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Recipe for a Perfect Wife
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie, Mozhan Marnò
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
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Recipe for a Perfect Wife
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Publisher's Summary
In this captivating dual narrative novel, a modern-day woman finds inspiration in hidden notes left by her home’s previous owner, a quintessential 1950s housewife. As she discovers remarkable parallels between this woman’s life and her own, it causes her to question the foundation of her own relationship with her husband - and what it means to be a wife fighting for her place in a patriarchal society.
When Alice Hale leaves a career in publicity to become a writer and follows her husband to the New York suburbs, she is unaccustomed to filling her days alone in a big, empty house. But when she finds a vintage cookbook buried in a box in the old home's basement, she becomes captivated by the cookbook’s previous owner - 1950s housewife Nellie Murdoch. As Alice cooks her way through the past, she realizes that within the cookbook’s pages, Nellie left clues about her life - including a mysterious series of unsent letters penned to her mother.
Soon, Alice learns that while baked Alaska and meatloaf five ways may seem harmless, Nellie's secrets may have been anything but. When Alice uncovers a more sinister - even dangerous - side to Nellie’s marriage, and has become increasingly dissatisfied with the mounting pressures in her own relationship, she begins to take control of her life and protect herself with a few secrets of her own.
What the critics say
"[Brown] excels at bringing the complexities of women’s lives to the page, and her latest novel questions how much has really changed for women over the last 60 years. The pacing is brisk, the characters are appealing, and both time lines are equally well realized. Thoughtful, clever, and surprisingly dark." (Booklist)
"Brown skillfully alternates between Alice's modern world and Nellie's in the 1950s. With plentiful historical details (including recipes and depressingly hilarious marriage advice), the pages devoted to Nellie come to life.... An engaging and suspenseful look at how the patriarchy shaped women's lives in the 1950s and continues to do so today." (Kirkus)
“A powerful, thought-provoking story about the choices that ultimately come to define and liberate two women who lived 60 years apart.” (Shelf Awareness)
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What listeners say about Recipe for a Perfect Wife
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vita
- 2020-02-15
Complex and interesting
Very captivating novel, I feel like I know the characters now. Recommend for when doing chores around the house.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maggie Reid
- 2020-05-17
A lovely surprise
Wasn’t sure if I would like it or not, but I was pleasantly surprised. Although you kinda knew early on what happened to one of the characters, it was completely enjoyable.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- LadyK
- 2020-04-30
Predictable but Enjoyable
Am I the only one who thought this could have been a great book for a slow burn horror genre? Seriously. This would have been an excellent haunted house/possession book. With Alice slowly turning from a New York City working women with no interest in the "domestic" life into they stereotypical 50s housewife that Nellie was. Dressing like her, cooking like her, gardening like her, eventually becoming her.
Did anyone else read it that way? I can't be alone in this. If it had been written as a horror story then I would have given it a 4.5 or even a 5 star rating. But alas, I do not believe it was intended to be taken as some sort of thriller so I wrote a more serious take below.
Well according to the quotes from 1900-1955 I am a terrible wife. Oh my goodness how times have changed.
I am very surprised by how much I actually liked this book despite the main character Alice being one of the most unlikeable characters. She was terrible all the way around, she was so selfish and hypocritical. She was very frustrating. Seems like a lot of problems could have been easily solved if she DIDN'T LIE SO MUCH! ARGH!!!
Yet despite that this book really does draw you in. It is incredibly predictable, the "secret" is something that can be figured out fairly early on in the book, but that doesn't take away from the book being a fun read/listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Christian Ford
- 2022-06-03
Loved it
I loved this book, every part of it! Well written, and the narrator was enjoyable. The story was really captivating
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- BookWorm
- 2020-05-25
Love
I was not expecting to love this like I did. the performances were great and made the characters come to life. I was drawn in to both womens stories equally, which seldom happens in a dual storyline like this one, at least for me. I recommend this book. It strikes a cord with modern visions and struggles of womanhood and marriage but not in a preachy way.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marie Morin
- 2020-04-06
Loves it!
I don't usually read fictional books , but having seen it was the book chosen for the Cityline book club, I decided to give it a chance. I'm so glad I did! Congrats to the author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2023-02-13
I recommend this book
This was a required reading for one of my classes but I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the message. The narrator was pleasant to listen to.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2024-04-10
Just ok for me
Narrator does an excellent job. I like how this story started out…however, I found it difficult to relate to the modern day main character. She constantly lied (for no apparent reason) and “trapped” herself into her rut.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shelley Terpstra
- 2020-04-29
Recipe for a perfect book!
Take one excellent author mix with brilliant ideas and interesting characters cook in moderate storyline. Take care to not overcook. Sprinkle with light humour, heartache, joy and relief.
This book is to be savoured while relaxing or even while tidying up. It’s hard not to indulge and consume all at once.
Definitely a creation worth indulging in.
Enjoy!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DJ
- 2021-07-23
LOVE THIS
loved this book! I like how it was about 2 women and the book jumped from past to present.
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