Hausfrau

by Jill Alexander Essbaum

Haunting and elegant, Hausfrau is the exceptional debut novel from the prize-winning American poet, Jill Alexander Essbaum.

Anna was a good wife, mostly . . .

Anna Benz lives in comfort and affluence with her husband and three young children in Dietlikon, a picture-perfect suburb of Zurich. Anna, an American expat, has chosen this life far from home; but, despite its tranquility and order, inside she is falling apart.

Feeling adrift and unable to connect with her husband or his family; with the fellow expatriates who try to befriend her; or even, increasingly, her own thoughts and emotions, Anna attempts to assert her agency in the only way that makes sense to her: by engaging in short-lived but intense sexual affairs.

But adultery, too, has its own morality, and when Anna finds herself crossing a line, she will set off a terrible chain of events that ends in unspeakable tragedy. As her life crashes down around her, Anna must then discover where one must go when there is no going back . . .

• ISBN10: 1447280792
• ISBN13: 9781447280798
• Publish Date: 26 March 2015 (first published 1 January 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 3 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Mantle
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[JumpingShelves]

Didn't finish.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Lisa Benz is a thirty-something American living in Switzerland with her new husband. While he is off working as a banker, she is alone to look after the kids; she cannot do much else because she has yet to learn German. Lisa wants to be the perfect mother and wife but she is unhappy and alone. Hausfrau is the punchy debut novel from poet Jill Alexander Essbaum.

If you look at Jill Alexander Essbaum’s Goodreads profile, you will see that she is obsessed with many things, including puns, sex, God and words. These kind of obsessions lead her to become a poet; her collections of poetry often feature religious and erotic imagery within them. I have heard mixed reviews of Hausfrau in the past, but when I heard her on the Literary Disco podcast, I knew I had to check it out. I think Essbaum’s love for putting words in the right way helped to release a strong debut novel.

The novel follows the life of Lisa Benz, who is unhappy and alone, which leads her to make some bad decisions. Hausfrau is a typical domestic novel exploring one person’s unhappiness in their marriage. However this book still feels fresh and different to the others, not just because it is the wife who is making terrible choices. I found Jill Alexander Essbaum took an interesting take on the importance of communication and the idea that a marriage should be a partnership. She explores the breakdown of the marriage and makes it obvious the root causes.

I really enjoyed Hausfrau and it was nice to see a destructive female character for a change; it always feels like the husband is the one that ruins everything. Jill Alexander Essbaum really knows how to write and I am very interested in trying her poetry, especially her erotic religious poetry. I think Essbaum will be an author to take notice of in the future and I eagerly await her next novel.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/contemporary/hausfrau-jill-alexander-essbaum/

[lovelybookshelf]

This novel is so beautifully crafted from beginning to end. It hops around in time, executed in a flawless and compelling way. I was completely caught up in the story. It’s hard to remember these characters are fictional; I’m reminded to give the people around me more than a cursory listen. More of my thoughts on this title can be found on my blog at A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall.

If you don't mind spoilers or have already read the book and want to talk about it, check out the conversation at The Socratic Salon.