From the publisher:
In the tradition of Emma Donoghue's Room and S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep, How To Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman is a haunting literary debut about a woman who begins having visions that make her question everything she knows.
Marta and Hector have been married for a long time. Through the good and bad; through raising a son and sending him off to life after university. So long, in fact, that Marta finds it difficult to remember her life before Hector. He has always taken care of her, and she has always done everything she can to be a good wife—as advised by a dog-eared manual given to her by Hector’s aloof mother on their wedding day.
But now, something is changing. Small things seem off. A flash of movement in the corner of her eye, elapsed moments that she can’t recall. Visions of a blonde girl in the darkness that only Marta can see. Perhaps she is starting to remember—or perhaps her mind is playing tricks on her. As Marta’s visions persist and her reality grows more disjointed, it’s unclear if the danger lies in the world around her, or in Marta herself. The girl is growing more real every day, and she wants something.
I really loved this book!
I received an ARC from the publisher and I am so thankful for the opportunity to read Chapman's debut offering.
"How To Be A Good Wife" is a gripping, suspenseful read that will leave you clinging to the edge of each page as you find yourself unable to let Marta Bjornstad remain alone with the ghostly images that haunt the periphery of her mind. As her visions come more and more into focus, readers begin to question their own perceptions and reality. There are two possible explanations for what Marta is experiencing--and both options lead readers to chilling places that no one wants to acknowledge.
Chapman has written a brilliant novel!
Emma Chapman was born in 1985 and grew up in Manchester. She studied English Literature at Edinburgh University, followed by a Masters in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. After university, she travelled in Scandinavia, and she currently lives in Perth, Western Australia. How To Be A Good Wife is Emma's first novel.
