Alice has been married to her husband, William, for twenty years. Though she can still remember the first time they met like it was yesterday, these days she finds herself posting things on Facebook that she used to confide to him. So when she’s invited to participate in an anonymous online survey on marriage and love, she finds that all her longings come pouring out as she dutifully answers … questions under the name “Wife 22.”
Evaluating her responses is “Researcher 101,” who seems to listen to her in a way that William hasn’t in a very long time, and before she knows it, she finds herself trying hard not to e-flirt with him. Meanwhile, her elderly father is chatting on Facebook, her fifteen-year-old daughter is tweeting, and everything in her life is turning upside down.
Wife 22 is a hilariously funny, profoundly moving, and deeply perceptive novel about the ways we live and love in this technological age, from a dazzling new voice in fiction.
BONUS: This edition includes a Wife 22 discussion guide.
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Well, isn’t this a fun read! Not only fun, but funny. Not only funny, but wildly inventive. Not only wildly inventive, but poignant. Wife 22 is also wise in matters of the heart. Melanie Gideon could put marriage counselors out of business.
Wife 22 is not just clever, it is a funny, wise, and ultimately tender and revealing portrait of contemporary family life, of a marriage, and of a wife and mother and her all-important circle of friends in midlife straits. Every woman who has ever Googled herself, Facebooked her children, or simply wondered, ‘what if?’ will come to cheer and adore …
Vibrant, au courant, and hilarious… brilliant!
The delightful, compulsively readable Wife 22 manages to be both funny and thought-provoking on the eternal question: After many years of marriage, how do two people keep their love vital? Alice Buckle’s hilarious search for greater happiness will resonate with readers of all backgrounds.
Wife 22 has an interesting format. It’s mostly told the same way other books are, but it’s also told in email and facebook posts. I normally wouldn’t be a fan of the FB posts, but Gideon pulls it off beautifully.
Alice has been married 20 years and her marriage has a case of the doldrums. On a lark, she signs up to participate in an anonymous …
Such a good read — really makes you think. Clever format!
I really couldn’t get into this book. Very insecure wife in her marriage.
Just listen to the Pina colada song.
I enjoyed my time reading this book. I felt like I knew the characters by the time it was over. The plot twist was satisfying though I usually don’t like neat endings.
Interesting story of a woman who enrolls in a survey that evaluates her marriage. She starts to fall for the man asking the questions.
A different kind of story. Entertaining.
Absolutely delicious! What Bridget Jones did for single women, Alice Buckle will do for married ones. Melanie Gideon’s Wife 22 is a fabulously funny contemplation of relationships and parenthood in the twenty-first century.
Loved it. Perfect for anyone in mid-life, who needs a laugh (and in mid-life, who doesn’t?)
fun to read
A light, fun read. Also good insights to long marriage and teen age children.
Difficult to get into because it was all emails. Did not enjoy the format. After about 1/3, I skipped to the end. Might have enjoyed the story, but reading it was too much work.