Review: Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

Title: Recipe for a Perfect Wife

Author: Karma Brown

Published: December 2019, Dutton Books

Format: ARC Paperback, 336 pages

Source: Publisher

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.

My thoughts: I’ve been a fan of Karma Brown’s writing ever since reading her debut novel, Come Away With Me, back in 2015. She has a way of pulling you into her writing and not letting up and even though this new book has a bit of a different feel to it, I was still captivated by the writing.

I loved the way this story was told – I’m always a fan of a dual narrative when it’s done right and Karma Brown does it really well here. Moving back and forth from the present day and to 1950’s, we get to know two housewives, who at first glance couldn’t have been more different, yet as we all know, appearances can be deceiving. This book is all about finding out who you really are and boy do we find out who these women are, for sure! I loved how some of the chapters would start with either a recipe from the 1950’s or advice for a married women – talk about interesting tidbits on how to keep your marriage from falling apart! Boy were these some interesting gems. 

There is a little bit of a mystery surrounding some letters that Alice, the housewife from the current time frame, finds in some old magazines that were from Nellie, the housewife from the 1950’s. I liked how this mystery didn’t overtake the book, but did make you eager to find out more about their importance.

This was such a great read –  one that once I started reading, I could not put down. I was equally invested in both time lines and that isn’t always the case when it comes to dual narratives. I cannot recommend this book enough…it’s an engaging read and one that I think would be perfect for book clubs as it provides much fodder for discussion!