“I was happy, I think, but I wonder now if my memory is playing tricks on me. If it is giving me the gift of an illusion. We all layer them over our remembrances; the filters through which we want to see our lives.”
The Wife Between us follows a woman named Vanessa. Broke, divorced and working at a department store, she spends most of her wage on funding her alcoholism. It says it on the back of the book but the reader will make assumptions. We’re reading about a jealous ex-wife who’s stalking her replacement. We believe we’re reading about a love triangle. Although we’re warned, we will make those assumptions because there is no other logical conclusion.
Think again.
My Thoughts
Overall I enjoyed this book at the time of reading.
There were some aspects I saw coming however, I’m not sure if the writers wanted that, or if it’s because I’d researched the topic a few years prior and so the signs were more obvious.
There was an element I did not see coming.
I hope I don’t have to tell you that this book is chock full of spoilers.
This element, I’m not sure if it happens often within the genre however, it was very much new to me and therefore I found it impressive. It also made me reflect on what I’d already read and think about it in a new way.
I think the writers did a great job of tying up all the loose ends. At the very end they brought in a backstory for one of the characters. Though it may not have been necessary, I was on board with this as I believe they wanted to show us their motivations.
I understand that some felt an explanation at the end for one of the characters made them feel like it excused their behaviour in some way however, I don’t think that was the point. I think the point was to offer a deeper level of understanding.
Something I will say is that, as much as I enjoyed reading this at the time, nothing really stuck with me.
It’s a great story, and I’m glad I read it however, I don’t envision I’ll pick it up again anytime soon.
