American Housewife

 Book 21 of my 2021 Reading Challenge

American Housewife

by Helen Ellis

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2016

Meet the women of American Housewife: they wear lipstick, pearls, and sunscreen, even when it's cloudy. They casserole. They pinwheel. They pump the salad spinner like it's a CPR dummy. And then they kill a party crasher, carefully stepping around the body to pull cookies from the oven.

These twelve irresistible stories take us from a haunted prewar Manhattan apartment building to the unique initiation ritual of a book club. From the getaway car of a pageant princess on the lam to the joyful Sunday-night poker game of a middle-aged woman with no cash, no kids, and time on her hands.

Vicious, fresh, and nutty as a poisoned Goo Goo Cluster, American Housewife is an uproarious, pointed commentary on womanhood.

First Impressions/Judging a Book by Its Cover

I added this book to my 'to-read' shelf on Goodreads in 2016 and I have no memory of what drew me to it at that time.  The reason I'm reading it now is because of random selection on Goodreads.  When reserving books from the local library, I clicked a page in the middle of my 'to-read' list and if my library owned a copy, I got it.  I like to do that so I'm not always reading the newest additions, especially during this time when I'm relying on the online catalog instead of in-person browsing.

The cover art looks like something that would've caught my eye if I'd been browsing and the description of stories seem like an unique take on the stereotype of the housewife.  

My Opinion

5 stars

Wow, this was the right book at the right time for me!  As I mentioned above, I had no clear reason for choosing it now but I'm so glad I did because it was just what I needed.  I immediately recommended it to a like-minded friend and she's already told me she's enjoying the audiobook version.

I have notes on all of the stories but I don't think I'm going to divide it by section because even though the stories were incredibly varied, my feelings were pretty much the same.  Even though there were some I didn't enjoy as much as others, there were no "clunkers" to me.  They were unpredictable and macabre. 

I think part of the creepiness comes from the mundaneness.  Some of these characters were completely sociopathic or even psychopathic with the matter-of-factness they had in these bizarre situations.  All of the stories were either written in the first person or presented from only one person's perspective so that added to the tone; it's hard to explain because I don't want to spoil any of the twists but it had a flatness or monotone that felt like someone was talking about any regular day when they were in fact describing something incredibly unusual.  Especially since most if not all the characters were women, it really added to the element of using stereotypes to get away with something (housewives are always underestimated).

I'm raving about it but this isn't a blanket recommendation because it will only appeal to a certain audience.  If you're looking for a little escape and don't mind reading something unsettling (not gory), give this a try.  

A Few Quotes from the Book

"I fix myself a hot chocolate because it is a gateway drug to reading."

"If someone moves to make room for you, take up more room."

"If you stand in a kitchen long enough, someone will feed you."