A powerful, thought-provoking story about the
choices that ultimately come to define and liberate two women who lived 60
years apart.
Characters often face difficult choices--and
learn how to live with the consequences--in the novels of Karma Brown (TheChoices We Make). In Recipe for a Perfect Wife, she continues
this theme, chronicling the lives of two women who lived nearly 60 years apart.
In 2018, 29-year-old Alice Hale and her
husband, Nate, move from a "shoebox-size" apartment in the Murray
Hill section of Manhattan to a sprawling colonial house in Greenville, a suburban
town "less than an hour's train ride from the city and yet an entirely
different world." Alice has apprehensions about the retro fixer-upper, but
nevertheless makes the adjustment.
While Nate commutes to his city job, Alice,
having left her career and friends behind to write a novel, feels a deep
loneliness. When she finds a vintage cookbook in the basement and begins
whipping up some of the recipes, her anxiety and depression start to lift. She
becomes intrigued and wants to find out all she can about Nellie Murdoch, the
previous owner of the cookbook and the house.
As Alice learns more about Nellie's life, she
faces unexpected crises that force her to rethink choices she's made, secrets
she's kept and actions she may need to take in the future. Patriarchal dilemmas
abound for both women. Yet, through the wisdom evoked by revelations in
Nellie's life story, Alice is suddenly inspired and empowered better to deal
with her own challenges.
Strong, well-drawn women anchor Brown's
deeply thought-provoking, feminist novel. The spellbinding dual stories
complement each other, raising themes of self-discovery, self-preservation and
liberation for two women living eras apart.
NOTE: This review is a reprint and is being posted
with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this
review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (January 10, 2020), link HERE
To read the
longer form of this review as published on Shelf Awareness for the Book Trade (December
6, 2019), link HERE