Stacia Brown

THE HALF WIVES is the excellent story of a former Lutheran minister, Henry, his wife Marilyn, his lover Lucy, and his eight-year-old daughter by Lucy, Blue. The entire book is a day in their lives, the anniversary of the birth and death of Henry’s and Marilyn’s child. The predicament they are in is obvious and is seen, chapter by chapter, through the eyes of one of these characters or the other.

That is what makes this book great. Stacia Pelletier presents all the various viewpoints and makes you understand and care about each character, even as they seem to be working against each other.

At the same time, there are problems with the way Pelletier has chosen to present the story. This has downgraded the rating that I give it.

First is the lack of quotation marks. Quotation marks were invented to aid readability. That is, quotation marks make it easier for the reader to understand. It is, therefore, rude of a writer not to use them. Pelletier doesn’t.

Second, as each chapter is written from the viewpoint of one of the characters, Pelletier has chosen second-person presentation. As a former technical writer who used the second person regularly and properly, I do not understand why she uses it in fiction. It put me off.

The entire story leads to what the reader thinks is an inevitable end. I was disappointed when I finally got there. The end leaves the reader to guess. I guess you can write it yourself however you like.… (mais)

Questo libro è stato una delusione.
Non che mi aspettassi un capolavoro, ma dalla trama sembrava un mix di mistery e storico e mi aveva incuriosito; invece di misteri neanche l'ombra, è un romanzo inconcludente, che gira a vuoto per la maggiorparte del tempo allungando il brodo in una vicenda di per se piuttosto lineare.
I personaggi sono appena abbozzati, compresa la protagonista, sulla quale si ha l'impressione che l'autrice stessa non abbia le idee chiare: a volte semplice vittima delle circostanze, altre volte donna emancipata in anticipo sui tempi. Lo stile è scorrevole ma piatto, non c'è mai un momento in cui ci sentiremo parte della storia.
Nonostante tutto avrei potuto considerare relativamente piacevole questo libro in virtù dell'originalità dell'ambientazione, dato che non capita spesso di leggere un romanzo ambientato durante la guerra civile inglese: ma quest'unico lato positivo viene spazzato via dal finale, insensato e grottesco. [SPOILER] Un salvataggio miracoloso per avere un lieto fine mina la già scarsa credibilità di quest'opera [FINE SPOILER]
Insomma se siete appassionati di quel periodo storico potreste provare a dargli una possibilità, ma il mio consiglio è di evitare di perderci tempo e spenderlo per trovare qualche romanzo migliore.… (mais)

Rachel has an affair with a married man and becomes pregnant. The man is in the Tower during her pregnancy and the messenger boy she sends to relay to him that he has #15 on the way, never reaches him.
This takes place in 1649 and in 1624 a new law was established regarding bastard children. Basically, she doesn't have a prayer whether the child survives or dies.
spoiler:


She's questioned, tried and hung.
I didn't care for this story. The characters seem to be going through the motion, but none of them are really alive.
I much preferred the Afterword and the Authors Notes to the entire story.… (mais)