Review of “The Senator’s Wife” by Sue Miller
I haven’t done a book review here in a very long time, but I am proud to announce that I am back to reading regularly and I just finished a book that really got to me. It is called “The Senator’s Wife” and it is written by the wonderful Sue Miller, of “The Good Mother” fame.
Even though I love Sue Miller, when I saw the title of the book as I browsed the books in the library, “Have You Read This?” section I was hesitant for a second. I didn’t want to read a bunch of stuff about politics. But I am glad I let good sense guide me, because this is one of the best books I have read in many years and there is hardly anything about politics in it. Politics is simply the backdrop for the awesome story of two women, one young, one old, the older woman the long time wife of a US senator who is a big time philanderer.
What makes the book so great is of course the story, but more so to me the writing. Sue Miller has the magical talent of making characters, their feelings, personalities and problems, come to life in almost three dimensional terms. You get the distinct impression that you KNOW these people!
The story line is this: Meri and her husband, Nathan, a newlywed couple, move into the same townhouse that Delia Naughton, the wife of senator Tom Naughton, live in, next door you know, but the same structure. Tom is seldom there, he doesn’t live there, but he and Delia, though they have been separated for over ten years, have continued to carry on a passionate love affair that even their children don’t know about. Meri, who’s husband Nathan teaches at the local college and who is emotionally confused and lost in this new city and environment, and who becomes pregnant long before it was part of the plan, befriends Delia, forming an almost unhealthy attachment to the older woman.
Where Meri really screws up is when Delia asks Meri to tend her plants and bring in the mail while she is away in Paris. She has an apartment there and spends a few months in the Spring and Fall living Parisian style. Meri starts nosying around Delia’s home and discovers a file of letters from Delia’s husband Tom that span many years. The letters reveal the passion between the couple and Meri learns of their tumultuous relationship, of Tom’s many infidelities, and of their secret, long time affair. She feels ashamed, but she tells no one, realizing that she was lose Delia’s friendship and her husband’s respect.
I won’t tell you the ending, but let’s just say she REALLY messes up in the end and Delia is done with her. What she does is unforgivable.
Read this one!
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