The Doctor's Wife

On one hand you could say this book is dated, but on the other hand I reckon it was well ahead of its time. On one level it's a story about a married woman who has an affair and begins a journey to find herself, but on another level it's a much deeper exploration of the relationships between men and women and the extent to and means by which men hold power in a society where violence is the ultimate act of enforcement. As I write this I hear of yet another Australian case of a husband killing his wife. Clearly Brian Moore's message is just as relevant today as it was in the 1970s, much to our shame. He does offer some hope for change, but rightly doesn't suggest that men are going to initiate any revolution which undermines their own show more dominant position. I think this is one case where the Booker committee did well in shortlisting this work show less

Having loved [b:The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne|782982|The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne|Brian Moore|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478142847l/782982._SY75_.jpg|1111687] [bc:The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne|782982|The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne|Brian Moore|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478142847l/782982._SY75_.jpg|1111687] I really wanted to try another Brian Moore novel and the Doctor’s wife really caught my attention, written in 1976 and a Booker prize short list nominee, its extremely well written and while its not my typical read I really found it quite intriguing. There are no major reveals or twists and turns and yet the story of a show more married woman who has an affair with a younger man is beautifully written and I just couldn't put this one down.

Sheila Redden, a quiet, middle aged doctor’s wife from Northern Ireland awaits the arrival of her husband to join her for their two week holiday in France. He has been delayed by a couple of days and she finds herself unexpectedly caught up in passionate affair with an American 10 years her junior.

There are flashes of Northern Ireland and the troubles throughout the story and we are transported to a time when women were pretty much seen and not heard, when a woman’s place was in the home and when the little lady did as she was told and yet we see many signs of the changes and while I felt pangs of sympathy for Mrs Reddan, there was times I felt annoyance and anger at her too and for me this had all to do with her son.

There are what were deemed “explicit sex scenes” in the 1970s which I would think by today’s standards are quite mild and are relevant to the story. This is quite a thought provoking novel and I would love to have read it for a book club as I think there is quite a lot to discuss here. The characters are so well portrayed and for a short novel it really packs a punch. show less

Sheila Redden is a quiet, middle-aged doctor's wife. She is also on her way from war-torn Belfast to the south of France where her husband Kevin will join her in a few days, so that they can relive their honeymoon of fifteen years ago together. But Sheila had not reckoned on meeting Tom Lowry and finding her life totally transformed.

Ten years her junior, Tom Lowry is an American initially introduced to Sheila by an acquaintance of hers. What follows for both Sheila and Tom, is a brief but incredibly passionate affair that leaves Sheila completely devastated - never expecting that the love that she feels for Tom could become so strong in such a short period of time.

I have to say that I wasn't expecting The Doctor's Wife by Brian Moore to show more be as good as it turned out to be. Not that I was expecting the book to be awful or anything - I actually learned later that it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1976. However, since this was the first book by Brian Moore that I've ever read, I'll admit that my expectations about The Doctor's Wife started off slightly lower than they would have been had this been the second or third book by Brian Moore that I'd read.

Anyway, I certainly give The Doctor's Wife by Brian Moore an A+! This book was hidden away on my downstairs bookshelf for some time, until I discovered it while moving some books upstairs to look through them. I almost wish that I had read this book several years before now - oh well, better late than never, I suppose. :) show less

Though the subject matter would cause barely a ripple today, its frank exploration of a married woman's affair and belated sexual awakening made The Doctor's Wife quite controversial when it was published in 1976. It is very much a novel of its time - set against a backdrop of Ireland's Troubles, in an era when keeping up appearances was considered much more important than sexual fulfillment or romantic love. For this reason, younger readers may find it hard to relate to flinty protagonist Sheila Redden. Yet the novel, which was shortlisted for the 1976 Booker Prize, is still worth reading for Brian Moore's effortlessly beautiful prose style. And it provides yet more evidence of the author's uncanny ability to create believable and show more interesting female characters. show less

I'm trying to read as much of Brian Moore as I can, and when this one presented itself in the free bin at my local library a few weeks after I finished his first novel, "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne", I took it but only read it now. This is on the face of it a novel of adultery, but really Moore is exploring the tension between the compromises people make to avoid risk and the risks we take to find our true selves.

Another one read for the Mookse Madness list. I don't think I was the ideal reader for this claustrophobic story of a woman escaping from a stifling and unfulfilling marriage by falling for a young American while on holiday in France. Not that I want to be too critical, the subject matter just didn't really engage me.