Jane Goodger started out writing very unusual books – they don’t quite fit into the genre. This one was strangely compelling but also close to being a wallbanger – it definitely wasn’t a typical romance. I haven’t read any of her newer books, but I’ve heard they’re more conventional. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…
The Perfect Wife by Jane Goodger
(2000, Edwardian) 7/11/12
Grade: 3
Henry Owen is desperate to gain his inheritance so he can save his childhood home… but the only way he can do that is to marry. So he chooses shy, overweight Anne Foster – and divorces her as soon as his inheritance comes through. Two years later, Anne is thin and beautiful and determined to take revenge… but she still finds herself drawn to Henry despite herself.
This was a very strange book. I’m not convinced it was a romance at all – the “love” at the end felt tacked on and unconvincing. A more realistic ending might have been for the hero and heroine to end up alone, or with other people. Henry was cruel and self involved, and I was not convinced by his reformation. Anne was more sympathetic but she was strangely lacking in depth or self-awareness most of the time. There were some hints at the beginning of the book that Henry would end up falling in love with Anne’s personality over her looks, but that thread was mostly dropped since she showed very little personality during their “courtship”, other than a weird physical attraction that wasn’t backed up with any sexual tension. Then there was the secondary romance that lacked any chemistry whatsoever, and the rather sick subplot about the hero’s grandfather. So why did I keep reading with all these flaws? It was compellingly written, despite everything. But I felt kind of nauseous as I was reading. It was probably the least convincing happy ending I’ve ever read.
Is it a good thing for a book to be memorable when the primary memory is dislike of the main characters?
Karen Wheless
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