“Don’t knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in awhile.”—Kin Hubbard.
We , at the book club, are lucky to have the one-tenth that always have something to say without prompting. Our group met on the 8th with our book of the month being,” A Reliable Wife”, by Robert Goolrich.
Karen Moes led the discussion about this unusual book. I have thought about how to describe this book and for once, words fail me. I can’t come up with a one-liner that encapsulates it. So, I will stagger on doing the best I can. It is by far the raciest book we have read,( now aren’t you sorry you didn’t come?) However, it is dark, depressing and complicated. This is not a straight forward read, there are many surprises and twists and turns. I think I would say everyone in the book, with possibly one exception, is dysfunctional. That might seem a sweeping statement but this was not just my opinion but seemed to be everyone’s opinion that attended our meeting. It’s set in 1907 in the winter, in Wisconsin. Cold, bone chilling, grey, depressing, are descriptive words that come to mind.
The main characters are Ralph Pruitt, a man in his fifties with a tortured mind, who professes to wish for a simple, honest woman, a reliable wife. I say professes, when in fact this is just part of what he wants. Then there is his mail order bride, Catharine, who does not fit that label but pretends to, at first. Actually , she has some poison stored in her luggage , intended for Ralph. Add Ralph’s step son who hates him . Around these main three the plot swirls and twirls with depravity, selfishness, depression and general dysfunction. There are many surprises, some , as we discussed, believable and some we thought contrived. I will say it’s interesting but I caution you not to tackle this book if you are feeling down as I believe you will spiral into your own depression by the end.
Despite all these negatives, we had a lively, interesting and fun discussion. We , of course, discuss the book but this inevitably leads us down our own paths of experience and thoughts. That’s what makes a book club so enthralling, you get to hear of so many experiences and what beliefs we have formed, due to those experiences.
It was suggested instead of picking a book for each of the coming months, starting with our return in September that we return with a summer read .A book we think others would enjoy hearing about. We have not made a final decision, but I think most were open to this.
Dee Pribyl , single handedly, produced an amazing lunch fit for a king, and only we were there to enjoy it! She had trays of cheese, vegetables, meats, crackers and a lovely creamy spread. She had even brought something hot, which is tricky, as the library doesn’t have an oven. Nestled in a warmer were small pigs in blankets, ( wee wee ones), sorry, couldn’t resist. She had not forgotten those of us with a sweet tooth and had two types of bars, one chocolate and one lemon, both were delicious. Thankyou Dee!
Another year of book club is over and I hope everyone enjoyed those evenings as much as I did. Now to our summer reading everyone! Next meeting will be the first Tuesday in September. We hope everyone from this past year returns and we get to see new faces. HAPPY READING!!
