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The Wife Tree by Dorothy Speak
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The Wife Tree (edition 2001)

by Dorothy Speak

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332727,058 (3.5)8
Dorothy Speak's long-awaited first novel tells the poignant, comic and redemptive story of Morgan Hazzard, caught late in life between a dying husband and the opinions of her rebellious children. Forty years of marriage to a hard, prairie-bred man have frozen Morgan into the semblance of a steadfast wife. But when a stroke silences William Hazzard, Morgan's feelings and memories begin to thaw. She has always known how to endure: unwanted pregnancy; the deaths of two children; the anger of her husb∧ the harsh summers and winters of her farm childhood; the indifference of her own mother; decades of lust, lies and betrayals. What she learns in the sudden peace and quiet of her own house and in the somewhat rusty and surprising sound of her own voice  is her surprising strength and capacity for joy and change, even on the eve of her seventy-fifth birthday. More loveable than Margaret Laurence's prickly and obstinate Hagar Shipley, Morgan Hazzard is as fierce and indelible a character. And her journey, unlike Hagar's, takes her toward hope and liberation, not compromise and silence.… (more)
Member:clamato
Title:The Wife Tree
Authors:Dorothy Speak
Info:Random House of Canada (2001), Hardcover, 320 pages
Collections:Your library
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Tags:Fiction

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The Wife Tree by Dorothy Speak

  1. 10
    The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence (betterthanchocolate)
    betterthanchocolate: Old women find redemption in looking back or starting anew.
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This is the story of 70-something Morgan Hazzard, whose husband has just suffered a stroke and is in hospital unable to walk or talk. As the story unfolds, we learn that Morgan has seven children; her six daughters all live far away (other continents, mostly) and her son is an evangelical Christian. All are emotionally distant from Morgan. The book is very well written, and I loved Morgan as a character. She is totally over-shadowed by her verbally abusive husband, she is haunted by childhood trauma. We see her going from a strong young woman to a meek and submissive wife and mother. As she deals with her husband's illness, and the absence of any supportive family, we learn more about her life and marriage.

What I didn't like was that the daughters are very undeveloped as characters, and a couple of events stretched my ability to suspend disbelief. Still, a great story, well-written. ( )
  LynnB | Sep 4, 2018 |
interesting. the heroine is very irritating. many people she meets on her odyssey seem to be enchanted by her choices. she becomes blind but never complains of this and seems to manage fine.?her kids are dreadful, her husband too ( )
  mahallett | Mar 30, 2010 |
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For Monica
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The trees have begun to shed their leaves.
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Dorothy Speak's long-awaited first novel tells the poignant, comic and redemptive story of Morgan Hazzard, caught late in life between a dying husband and the opinions of her rebellious children. Forty years of marriage to a hard, prairie-bred man have frozen Morgan into the semblance of a steadfast wife. But when a stroke silences William Hazzard, Morgan's feelings and memories begin to thaw. She has always known how to endure: unwanted pregnancy; the deaths of two children; the anger of her husb∧ the harsh summers and winters of her farm childhood; the indifference of her own mother; decades of lust, lies and betrayals. What she learns in the sudden peace and quiet of her own house and in the somewhat rusty and surprising sound of her own voice  is her surprising strength and capacity for joy and change, even on the eve of her seventy-fifth birthday. More loveable than Margaret Laurence's prickly and obstinate Hagar Shipley, Morgan Hazzard is as fierce and indelible a character. And her journey, unlike Hagar's, takes her toward hope and liberation, not compromise and silence.

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