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The First Wife is uninspired writing
Book Review
By Derryll White
Spindler, Erica (2015). The First Wife.
I have never read this author, although ‘The First Wife’ is her 18th published novel. She is American and seems familiar with the southern part of that nation. This novel is set in horse country near New Orleans, Louisiana.
This novel presents itself as a mystery, but reads like a romance novel. Much of the dialogue is internal – does he love me? To my mind it never gets any better. The writing is not inspired. There are no themes other than romance. The author just explores the same thing over and over – does he love me?
I will not recommend this book to anyone and I will not be reading any more work from Erica Spindler.
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Excerpts from the novel:
MELODRAMA – True. She was right there, where she lived in his head, so real that he was sure that if he could find a way to crawl inside himself, he could hold her in his arms.
She was beckoning to him. To try. To open the door, step through. Join her.
Billy Ray looked at his hands. They were shaking. He was so tired of fighting the memories and feelings, stuffing them deep down, so deep they occupied the very marrow of his being. Holding them there. He was tired, so tired.
PUERILE – She squeezed her eyes shut, confusion hanging over her, dark, suffocating. A cloud of uncertainty. A part of her gave him everything and would stand with him against all odds. But the other part was suspicious. Fearful.
– Derryll White once wrote books but now chooses to read and write about them. When not reading he writes history for the web at www.basininstitute.org.
