I devoured this gorgeous book in one day as I simply did not want to stop reading it. It's exquisite. The writing is so beautiful with its wry and oh so accurate portrayal of family dynamics. It had twists that were far from predictable and humour that was subtle and darkly brilliant.

We are told the story through Christopher's words. Living in a remote cottage in Yorkshire, he is contacted by a woman called Alex, wanting to know more about a man called Owen. And with that we are transported back twenty years to a time that brought great shame to Chris, but also great joy, regret and grief.

I am not going to spoil any part of this story, but I cannnot recommend this book enough to anyone who enjoys human interest novels. There is so much joy when a book is crafted so well, and I adored every word of The Editor's Wife.

The Editor's Wife is another great novel from this author - a previous novel which seems to have been re-released in light of the success of Clare Chamber's newest novel, Small Pleasures (which I absolutely loved!)

The story follows Christopher, who has recently lost his job. Feeling quite down about it all, he moves to North Yorkshire and lives a seemingly mundane life until one day he is contacted by an academic writing about Chris's previous editor, Owen Goddard.

We then go back in time and learn about the history between Chris and Owen, and the difficult situation he got himself into with Owen and his wife. Finally, we return to the present day where we find out that everything is not as it seems, and Chris is missing a crucial piece of information which could have changed everything...

The characterisation in this novel is brilliant. I loved reading about them all. Chris is a bit full of himself at times but is still really likeable, and I really cared about what happened to him. I was definitely invested!

This novel made me feel emotional at the end, and I didn't want it to end to be honest... I felt that feeling where you'd finish a ridiculously long novel that spans all of a character's life and you feel like you've been with them the whole time. However, The Editor's Wife is not a particularly long novel - yet I still felt like I'd seen so much of Chris's life.

I find it very hard to categorise this novel as it has a bit of everything in it, from humour to romance and much more, so I can't imagine anyone not enjoying this! It's fairly slow in parts but this is entirely suited to the story and never boring.

I'm not sure it quite lives up to the utter brilliance of Small Pleasures (but that had set the standard ridiculously high, so perhaps it's not fair to compare anything to that novel!), but I still hugely enjoyed this wonderful novel and would highly recommend it!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The writing style is dry, witty and lighthearted for the most, despite the dark and despairing moods the protagonist Chris often finds himself in.

Contrary to other reviews, I certainly didn’t see the twist near the end of the novel coming, which made it all the more enjoyable. I just wish there was a little more action between the two major twists/events within the book, hence the 4/5 review.

This was my first read by Clare Chambers and I shall look forward to reading more of her work in the near future.

*Thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Clare Chambers is perhaps best known for her book Small Pleasures and when I was offered an opportunity to read this book, I immediately accepted. I'm glad I did.

This book follows Christopher Flinders, a one time author, a one time husband, a one time son, navigating his life after his father passes away. Long dissatisfied with city life, Chris has moved further North, living in the York countryside and essentially minding his own business. This book follows his life from chess tournaments as a child, a complicated yet loving relationship with his parents, a complicated and not all that loving relationship with his brother, Gerald, and the secret shames of his past. When he is contacted by a researcher, looking into the life of Owen Goddard, an editor who supported Chris through the writing of his one and only novel. Chris doesn't want to originally admit to how close he was with Owen and his wife Diana and ultimately comes clean in a transcript depicting the life of a university dropout who is trying to pave their way in the literature world. He submits the beginnings of his book to Kenway and Luff. He meets Owen, a friendly older brother figure who supports him in every way, emotionally, financially and so on, and his wife Diana with whom he soon starts an affair. The affair burns fast and soon burns out when Owen finds out. Not only does he ultimately lose what he thinks is the love of his life, he also loses his closest ally and mentor. Spiralling for a while, he decides to travel, soon finding out that Owen and Diana have died in a car accident in Greece and he decides to put it all behind him and simply try to move on with his life. He goes back to university, gets married, gets divorced, settles for his mediocre life in York, and believes he is happy.

Coming back to the present day, after revealing all of this to the researcher, Alex, he soon finds out that life has other plans for him than his simple cottage living. Chris might just have another shot at happiness, another shot at what he has dreamed of for years, a better relationship with those in his life, even his vagrant brother.

