A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick is a really good book. It is so well written. The book is Goolrick's first novel, but he also wrote a highly recognized memoir titled The End of the World as We Know It. Filled with beautiful, descriptive language; a compelling plot with two amazingly interesting and complicated main characters; passion and sensuality; and surprising twists and turns, you will not want to put this book down once you've entered this intriguing place and time.
The story begins on a cold, fall day. Set in Wisconsin, just after the turn of the century, in 1907. Fifty four year old Ralph Truitt is waiting for a train to arrive bringing him "a plain woman". A woman he has found through a personal ad he placed in a big city newspaper:
"Country Businessman Seeks Reliable Wife. Compelled by Practical, Not Romantic Reasons. Reply By Letter. Ralph Truitt. Truitt, Wisconsin. Discreet."
The train, carrying Catherine Land, the young woman who responded to the ad with a letter and a photograph, was running late. Ralph fondled her worn picture in his hand, noting for the thousandth time, "She wore a simple dress with a plain cloth collar, an ordinary woman who needed a husband enough to marry a stranger twenty years her senior." Goolrick's description of Ralph Truitt waiting on the platform is gripping and heartrending. This sad man finally has a ray of hope that he will find companionship and maybe even love. After just a few pages, I was hooked!
Catherine Land answers the ad because she cannot fathom living without two things: love and money. "She was determined, cold as steel. She would not live without at least some portion of the two things she knew were necessary as a minimum to sustain life." Ralph Truitt is her ticket. When her train finally arrives at the station, in Truitt, Wisconsin (the town Ralph Truitt owns) Catherine recognizes Ralph, but Ralph doesn't recognize her.
"Mr. Truitt. I'm Catherine Land."
"You're not her. I have a photograph."
"It's of someone else. It's my cousin India."
And so the relationship begins. Catherine Land is a beauty and a liar. She wants something of her very own and this is the story of how she goes about getting it.
In this NPR interview the author talks about the major themes of the book: Good vs. Bad, Winter to Spring, Redemption and Rebirth. A romance novel with extreme complexities, this novel arouses all of your senses. You want it to end a certain way, but you never believe it will get there. Do not miss this intriguing journey.
Blogger's Note: My book club LOVED this book, however, we were divided on whether or not we'd recommend it to a friend, mother, daughter, sister, brother or husband. Why do you think that might be the case? Would you recommend it? Can you see a reason why you might not recommend a book you LOVED to a friend? Let us know! I guess you know my response - I'd recommend it to everyone!
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