i read THE PERFECT WIFE a little while ago and . . . well, it’s safe to say it’s stuck with me.
it’s some wild, crazy stuff.
TRIGGER WARNING: ABUSE, DEPRESSION, MENTIONS OF SUICIDE, VIOLENCE
The perfect life. The perfect love.
Abbie awakens in a daze with no memory of who she is or how she landed in this unsettling condition. The man by her side claims to be her husband. He’s a titan of the tech world, the founder of one of Silicon Valley’s most innovative start-ups. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He says she had a terrible accident five years ago and that, through a huge technological breakthrough, she has been brought back from the abyss.
She is a miracle of science.
But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins questioning her husband’s motives–and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together forever? And what really happened to Abbie half a decade ago?
Beware the man who calls you . . .
this is the first book i read via audiobook and i am so happy with this choice.
listening to it, as the story developed and answers slowly trickled out, with more questions being raised, was chilling.
it was terrifying and creepy.
i’m never usually one to read sci-fi books, and this one is a first. it seemed way too intriguing and mysterious to not dive in.
JP Delaney wrote THE PERFECT WIFE perfectly. it was written in such a way, where you question the narrative (a dual-perspective in this case: Abbie and an unknown male protagonist, talking about Abbie before) and whether you can trust what you’re uncovering.
it also makes you question the future of AI and what could potentially happen to our world as we know it, as well as touching upon topics dealing autism and abuse.
it brings to light the dangers of coercive and controlling behaviour, and how abuse comes in many other forms, that may not be just physical.
what i simply love about THE PERFECT WIFE is that it discusses the double standards within sexuality and the toxicity within marriage, how damaging and detrimental it can be having to rely on just one person for everything. how dangerous it can be.
Delaney carefully maps out the history for us, in slow, steady steps, so we get it piece by piece. just enough so we’d want to continue reading, enough to keep us hooked.
separately, the truths and memories don’t make sense, but when it’s put together as a whole, it helps to uncover the horrifying, staggering reality behind how differently women are viewed and just how awful marriage can be for some people.
(in all honesty, this book has scared me off marriage a little.)
it also has a vital character with autism, and doesn’t shy away from talking about the impact it has, on not just the individual but the family too. it mentions the difficulty that may arise from a toddler who could be hard to communicate with and the methods of therapy available.
the method used in THE PERFECT WIFE has been criticised as being abusive, and i’m not specialised in anything at all related to autism or the treatment methods, or anything medical whatsoever, so i have no idea if it is or isn’t. but i absolutely hated hated hated hated the way Tim was with his son and the school and just so much.
he appeared as too much of an “alpha male”, which seemed a little unrealistic for someone involved within the tech world, but him as man is, i feel, an accurate representation of how most men are and can be.
the topics mentioned in THE PERFECT WIFE are vital and important discussion pieces, amongst those topics is the #MeToo movement.
this book is a rating 4.5 out of 5 and i can’t recommend it enough!
have you read THE PERFECT WIFE, or any of the other books by the author?
Sumaiya, x
