The Wife

"We were traveling at a speed of thirty-five thousand feet above the ocean when I made the decision to part ways with him, giving the impression that everything was peaceful and quiet. similar to our union." This is how The Wife by Meg Wolitzer begins, with Joan Castleman sitting next to her husband on their journey to Helsinki. Joseph Castleman, the husband of Joan Castleman, is "one of those men who own the world...who has no idea how to take care of himself or anyone else, and who derives much of his style from the Dylan Thomas Handbook of Personal Hygiene and Etiquette." In addition, he is one of America's greatest novels, ready to be honored with a major international prize, and Joan, after forty years of stifling her own creative gifts to further his career, has finally made the decision to give up.

Following this suspenseful beginning, Wolitzer flashes back fifty years to the start of the Castleman relationship in the 1950s, at Smith College and Greenwich Village. She then chronicles the events of the well-known marriage that have led them to this breaking point, culminating in a shocking conclusion that reveals a closely guarded secret.

The Wife, Wolitzer's most significant and ambitious work to date, is an incredibly accessible tale of a clever, perceptive woman who is forced to face the compromises she has made to live the life she believed she desired. It's also a really honest look at the decisions that every man and woman make for themselves in terms of marriage, career, and life. Through her deft narrative and astute observations, Wolitzer raises important issues on the nature of relationships and the vulnerable status of an aspirational woman in a society dominated by men.