Wolitzer was born in brooklyn and raised in syosset, new york, the daughter of novelist hilma wolitzer nee. A new york times notable book the wife is a difficult book to put down, written with wolitzers customary wit and verve. The wife is the story of the long and stormy marriage between a worldfamous novelist, joe castleman, and his wife joan, and the. And that is before wolitzers stunning twist of an ending. The wife is a milestone in the career of one of her generations truest novelists. Instead, wolitzers crisp pacing and dry wit carry us headlong into a devastating message about the price of love and fame. Aug 10, 20 wolitzer has a writing theory if after turning out 80 pages the novel hasnt flown, its time to tear it up and start again. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The wife by meg wolitzer meet your next favorite book. Meg wolitzer born may 28, 1959 is an american novelist, known for the wife, the tenyear nap, the uncoupling, the interestings, and the female persuasion. And meg wolitzers observations about gender and creativity. People wolitzers social commentary can be as funny as it is queasily on target. Meg wolitzer is the new york timesbestselling author of the interestings, the uncoupling, the tenyear nap, the position, the wife, and sleepwalking.
Write those witty, deft, hilarious sentences that add up to so much tragic understanding of life. Wolitzer was born in brooklyn and raised in syosset, new york, the daughter of. The first time i saw the wife i felt as if i were watching a home movie i. Wolitzer delicately chips away at this seemingly confident and detached narrator. Stacy schiffunflinching and acute, the wife packs a ferocious punch. At its heart, the female persuasion is about the flame we all believe is flickering inside of us, waiting to be seen and fanned by the right person at the right time. There is no cheap, gratifying hollywood ending to make it all better. The wife author meg wolitzer answers your questions pbs. Lastly and possibly somewhat oddly and you may wonder why, as it could not be the book as a whole but some of the stories within certainly resonate you should also take a look at revenge of the lawn by richard brautigan, particularly coffee. Meg wolitzer is an american writer, best known for the wife, the tenyear nap, the uncoupling, and the interestings. I realized that the ending of the book is authentic because of her reaction, her willingness to keep the secret. The author, meg wolitzer, tells this tale with warmth and humor.
Meg wolitzer s novel the wife is a memoir that tells about the life of joan castleman. Yet as the once blonde smith college coed looks over at the once handsome creative writing teacher who seduced her, she realizes that she must end this. I found out about meg wolitzer through this forum so thank you have now read the interestings and the ten year nap but think this is my favourite so far. The wife is the story of the long and stormy marriage between a worldfamous novelist, joe castleman, and his wife joan, and the secret theyve kept for decades. April 14, 2003 fortyfive years of a bad marriage laid out in pat detail, by the author, most recently, of surrender dorothy 1999. Wolitzer sleepwalking opens her latest tale in the firstclass cabin of an airplane. Meg wolitzer is the new york times bestselling author of the adult novels the interestings, the uncoupling, the tenyear nap, the position, the wife, this is my life, and sleepwalking.
I wanted to read something about an actual wife, not a wife just telling us about her husband. One of bestselling author meg wolitzers most beloved booksan acerbically funny entertainment weekly and intelligentportrait of deception the new york times. Discover book depositorys huge selection of meg wolitzer books online. So opens meg wolitzers compelling and provocative novel the wife, as joan. It is a surprise ending that will startle the most intuitive of. The film, which stars glenn close in a role that is already generating award season buzz, took a decadeandahalf to make. Screenwriter jane anderson optioned meg wolitzers novel of. Feb 04, 2019 our february pick for the pbs newshour new york times book club is meg wolitzers the wife. Now a hit feature film starring glenn close, jonathan pryce and christian slater, glenn. Deft and passionate, it raises questions about misguided aims and the deals we make with ourselves and others to reach them. This happened, once, with a book she was writing about freuds dora. Meg wolitzer is a writer and actress, known for the wife 2017, this is my life 1992 and the female persuasion. The wife 2003 by meg wolitzer is the focus of the literary wives series this month. Adam gopnik the wife of the wife is a brilliantly conceived character, smart and foolish, toughminded and weakwilled, witty and profoundly sad.
Jan 31, 2007 the wife by meg wolitzer january 31, 2007 posted by pvccbookclub in current discussion. Meg wolitzers novel comes to life in the wife jewish journal. Feb 26, 2019 meg wolitzer, author of our february pick for the newshournew york times book club, now read this, joins jeffrey brown to answer reader questions about the wife. Anyway i wondered if anyone else had felt moved by the end was the whole book her story or did that part of her go with jc. I applaud meg wolitzer for creating such an insightful and creative twist to the universal topic of marriage. Below are questions to help guide your discussions as you read the book over the next month. Meg wolitzers novel comes to life in the wife jewish. Vogue equal parts cotton candy and red meat, in the best way. On the eve of her husbands receipt of a prestigious literary award, joan castleman, who has put her own writing ambitions on hold to support her husband, evaluates her choices and decides to end the marriage.
