At first, I did not know where this was going, it was quite light and witty and it was nice to read through flashbacks about Gerald, it is read in three different time points but is very easy to read and doesn’t get confusing at any point.
The twists, even though still exciting were quite guessable at some points and all in all just found it a bit average overall, nothing bad but nothing wowing either
I am pleased the cover has changed though so it will go alongside Small Pleasures quite nicely

I enjoyed The Editor's Wife but felt it took too long to get into the story. Part Two was more engaging in that respect than Part One.

It was for me a lighthearted story about a young writer, Christopher's, infatuation/love affair with his editor's wife. He writes about his past detailing how he sent off a manuscript to an editor, Owen, who is enthusiastic and supportive. But when Chris is introduced to Owen's wife, