Fredrica Wagman

Warning - this book is NOT for the faint of heart or squeamish! Honestly, there were times where it was almost too much for me (and I read Lolita and Lady Chatterley's Lover with no problems whatsoever and spent two days wandering the Red Light district in Amsterdam and loved every minute of it). I found that the madness of the main character was so intense that I could only read a few pages at a time. However, I was equally disturbed and fascinated by the tumultuous mind of the heroine and show more found that no matter whether I was reading or not, the book and the main character constantly haunted me.

I warred between absolute horror at her relationship with her brother and wanting to enfold her in my arms and try to heal her. The entire book is a cry for help; she struggles to be normal but realizes that she cannot. She idolizes and hates her brother, and those two emotions play out in everything that happens to her. She has more bad experiences that would make any person insane, which sparked my need to nurture and protect. However, her relationship with her brother and subsequent behavior violates some of our most innate cultural mores, and it is difficult to overcome those feelings of revulsion. Upon objective reflection, the reader can realize that these opposite feelings are the point because if the reader is feeling such warring emotions, just how violent are the feelings of the heroine?

In simple terms, this book is completely haunting and gut-wrenching. Take this line, "I didn't love anyone, and that was death" (p. 89). It punches you in the stomach with its simple need. The entire book was like that - simple statements that packed such an emotional punch that leave you gasping for breath, wanting to take a break but needing to continue to read. I've never read anything quite like it.

As I said, this is a tough, tough book to finish. Incest is never easy, but some of the main character's behavior as a result of that incest is also quite disturbing. It takes a strong stomach and open mind to get through the book but well worth it in the end. Based on what I read here, I'm less inclined to judge people for their decisions because you never know what is driving them to make them.

This is the second book I've read by Ms. Wagman, and I was not disappointed. I highly recommend her books, although I again caution you that her subject matters are not easy. Thank you to Julie Harabedian from FSB Associates for the opportunity to review this book! show less

Playing House is about a woman who's had an incestious relationship with her brother when she was younger. At first, you'd think, she would struggle against this sort of thing. It's obviously not normal and it's certainly psychologically devestating. However, things starts to take a darker twist as she starts to accept this, and actually like it. As she grows older, and has different relationships with other men, she still has her mind on her brother and compares these men to her brother. As show more you read through the pages you see what goes through her mind and how her life just always revolves around her brother.

I knew it was going to be a hard topic to swallow. I read the synopsis before agreeing to review this book. Even though I was a little hesitant because Wagman's writing style is very different. I was wrong. You won't have that many problems reading this book it's almost lyrical and poetic if not for the haphazard thoughts the narrator goes through. As for the topic, I knew what I was getting myself into, but I didn't think it would be as bad as I thought it would be. There's just parts that now stand out in my head and I can't get it out and it just feels dirty. Don't get me wrong it's not as if I don't like the book, in fact I thought it was interesting because of what goes through her mind and what the narrator does to go through her life always comparing everything to things she's done with her brother. It's just because of the topics you just feel almost dirty reading it. Perhaps Wagman had that in mind for her readers. I'm not sure.

I found it hard to sympathize with the narrator. She actually liked having sex with her brother and she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. She starts taking a turn for the worse after her brother leaves and it's just hard to like her. Her brother is just as bad, he's cruel he's horrible and everything about him is just wrong. You'd almost have to wonder if they're both really meant for each other (even though they're related) since he's corrupted her and made her this way (at least, I think so).

The things I didn't like about the book? the narrator's thoughts are a little haphazard and all over the place. Also they blend in from the past, into present time so it's a bit hard to follow. Otherwise, those that are a little sensitive to this kind of taboo content, it's really not for you. There's also some beastiality content so if you're really not into any kind of sexual explicit material this is probably not the book for you.

Overall a very shocking book. One of the most psychologically draining books I have ever read up to this point. I really liked the narration though, despite its' content, Wagman made it sound lyrical and poetic at times and I thought it was a job well done. It's a short read (less than 200 pages) and although I don't really recommend it, I wouldn't say ignore it either as it's something that should be read. It's not everyday where you come across a book with taboo content but written well enough that it's not trashy. show less

This book is one of the more haunting, compelling books I’ve read in a while. Ramona’s struggle is heart-wrenching. I wanted to be able to put the book down and forget about her problems but found that I couldn’t. Even when I wasn’t reading the book, I was haunted by her questions and issues, including while I slept.

It took me a while to realize what the struggle actually was, let alone the lie around which the entire book circles. Ms. Wagman gives the reader hints and clues about show more them both from the very beginning, but it didn’t dawn on me that they were clues until about midway through the book. Suddenly, the beginning made much more sense. More importantly, I could see the ending approaching. However, by that point in time, I was so vested in Ramona’s struggle that I was rooting for her and praying that I was wrong about that ending up until the final moments. Twenty-four hours later, and I am still haunted by the ending.

