The Rebel Wife: A Novel [Hardcover]

Sunday, April 15, 2012

The Rebel Wife: A Novel [Hardcover]

Product Details

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Simon ; Schuster (February 7, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1451629516
ISBN-13: 978-1451629514
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Taylor M Polites (Author)
Price : $15.49
You Save : $9.51 (38%)

Customer Reviews

In his debut novel, Taylor Polites spins a page-turning story of desperation and transformation, set during the unstable Reconstruction Era. Polites' attraction to both historical research and eerie Gothic motifs -terror, darkness, miasma, attraction, and deception- led him to craft something original, a subtle mystery that took me by surprise. I would recommend reading it on a hot summer night, if you can wait that long.
At its core, the plot is propelled by fraught obsession, as the widowed heroine of The Rebel Wife, Augusta, relentlessly struggles to hold-tight to what is hers. Augusta's anxiety is more than warranted, in a time and place when single women had limited control of their income, kin, and even their households. Fans of Jean Rhys, Daphne du Maurier (My Cousin Rachel) and Maggie O'Farrell (My Lover's Lover, After You'd Gone) will appreciate Augusta's unrelenting mind, along with the sticky pace at which Polites' brings her closer to her elusive objective, which may or may not exist. That's all I'll say about the plot; I despise spoilers!
I loved this book, though I don't often read historical fiction. Polites ends his novel with an impressive bibliography -- full of history monographs you that you read in grad school. Despite his academic research, the novel is not an event-driven story of war and disease. This book is character driven. Any research conducted by Polites influenced details of setting, behavior, dialogue, and dress. Thank you, Taylor Polites, for avoiding battle scenes, and all of their tedious details.
I look forward to reading future works by this promising new novelist!

"The Rebel Wife" is an easily entertaining, enjoyable book, and I think many have forgotten that that's important any time we assess the value of literature; it is this singular reason we read at all. Without this primary component, no one would read. If a book cannot entertain, cause us to become "lost in it," in its "other world" liness,then it can't be called a "good book." As reviewers we sometimes forget this important factor, as it pales in comparison to our vain attempts at flowery and intelligent-groping descriptions... I'm happy to report this is a very good book.
I'm a Southern girl, born and bred, read all the books that Taylor mentions, did similar research, belonged to historical restoration foundations, you name it... I've had a bone-bred love of all things that made and still make the South what it is. My family's blood was spilled to build up and tear down and rebuild both the North and the South for many generations. I understand Mr. Polites heart and a bit of his soul in this book, I believe.
His cadence touches my heart. I hear it in his writing. The songs of the South...the speech... I hear and see the familiar peoples. My mind can see the church people, the hymns being hummed, the boy in the black suit ringing the bell down the dusty street proclaiming the death of Mr. Eli; it's in my blood. I can feel the heat of a summer day when the ice melts on your sweet tea before you can taste it. And I know the condescension of Southern men; particularly toward unprotected and unmarried women. I recognize the prejudices and the powers of those who seem to be the powerless. It delights my heart to read about strong women who overcome. How beautifully and craftily and quietly Taylor Polites has laid these things bare for us, and for those who can "see" and those who can "hear."
This book is not a new "Gone With The Wind," so I hope the expectation of that isn't found here. I love GWTW for what it is and what it represents of the Old South. It's a classic, and nothing will replace that wonderful book in American literature. Rather, "A Rebel Wife" is a new interpretation. It touches upon the subtle ways peace and readjustment came to the South, and continues to be won there. I love it for what it has to say. It's a worthy book, and it's a beautiful story.