the author’s intention to go there, but that he simply couldn’t weave it in in any way up front. You point to things — especially the garden — that I really wanted to see expanded. These things, in my opinion, could have saved the reading experience for me had they been developed with some hopefulness earlier on. No one answered my question in the comments about the garden — this seemed to me an image of hope and rebirth and was one I longed to see developed because I believe it truly could have softened Catherine and Ralph. I’m so glad there was some light in that image at the end. Thank you so much for highlighting these points and for so carefully examining the subtleties of change and growth you found. I’m going to post your comment as a showcase. Great insights!
So glad to hear your project is coming along. 🙂 Nothing on my end — other things have crowded in. But I am always hopeful. I will write soon. Take care.
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Ruth Nina Welsh said:
Hi Angela, I’m so pleased that my review offered something! Take care of yourself 🙂
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Lynn Gerrard said:
Wow, Angela, just saw your post that your comment on my blog (http://books-n-music.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-reliable-wife-by-robert-goolrick.html?m=1) was rejected?!? Huh…am checking settings, etc. and thank you for trying!!
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Angela said:
No worries, Lynn. I’ll be back over to try again. I just haven’t had time. I still need to read and comment on Audra’s post. Blogger is notorious for rejecting comments if you don’t have a blogger presence. I’ve tried using my Google and my WordPress identities and have the same problem 9 times out of 10. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do. But let me know if you find anything out.
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Lynn said:
I have gone into settings and done everything I know to do to enable comments. I did set everything public and I’ll moderate comments. Maybe that will help? I’m new to all this, so we shall see… Thanks for trying!!
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Angela said:
Thanks, Lynn! I will try again! 🙂
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