The Stepford wives.

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Ira Levin: The Stepford wives. (1972, Joseph)

159 pages

English language

Published Nov. 20, 1972 by Joseph.

ISBN:
978-0-7181-1067-3
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4 stars (6 reviews)

The Stepford Wives is a 1972 satirical novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a photographer and young mother who suspects the submissive housewives in her new idyllic Connecticut neighborhood may be robots created by their husbands.

Also contained in:

26 editions

Interesting Concept, Mediocre Execution

4 stars

The absolute worst part of this specific version of this specific novel is Chuck Palahniuk's introduction. I don't know why you'd ask him, of all people, to write a 'feminist intro' (or maybe he did that of his own accord, who knows)... But he failed miserably and engaged in misogynistic insult throwing while failing to understanding how structures of patriarchy, classism, and white supremacy intersect. (And he couldn't even recognise varying elements of queerphobia that were at play, either.)

Which is confusing considering Levin does a decent job at highlighting the horror of the 'feminist backlash'. Because it's much easier to see the backlash coming from the people in the middle- and upper- classes, this book is positioned well. It's still interesting to see that at least two of the women feel safe and secure with their "supportive" husbands, even though they have been steadily walking towards a tighter patriarchal …

Review of 'The Stepford wives' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Thanks to Lyz Lenz for recommending this in her newsletter and putting me in the right frame of mind to understand the sociopolitical context and appreciate what the novel is doing (although it's dated and I don't think he really pulls off writing from Joanna's perspective). Seriously creepy and - unfortunately - still painfully relevant, as Lenz points out.

Subjects

  • Female friendship -- Fiction
  • Married women -- Fiction
  • Robots -- Fiction