The Editors Wife - Clare Chambers

Genre: Literary Fiction | Adult Fiction

Release Date: Expected 2nd September 2021

Publisher: Random House UK | Cornerstone

Originally published in 2009

Christopher Flinders didn't have a charmed life. He grew up in a less than pleasant neighbourhood with a family who's only ambitions were to keep their heads down and not make a fuss. So they weren't too supportive when he decided to drop out of university to chase his dreams of finally writing his first novel.

But that didn't matter, as he was soon taken under the wing of his new mentor and sucessful editor, Owner and his charming wife Diana. He was close to finally achieving everything - and then a string of poor decisions destroy everything causing him to flee his broken life back to the quiet countryside to live in anonymous mediocrity.

And he would've stayed there, if not for a curious academic who reaches out and starts asking questions about Owen. Now he has to face the events he's spent twenty years trying to outrun - and maybe he can finally learn the truth about the life he left behind him.

Told over three different moments in time, this was very easy to follow and slowly built up a full image of our characters and the decisions that have shaped their lives in different ways. The characters were cleverly crafted, from his nomadic brother Gerald, his hesitant parents, a rather arrogant Author and the enigma that was Owen and Diana. Each had a very distinct voice and while not very endearing they were definitely engaging.

I wasn't fond of Chris, and while I appreciate a character being written with flaws, his outdated and misogynistic views on women made him extremely unlikeable and unable to connect with for me. However, he was a perfect example of a tortured artist. His relationship with Owen and Diana fell flat, I didn't see any real growth or progression as their relationship gained intensity - it felt like this was simply stated rather than allowing it to evolve for the reader.

However, Clare Chambers definitely has a special way of taking the mundane and everyday monotony of modern life and reframing it in a new and intruging light.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Clare Chambers, Random House and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

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