Ms. Wagman presents some of the most beautiful passages, ones that will stay with me for a while. I don’t normally mark books in any way, nor do I write down favorite quotes or sections because I try to go with my overall feelings. The Lie forced me to stop and reread entire paragraphs because of the message contained within. My favorite: “failure has nothing to do with rejection, or with humiliation, or with losing; it has only to do with not fighting back” (p. 123).

There are some extremely powerful emotions occurring that pull the reader into hundreds of different directions but leave you completely shattered in the end. Because of that, or rather in spite of that, I am so glad that I read this book and would definitely recommend this to others. I was completely mesmerized by Ramona’s story, and Ramona herself will remain with me for a long time to come.

Thank you to Julie Harabedian at FSB Associates for allowing me the pleasure of reviewing this book! show less

The Review

On an afternoon in the rain, a week after her father’s death, Ramona meets Solomon Columbus, her future husband. Mesmerized by his odd features and his pronounced sadness, she sits with him as they share their stories while chainsmoking the afternoon away. Later drenched by the rain, Ramona leads him to her home where her lonely and damaged mother, Trixie, meets them with her disdain and contempt. After she insists that Solomon leave, he tells her that he intends to marry her show more daughter. They avoid Trixie by a set of back stairs that led to a old, musty attic. There they spend four days holed up in dust, heat, and smoke. Ramona and Solomon marry and she moves in with him to a more affluent home. He is deeply in love with Ramona, however Ramona’s past has damaged her psyche to the point that she may be totally incapable of experiencing true love with her husband.

This book goes on to reveal more about Ramona’s past and her present. She struggles with her relationship with both her husband and her mother and much of that stems from her past. She is fascinated and consumed with Rita Hayworth. It has been told that Rita Hayworth had suffered from an abusive relationship with her father. More information on the life of Rita Hayworth may be found HERE and HERE.

To avoid spoilers, I will keep the remaining details about this story the secrecy of the pages within the book. Wagman has written this book in an almost poetic pentameter. It is not a “classically” written novel, but its words bring about waves of emotion. Many of the passages brought me to a halt and gave me pause to consider my past. This book is unlike anything that I’ve read in the past two years and its uniqueness brought me a certain fondness for this book that I will always maintain within the walls of my heart.

Relationships between mothers and daughters are sometimes difficult at best. For the heroine of this book, her connection to her mother was one that saddened me to the core. This passage in the book, when Ramona is with her mother at lunch, was one that really affected me:

“Fine,” I answered… hoping against hope on the one hand that this would be the day… and on the other… hoping that I’d have the strength to just shut up and not say anything if this wasn’t the day no matter how much I craved confiding in her… telling her things… sharing… only why - why did I crave confiding in her - she was mean spirited and nasty and never gave good advice - didn’t I know this, so what was the lure… as we sat there… two little kernels again - each sitting completely encased in our own little crystal ball across from each other with nothing touching… not in any way… not even the crystals… as we gazed at each other awkwardly… looking for something… each of us… only what… as the craving to tell her what was going on with Mr. Columbus began gaining… gaining… the craving to divulge… to wipe away the dividing line between her and me in a desperate effort to erase the inexorable aloneness… dissolve the irreversible separateness… the crushing urge to inhale Trixie into me or be inhaled by her that could never happen… not with her or with anyone… not ever… which was what was so terrible… we’re born alone - we live alone… we die alone and when we’re dead… the horror of being even more alone… completely alone… forever!”

…”What?” I asked as I looked at her… she who gave me death the same as she gave me life so that a sense of mourning was always moving between us in big wild waves… the unending sorrow of looking at your mother… the child who has to grow up and leave… the mother who has to grow old and die… she… who engenders such thoughts just be gazing at me with that thick dark eye encircled in that big pink thumbprint… because she made me… and in making me I became part of the whole long living chain that would one day snap… and that’s what she gave me to… an endless universe of death… my own… hers and everyone’s and everthing’s… every plant and every flower… every dream and hope… but I could never mention this - oh no! not so much as a hint… I had to be forever grateful and my gratitude had to be as big and as absolute and as perfect as death itself… “

I can’t say that I “enjoyed” this book as that verb seems to convey an entertainment value. Rather, this book hit my heart and hit my mind. It made me think. It made me sad. And, in many ways, it made me grateful. This is a book that will bring about many emotions within the reader, which is why I think this book sets itself apart from the pack of typical fiction.

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

Based on the impact of this literary work, for the genre Fiction, I am going to rate this book a 9 OUT OF 10. show less