Hausfrau

by Jill Alexander Essbaum

Anna Benz, an American woman in her thirties, lives in comfort and affluence with her Swiss banker husband and their three young children in a picture-perfect suburb of Zurich. Despite the tranquility and order of her domestic existence, Anna is falling apart. In an effort to restart her life, she turns to Jungian analysis, German language classes, and a series of extramarital affair, whose consequences she cannot foretell.

• ISBN10: 0812997530
• ISBN13: 9780812997538
• Publish Date: 17 March 2015 (first published 1 January 2015)
• Publish Status: Remaindered
• Out of Print: 20 April 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House
• 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.