You’re lying on your comfortable sun lounger looking at an inviting sparkling blue sea as a light breeze drifts through the air making the bright sunshine comfortable to relax in; you’ve got a long, cool drink in one hand, while the other rests behind your head, you’re feeling totally relaxed and you think “This is the best vacation that I’ve ever been on.” In reality, your work deadlines, kids’ school exams and ash cloud, not to mention your fear of flying, are all keeping you grounded and the closest that you’re getting to a sparkling blue sea is a Saturday afternoon at Mellieha Bay before the tourists hit the scene.
Monthly Archives: May 2010
The Wife’s Tale: Lori Lansens (Book Review)
LORI LANSENS: The Wife’s Tale, Virago, 371 pp, RRP €19.54
Having read Lori Lansen’s first novel, ‘The Girls’, I immediately knew that the characters in this book were going to be multifaceted and full of meaning – and I wasn’t disappointed. Her characters are three-dimensional; their experiences are heartfelt and meaningful, their characteristics are recognisable and you could see yourself or your friends in their shoes.
Mary Gooch is a glutton and fully aware of it; her 302 pounds of flesh are evidence of her eating habits, “she apologized for the way she ate, with a disturbing lack of discrimination”. When she was a little girl her mother took her to the doctor regarding her weight. The doctor classified her as being ‘obese’, a word that Mary doesn’t recognise and translates to ‘obeast’ – a beast that she believes lives inside her and makes her want to eat all the time.