From the very first sentence of Hausfrau I was hooked. It is rare for a novel that focuses on such a passive character as Anna to be able to keep the reader engaged the whole way through. But Anna is so intriging a character that you cannot help but be drawn to her.
Anna Benz lives in Dietlikon, a suburb of Zurich. An American ex-patriate married to a Swiss, Bruno, Anna often feels alone in Switzerland. She doesn't feel as if she fits in. Which is why she takes German classes every week day.
Bruno is oblivious, he believes his wife is happy with him and their three children. Who wouldn't be in such a beautiful setting?
But Anna not happy. Not even with Bruno.
She is a serial adulterer. Her latest in a long line of affairs is Archie, a Scot who happens to be in her German classes. But Archie is not the only man that Anna has in her life, aside from Bruno. Anna simply cannot (or perhaps doesn't want to) say No to anyone.
Inevitably perhaps Anna cannot carry on her shennanigans undectected, but it takes a major tragedy for her to see exactly what she has been doing wrong all this time. But is Anna already too late to save herself from the situation that she has created?
Alongside Anna's narrative, we also see her sessions with a therapist, a further insight in Anna's tangled web of lie, loneliness and deceipt.
Hausfrau handles it subject matter with a sensitivity that you might not expect, and the ending will leave you bereft. An excellent novel that will keep you captivated.
Anna Benz lives in Dietlikon, a suburb of Zurich. An American ex-patriate married to a Swiss, Bruno, Anna often feels alone in Switzerland. She doesn't feel as if she fits in. Which is why she takes German classes every week day.
Bruno is oblivious, he believes his wife is happy with him and their three children. Who wouldn't be in such a beautiful setting?
But Anna not happy. Not even with Bruno.
She is a serial adulterer. Her latest in a long line of affairs is Archie, a Scot who happens to be in her German classes. But Archie is not the only man that Anna has in her life, aside from Bruno. Anna simply cannot (or perhaps doesn't want to) say No to anyone.
Inevitably perhaps Anna cannot carry on her shennanigans undectected, but it takes a major tragedy for her to see exactly what she has been doing wrong all this time. But is Anna already too late to save herself from the situation that she has created?
Alongside Anna's narrative, we also see her sessions with a therapist, a further insight in Anna's tangled web of lie, loneliness and deceipt.
Hausfrau handles it subject matter with a sensitivity that you might not expect, and the ending will leave you bereft. An excellent novel that will keep you captivated.
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