Wife in the North - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description

When Judith O’Reilly, a successful journalist and mother of three, agreed to leave London for a remote northern outpost, she made a deal with her husband that the move was a test-run to weigh the benefits of country living. In the rugged landscape of Northumberland County, O’Reilly swapped her high heels for rubber boots and life-long friends for cows, sheep, and strange neighbors.

In this tremendously funny and acutely observed memoir, O’Reilly must navigate the challenges and rewards of motherhood, marriage, and family as she searches for her own true north in an alien landscape. Her intrepid foray into the unknown is at once a hilarious, fish-out-of-water story and a poignant reflection on the modern woman’s dilemma of striking the right balance between career and family.

Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Refreshingly Honest August 4, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book was nothing like I thought it would be. I was expecting a light-hearted memoir, but instead got a moving, poignant tale of motherhood.

This author has a writing style unlike anything I've read before, and it took me awhile to get used to the cadence and tone of her writing. I struggled with it at first. But once I got attuned to her style, it became a much easier read.

Yes, there are moments of hilarity. But there are also many more moments of despair, love, sadness, fear, happiness, belonging. As a mother of 3 boys very near in ages to the author's children, I could completely relate to the author's feelings of frustration, hopelessness, tiredness and yet deep, unending love for her children. The shock near the end was heart-wrenching (despite the fact that it had been hinted at, and I was half-expecting it), and I had real tears falling as I read it. I was quite moved.

The descriptions of the northern English countryside and way of life were also very entertaining. I love British books, but so often they are set in London, and so I had never really read about this part of the country. It was a refreshing change.

If you are looking for a fluffy, light read, this is not it. But this book is so definitely worth reading - especially if you are a mother - do give it a try. :)

4 out of 5 stars

Glad there is a blog to follow! August 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

RATING:4.5 of 5

The subtitle of this book is three young children, two aging parents, and one absentee husband 350 miles from home, but it should end with `one very funny woman'.

As I started reading this book, I got out my little sticky tabs because there were so many funny, sarcastic sometimes but very funny, comments. After a while the edge of my book looked like it had been sprinkled with a heavy dose of confetti.

The honest feelings, sometimes bordering on blatant, that Ms. O'Reilly uses to describe her life as it unfolds during her transplant from London to Northumberland can resonate with many women. Every time you think she has run out of expressions or comparisons up pops another one. Her definition of a "health visitor" and then soon to follow the description of her body in a surfing wet suit had me practically rolling on the floor.

However, the book has a touching side to it as well. There were times when I wanted to pick up the phone and call her husband and tell him that he would later regret it if he did not go home and help his wife with their children during such a trying time and for Gosh sakes, at least pump the petrol. For someone who wanted to have his family raised in such a rural location, he was spending way too much time in London.

But when I came to the August 4, 2007 entry, and she described what the loss of child meant for her new friend, The Yorkshire Mother, I was very surprised that she was able to see it so clearly. I lost my only son and I have only found a kinship in that pain with other women that have lost a child. No matter what anyone says, it is loss very different from the loss of a parent, spouse, or sibling. And so it is.

I recommend this book to anyone who needs to appreciate their present station in life, anyone who wants to laugh their way through a book for a change, and to let them know that the best part is once you finish the book, you can continue the story by visiting her blog, [...]. I have waited until I finished the book to make my first visit, so I would not read any spoilers. :>)

4 out of 5 stars

Motherhood and much more September 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I should start by confessing that after reading several "blog-to-books", I've decided I don't care for the genre overall. Anecdotes that I might find funny, quirky and insightful in a day-to-day or weekly format don't seem to translate well into books. I find they often come off as too self-absorbed (how could they not?), too whiny and just plain trying too hard to pull a story out of an everyday, non-linear life. What works in small doses becomes hard to swallow in a tome.

After reading about a third of Wife in the North, I'd resigned myself to the same experience with this book. It seemed like it was going to be a combination of two themes: first, "long suffering wife gives up high power, glamorous career to raise children while husband keeps his career"; and second, "city girl unwillingly uproots herself to the country and through her own determination and fortitude, learns to appreciate the charms of its bumpkin people and character".

Of course, the book does cover that ground, as the author, her husband and three children move from London to the far northern English countryside of Northumberland. Having lived in England for two years, I concur that the two places are worlds apart culturally. O'Reilly's chronicles of her angst and foibles trying to craft a new life for herself and her family in a rural setting are funny without being condescending toward her new neighbors and village folk.

What really surprised me about the book, however, and why I gave it four stars, was O'Reilly's ability to capture the emotional highs and extreme lows of motherhood, and the fierce, unrelenting love of a mother for her children. As we learn more about her, she reveals a depth that I didn't expect based on the beginning of the book. Her writing is sumptuous -- in turns hilarious and heart-wrenching, and very, very accurate when it comes to describing the complexity of everyday life and the precarious balancing act required to keep self, marriage and children intact when much of the time, one or another (or all) are teetering on the brink.

O'Reilly has a talent for bringing forth emotion in small moments through descriptive passages, such as the one recounting her relationship with the view of the lighthouse from her bedroom window and another when she notices the birdsong heralding the onset of spring. I cried a face full of tears at the end over an unexpected revelation (I won't hint, so as not to create a spoiler). After that, I understood her story and felt like I'd bonded with her at last.

Gorgeous book.

5 out of 5 stars

Wife in the North is laugh-out-loud funny! August 16, 2008
In 2005, journalist Judith O'Reilly agrees to move to the north of England with her husband and three young children to sample life in the country. Judith loves London, is a successful journalist and has many friends. Not only is living in the country like being a fish out of water for her, her husband's job takes him frequently back to London for days and weeks at a time, leaving her alone to cope with this strange new life.

O'Reilly brilliantly captures the experience and her reaction to it with exquisite imagery. Every woman will identify with her frustration, confusion, anger, sadness and, yes, happiness as they experience the adventure right along with her. At times I laughed out loud and sometimes, I cried or was angry. The book is written in a diary or memo format, so at times, it was difficult to follow. Also, if you aren't British, it is a little confusing figuring our what she's talking about when she uses British phrases. These drawbacks do not take away from the pleasure of immersing yourself in this adventure. Strongly recommended.

4 out of 5 stars

Worth Every Minute August 27, 2008
I received an advance copy of "Wife in the North" and regret that it took so long for me to finish it. As a mother myself I found her story to be refreshingly honest. At times it felt I wasn't just reading a book but looking in a mirror and seeing myself. There is hilarity, pain and triumph between these covers and I truly enjoyed every word. I would recommend this to those who are looking for their way in whatever strange place they may find themselves.

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