One of usa todays top ten books of 2018 ultrareadable. Instead, wolitzer s crisp pacing and dry wit carry us headlong into a devastating message about the price of love and fame. The wife meg wolitzer ending possible spoilers mumsnet. New york times bestseller new york times notable book of 2018. Joe and joan castleman are on their way to helsinki.
The wife author meg wolitzer answers your questions. Discussion questions for the wife the new york times. T he female persuasion is meg wolitzers 12th novel and it is deft and funny, with the kind of sweep that one has come to expect from the author of the wife and the interestings, two of her. Meg wolitzer interesting the author of the acclaimed novel the interestings, now out in paperback, talks about scrabble, edith wharton, and writing without a desk.
Well, it turned out that the book had just that in store for me. Now a major motion picture starring glenn close in her golden globewinning role. Meg wolitzer, author of our february pick for the newshournew york times book club, now read this, joins jeffrey brown to answer reader questions about. Explain how this observation could also be made of wives. Summary the moment i decided to leave him, the moment i thought, enough, we were thirtyfive thousand feet above the ocean, hurtling forward but giving the illusion of stillness and tranquility. I broke out and wrote the wife in reaction to that the first firstperson book id ever written. Wolitzer has masterfully created an expose of lives lived in partnership and the truth that behind the compromises, dedication and promise inherent in marriage there so often lies a secret underpinning it all. The wife by meg wolitzer carnegie mellon university libraries.
The wife by meg wolitzer paradise valley community college. Mar 12, 2020 reading group guide for the wife by meg wolitzer. Our reading guide for the wife by meg wolitzer includes a book club. And that is before wolitzer s stunning twist of an ending. Our february pick for the pbs newshour new york times book club is meg wolitzers the wife. Everyone knows how women soldier on, how women dream up blueprints, recipes, ideas for a better world, and then sometimes lose them on the way to the. Her short fiction has been published in the best american. But the wife, a recent drama based on the novel by meg wolitzer, the film is directed by swedish director bjorn runge, explores the. She currently works as an instructor in the mfa program at stony brook southampton. The wife by meg wolitzer carnegie mellon university.
Im late to the meg wolitzer party, although its rather less of a party and more of the afterdinner mess, all winestained lips and drunken tearstreaked cheeks. The wife book by meg wolitzer official publisher page. Charming and wise, knowing and witty, meg wolitzer delivers a novel about power and influence, ego and loyalty, womanhood and ambition. Fiction asks a lot of people, says meg wolitzer, to tell them that you need to learn about these. Not one to dally, meg wolitzer graduated from brown university in 1981 and published her debut novel, sleepwalking, the following year. Wolitzer has a writing theory if after turning out 80 pages the novel hasnt flown, its time to tear it up and start again. Joan endures and observes but neither glenn closes performance or meg wolitzers prose leave us to believe that joan finally accepts her limits. The character is not standing for women everywhere. When it comes to dealing with hollywood, author meg wolitzer has learned that patience is essential. Meg wolitzers novel the wife is a memoir that tells about the life of joan castleman. What is the startling revelation at the end of the wife. She is also the author of the fingertips of duncan dorfman, a novel about scrabble for middlegrade readers, as well as the young adult novel, belzhar. And, it tackles the conundrum many women face of choosing to harness their talents or devote themselves to their familiesor some balance between the two.
Here are discussion questions to guide your reading. Meg wolitzer the female persuasion trade paperback. After attempting her first short story in the library stacks at smith college, joan, the protagonist of the wife, imagines what it was like to be a writer. The novelist talks to emma brockes about friendship, rivalry and. Meg wolitzer is so funny and clever she should be bottled and sold as tonic, allison pearson a triumph of tone and observation, the wife is a blithe, brilliant take on sexual politics, lorrie moore hilarious and touching, erica wagner, the times with a great lightness of touch, wolitzers novel satirises american literary circles of the seventies and eighties and traces the generation of wives.
The wife is an acerbic and astonishing take on a marriage from its public face to the private world behind closed doors. Since then, shes written several more novels, as well as short stories and screenplays, and has taught writing at the university of iowa writers workshop and skidmore college. The wife by meg wolitzer has an overall rating of positive based on 5 book. Reading group guide for the wife by meg wolitzer 1.
Meg wolitzer books list of books by author meg wolitzer. One of bestselling author meg wolitzer s most beloved books an acerbically funny entertainment weekly and intelligentportrait of deception the new york times. I chose this book as a twofer it works for author of the month and off the shelf, books on the cover for my goodreads book club. The wife by meg wolitzer paradise valley community. The wife gives us a glimpse into the disparity between the public and private faces of marriage. Earlier this week i read life after life by kate atkinson, so i was surprised and excited to read the following quote in the wife. Newsdaythe wife speeds along, glittering all the way. On the way to helsinki, where her novelist husband joe is to receive a major literary award, 64yearold joan castleman relives their years together as she steels herself to tell. Often, unions that seem to be good marriages, turn out to be hiding ugly truths. She works as an instructor in the mfa program at stony brook southampton.
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