This book is written with an air of something different. It's hard to explain, but it isn't the most dramatic book in the world, you aren't gripped by the hijinks of it all, more so the simple and almost airy way this book is written. It's beautiful, to the point and easy to follow. You really get a feel for these characters, their connections with one another and the impacts that their actions have on one another. Ultimately, my favourite dynamics ended up being the ones that should have been awkward, I loved seeing how Chris and Gerald interact. How they go from standoffish to actually kind of having a semblance of a brotherly relationship. I loved seeing Chris and Carol in their post-divorce unnatural friendship that worked in every way. I think this author writes about relationships very well. There's no sugarcoating to make them perfect, there are bumps and ugly parts, which ultimately makes it more relatable and easier to picture.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to read it.

This one didn't quit hit the same mark that Small Pleasures did, but it was still a really riveting and engaging novel that had me hooked till the end.

Having read Small pleasures and really enjoyed it I thought I would try some other books by Clare . I enjoyed this one and loved the dry sense of houmour throughout the book. I found it an easy read and read it in a couple of days.
Christopher once was an aspiring author encouraged to finish a novel by Owen an Editor who took him under his wing along with his wife Diana they formed a friendship. The story is told in a series of flashbacks (20 years later) after someone contacts him wanting to know more about Owen as they were writing a piece on them.
Not a lot happens in the book but Clares' writing is mesmerising . A lovely story

I was a bit confused at the start of this book as there were no editors or wives. It soon became clear that the book was set at the time of writing but with flashbacks.
The relationship Chris has with the editor and his wife is the main plot but there is also a subplot of his relationship with his brother. They seemed disjointed though.
I just didn't really feel much for the characters.

After hearing lots of praise for 'Small Pleasures', I was excited to see this one appear on netgalley. I found it an easy read, one that doesn't take lots of concentration and thanks to that managed to read it fairly quickly. I imagine it would be a perfect holiday read!
The story itself, I found somewhat dull. I couldn't gel with the characters and I found the story to be so unbelievable. I struggled with the romance aspect as there was no real build up to it, I also felt that there were too many stories within the one book, that's maybe because of the jump between timelines. Some parts I also found irrelevant, for example when our lead male happens to stumble on his ex lover working in a pub he visits and then he has sex with her at her house - the shine was taken off of the ending because of this, Chris spent one night with one woman and the next with another...

Overall I rate this a 3 - not the best, but it was a quick and easy read.

How is this my first Clare Chambers book?? I was instantly intrigued by the synopsis so when I received a Netgalley of THE EDITOR'S WIFE, I dove right in!

We follow Christopher and his journey of becoming a writer. Along the way, he meets a publishing house editor, Owen and eventually Owen's wife, Diana. Thus begins a dance between friendship, lust, and love.

I'll be honest. Not a whole lot happens in this book but I was still so hooked that I looked forward to lights out every night so I could grab my Kindle and get sucked back into this world Chambers created. Her writing is so fluid and her characters so realistic. This is my first book by Chambers and it most certainly will not be my last!

New book by the writer of *Small Pleasures* which I liked.. This one is set in 1984 and the early noughties and follows Chris Findler as a 21 year old aspiring writer in 1984 London with jumps back and forth to about 20 years later as a newly redundant, disillusioned and divorced financial professional who feels he hasn't achieved anything in life and is living in a ramshackle rural Yorkshire cottage. Chris is contacted by an academic researching the life of an obscure deceased writer whose editor, Owen Goddard mentioned Chris in a note. Thinking back to his 20's and his relationships with the Editor and his wife opens up new pathways and reveals hidden "secrets" in Chris's life.

I didn't find this story as tightly written or as invovling as *Small Pleasures*. There were things I could see coming a mile off and some things just didn't really add up but it zipped along nicely, easy to read, some humour and overall I rather enjoyed it.

The book is undoubtedly beautifully written. The prose flows nicely and is peppered with subtle humour and acute observations.

However I just found it a little dull. The story moves at a slow pace and I was often left wondering where the story was going. There was a plot twist which, although I predicted it, was a little far fetched. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and it all felt a bit bleak at times.

The last quarter of the book was the best for me. There was a scene in Christopher’s home towards the end of the novel where a lot of the main characters were brought together. It was touching and humorous and it easily was my favourite part of the whole book. I did also enjoy the insight into the world of publishing.

Ultimately it was a very well written novel but sadly just wasn’t for me. I can easily see why others loved it but personally I prefer a little more story and depth.

