• Stumble Upon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
 

'Reliable Wife': Madness And Passion In Wisconsin

text sizeAAA
April 26, 2009

Murder, madness, unbridled passion — It's the stuff of romance novels. But Robert Goolrick's new book A Reliable Wife is more complex than that. Sure, Goolrick makes good use of some familiar literary types: the lonely, wealthy man with dark secrets in his past, the expected arrival of a prim, proper woman who will change his life and share his mansion in the middle of nowhere.

But the mail-order bride who steps off the train as the book begins is no Jane Eyre. She is a beauty and a liar with her own dark secrets and her own sinister plans. In his first novel, Goolrick, who until now has been best known for his memoir The End of the World As We Know It has spun a tale that will keep many a reader turning the pages late at night to find out what happens next.

Guest host Lynn Neary talks with Robert Goolrick about his first novel.

 
  • Stumble Upon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
 

Podcast and RSS Feeds

PodcastRSS

  • Books
     
  • Weekend Edition Sunday
     
 
 

Comments

Discussions for this story are now closed. Please see the Community FAQ for more information.

 

Purchase Featured Books

A Reliable Wife

NPR Bestseller Lists: A Survey Of Independent Bookstores Nationwide

get the lists

Books

Our reviewer picks books the highlights of the year: everything from sci-fi to Norman Rockwell.

Alan Cheuse's Book Picks To Warm A Winter's Night

Our reviewer picks books the highlights of the year: everything from sci-fi to Norman Rockwell.

James Ellroy recommends <em>From Here to Eternity</em>'s damned landscape: Hawaii before Pearl Harbor.

Damned 'From Here To Eternity'

James Ellroy recommends From Here to Eternity's damned landscape: Hawaii before Pearl Harbor.

America's Finest News Source has released a book celebrating its 21 years of satire (with a wink).

'The Onion': Mocking All Who Deserve It Since 1988

America's Finest News Source has released a book celebrating its 21 years of satire (with a wink).

The 60th annual National Book Awards were handed out Wednesday night in New York.

McCann, Stiles Win National Book Awards

The 60th annual National Book Awards were handed out Wednesday night in New York.

It's been all Palin all the time ever since the former Alaska governor unveiled her new memoir.

Matthew Continetti On The 'Persecution' Of Palin

It's been all Palin all the time ever since the former Alaska governor unveiled her new memoir.

Agassi and Palin bios; Stephen King's newest, Zadie Smith essays, and the science of religion.

What We're Reading, Nov. 17 - 23, 2009

Agassi and Palin bios; Stephen King's newest, Zadie Smith essays, and the science of religion.

Books That Will Help You Understand Afghanistan

Recommendations range from a collection of Afghan proverbs, to a history of the CIA's involvement.

more