How to Be a Good Wife - Hardcover

Chapman, Emma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1447216180 ISBN 13: 9781447216186

Publisher: Picador, 2013

Synopsis

Marta and Hector have been married for a long time – so long that she finds it difficult to remember her life before him. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife.

But when Hector comes home with a secret, their ordered domestic life begins to unravel. In the shadows there is a blonde girl that only Marta can see. And she is trying to tell her something.

Marta and Hector have been married for a long time – so long that she finds it difficult to remember her life before him. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife.

But when Hector comes home with a secret, their ordered domestic life begins to unravel, and Marta begins to see things, or perhaps to remember them. In the shadows there is a blonde girl that only Marta can see. And she wants something.

About this title

Review

‘An intensifying mood of menace pervades this mesmerising debut’ David Hewson, author of The Killing

‘A compelling, twisty tale of deception and distrust. Beautifully written, and very clever indeed’ Elizabeth Haynes, author of Into the Darkest Corner

‘Compelling and complex, this brave novel offers no safety nets . . . Not just a gripping read but an essential one. It will provoke questions long after the cover is closed’ Ruth Dugdall, author of The Woman Before Me, winner of the CWA Debut Dagger Award

‘On the surface the book is a highly competent, creepy little chiller, but beneath, like a silent, bolted and half-dark room, there’s a much bigger, equally disconcerting story about the nature of feminine experience. It’s an accomplished debut from a writer who shows insight and emotional power’ Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies

‘Tightly plotted, tensely written . . . Emma Chapman is very accomplished in her present, and a bright hope for the future’ Andrew Motion

‘Claustrophobic, startling and hauntingly beautiful . . . will stay with you long after you wish it would let you go’ Liza Klaussmann, author of Tigers in Red Weather

‘Taut, elegant and pitch-perfect. As soon as you've read it you'll want to talk about it’. Evie Wyld, author of After the Fire, A Still Small Voice

‘Compelling, edgy and dark – I read How To Be a Good Wife in one sitting’. Jane Rusbridge, author of Rook and The Devil's Music

‘An impressive debut novel. Here’s hoping there’ll be more from Emma Chapman’ M. J. Hyland, Man Booker prize shortlisted author of Carry Me Down and This is How

‘A tense, unnerving debut, told with precision and control. As unsettling as any ghost story’ Simon Lelic, author of Rupture and The Child Who

Book Description

I know what my husband would say: that I have too much time on my hands; that I need to keep myself busy. That I need to take my medication. Empty nest syndrome, he tells his friends at the pub, his mother. He's always said I have a vivid imagination.

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1447216180
• ISBN 13: 9781447216186
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288