I found this a hard book to get into and the style was a style that I wasnt used to or didnt quite gel with me at first. However, I decided to stick with it and I'm so glad I did as i really enjoyed it.

Some bright moments and acutely observed points, but overall an oddly paced story with underdeveloped characterisation, somewhat unlikely scenarios and tortuous plot twists. Good cover though.

A book about a writer, potentially publishing - I was for sure going to request it! And no regrets, I really enjoyed it! We follow a man who looks back at a time when he was younger and fell in love with his editor's wife - easy premise to follow. But so much happens, the characters are so intriguing and the way the different plotlines are brought together (or the way the character's book and his life parallel each other) are so good.
It's difficult to summarise, but it's a love story (albeit morally wrong at times) it's a coming of age story, it's a story about brothers and expectations.
The one thing I wasn't sure about was the whole 'X's wife' which is a trope that dehumanises women characters as they don't stand on their own. Wasn't sure if this was ironic, but with the main male character it didn't totally feel like it. That said, it's somewhat forgivable and I highly recommend this book.

Though the investigations of a young researcher, a man reflects on the great love affair of his youth, as well as his brief time as a writer.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I was unsure what to expect and initially found the slightly pomous narrative voice off putting. However the character growth though the novel was very rewarding and I ended up quite enjoying the slightly cynical tone.
The novel explores relationships and their far reaching connections though time and place. I enjoyed the characterisation, and there were was some beautiful phrasing. The plot was pacy if at times a little tenuous. It reminded me slightly of 'The End of the Affair' in its central mystery, although was far more concerned with events than exploring their emotion impact.
Overall, a fun, pacey read.

Life, lfamily, ove, Loss, Delayed happiness, a love story....
An ok interesting tale. Description characters.

In this novel, the reader meets Christopher Flinders who has lost his job, and dispirited, he has decamped to North Yorkshire while he considers his future. Also a Univesity dropout he is pursuing his dream of becoming a writer and has an amicable relationship with ex-wife Carol who he met at Uni and they married after just 6 months. His brother, Gerald is living at his deceased parents home whilst Chris is renting a rustic little farmhouse - Hartslip Cottage. A letter arrives which throws everything into a spin and forces Chris to consider his past.

The Editor's Wife is told in 3 parts with parts 1 and 3 happening in the present, and part 2 is Chris telling his story. I very much liked this storytelling approach where the entirety of a flashback has its own slot rather than the more usual back and forth method. The Editor's Wife is set between rural Yorkshire (present-day) and London (flashback).

The noteworthy feature here is the brilliant characterisation from Clare Chambers. Every character is well developed and their portrayal is vivid and easy to picture. Most are extremely likeable, even Gerald. You realise he is doing the best he can and I grew to like him as the tale progressed. The humour is good especially from Chris with his wry understatements. The Goddards, Owen and Diana liven up matters and the comedic aspects and complexity are well balanced. A perceptive, riveting, very worthy and satisfying read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Random House UK, Cornerstone via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

I found this novel very enjoyable and I liked the tone, it felt very real, minute and mundane (in a good way) at the beginning. The narrator, Christopher, and his relationship with his brother Gerald was very well described, in a way that felt genuine and realistic. The affair with Diana, the editor's wife of the title, was the least interesting part of the plot, and the last third of the book lost me a bit. Chambers tried to squeeze too many last minute revelations and plot twists that were far-fetched and rushed... It didn't fit with the test of the book which was very much like having a long conversation with someone in middle age telling you their life story.

I enjoyed this story but it didnt keep me gripped to read all the way through in one go....I loved the characters, funny in parts and an enjoyable read.

Originally published in 2007 this novel has been reissued following the recent success of Clare Chamber’s Small Pleasures (on my to read list).

Chambers is clearly a skilled writer and I enjoyed the observations her characters made: ‘It was cruel the way fashion needed only time to make freaks of us all.’
Our protagonist is Chris Flinders an unemployed, divorced, middle-aged man who’s a failed novelist and has a complicated sibling rivalry with his brother. He looks back to his youth and relationship with the editor’s wife of the title. I found it refreshing to read about someone whose life hadn’t panned out the way they hoped for and overall the book was much more uplifting than this sounds!
It kept me entertained on a long train journey and I enjoyed it, but found the ending implausible and a bit contrived which prevented me giving it five stars. It has encouraged me to read more of Chambers work though.