Mary Gooch! Oops I Mean The Wife’s Tale
October 29, 2009
I was pretty happy when I heard (ages ago it seems) that Lori Lansens had a new book coming out this year. I liked The Girls and I was curious about what she’d do for her next book. So I was really happy when Random House Canada sent me a review copy of The Wife’s Tale.
We need to stop and talk about the title of this book for a minute. Personally, I kind of strongly dislike the title. If I didn’t know who Lansens was and saw this book I would not be so interested in it. Yes, I can be a title snob. I think it should have been called Mary Gooch, because as one character in the book said you can’t forget a name like Mary Gooch. The Wife’s Tale? Forgettable. Mary Gooch? Not forgettable. So I’ve been calling this book Mary Gooch, hence the title of this post.
Mary Gooch is, quite simply, a large woman living a small life. She’s scared of change, scared of things being different. She doesn’t use a cell phone or even use her bank card. She relies on her husband, who she simply calls Gooch for all of that. She doesn’t listen much to other people, she mostly just listens to the call of her Kenmore refrigerator.
Then one day Gooch is just gone and Mary is left alone. I don’t mean he died. He just left. Mary suddenly finds herself having to do things for herself. Shockingly (to her) she discovered she can.
I liked Mary Gooch, both the character and the person. I liked it more than The Girls (who happen to get a nod in this book as both are set in the same small town).
I’m not crazy about the cover but the chocolates to play a part in the book. And I was highly amused that someone happened to give me a box of Laura Secord chocolates while I was reading it. And it was nice to read some Canadian fiction again. Sometimes I forget how much I actually do like it.
Disclaimer: Random House Canada provided me with a review copy of this book. This was an uncompensated review.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Mmmm… Laura Secord chocolates. Sounds good.
I’m not liking the “Tale” “Wife” “Daughter” titles that are all the rage lately. It’s every second book.
Chris@bookarama´s last blog ..Rises the Night by Colleen Gleason: Review
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sassymonkey Reply:
October 30th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Which is really funny when you see that the post immediately after this is about a “bride”.
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October 30th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Great review! I loved this book, and I am SO with you about the title. From the moment I finished the book, I really wanted it to be called “Mary Gooch” because it’s such a stickable name.
Cass´s last blog ..Scream-Worthy Thrillers & Supernatural Page-Turners
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sassymonkey Reply:
October 30th, 2009 at 11:39 am
I think the title that they went with is a bit unfortunate. It’s not bad, it just gets lost in the crowd.
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October 30th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Interesting; I’ve never heard of this author, but I think the plot sounds interesting. And the cover art is fantastic!
Heather´s last blog ..Challenges
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sassymonkey Reply:
October 30th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Heather, she’s a Canadian author. Her last book The Girls got some good international attention after it was chosen to be in Richard and Judy’s Book Club (UK).
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October 30th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I have owned this since it came out, but I haven’t got around to reading it yet! I will have to remedy that…
Kailana´s last blog ..Olympics 2010
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sassymonkey Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 pm
It was a nice read. As I have a habit of not reading things promptly I was pretty happy that I read this when I did.
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October 31st, 2009 at 9:54 am
I haven’t read either book by this author, but they both sound like winners. I agree with you on the title, but even Mary Gooch lacks pizazz in my book. Maybe because it reminds me of a pasta company called Martha Gooch!
Les in NE´s last blog ..The Birthing House
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sassymonkey Reply:
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Ha. I didn’t know there was a pasta company called Martha Gooch. I still think it should have been named Mary Gooch though.
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November 2nd, 2009 at 6:27 pm
OK, going to add this to my TBR list. Thanks for the review!
Stephanie´s last blog ..Vote on the WordPress Logo Entries
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sassymonkey Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I hope you like it!
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November 9th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Oh I loved The Girls. I’m glad to finally see a review of this one. Sounds like I need to get it moved to the ‘read soon’ list.
SuziQoregon´s last blog ..The Ruins by Scott Smith
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