Review: Wifey by Judy Blume

Judy Blume is best known for writing honest and realistic fiction for children, so I was a little bit surprised when, a little while ago, I discovered that she has also written three books for adults. Her first adult novel, Wifey, was released in the 1970s and is precisely that ... adult. 

In many ways, it is difficult to tell that Wifey is written by the same author who brought us Blubber, Deenie and Forever. While Blume's books for children and young adults talk openly and seriously about a range of serious topics, Wifey is a sexy satire about a boring-as-bat-shit middle-class American women named Sandy who is unhappy with her role as a wife and mother and unhappier still with her somewhat lacklustre sex life. As for the rest ... well it's all a bit predicable by modern standards, with the heroine longing to ditch her life for something less conventional in order to find sexual fulfilment. Wifey really isn't Blume's best or most memorable novel and it certainly feels as stifling as Sandy's situation in places. (And maybe, just maybe, that is the point of the novel ...) 

Comments

Andrew Leon said…
I knew that about Blume, but I haven't really read all that much of her stuff. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was a favorite at around that age, but I never got much that.
21 November 2013 at 08:18
shelleyrae @ book'd out said…
I think Smart Women was the best of her adult novels. I read it when I was about 13, it got passed around as often as Forever did. :)

Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
22 November 2013 at 22:20
Kathryn White said…
I love Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing! In fact, I have been known to annoy my friends with cries of, "Fudge is a birdy!"
24 November 2013 at 16:57
Kathryn White said…
Ahh, Forever was one that got passed around a lot at my school too :-)
24 November 2013 at 16:57
jmisgro said…
I remember when Wifey came out....it was one of those talked about novels by all the ladies - like we talk about 50 Shades now! I have to reread it now that I am an adult!
26 November 2013 at 22:54
Kathryn White said…
Wow, I guess it really did cause a controversy at the time :-)
29 November 2013 at 22:11
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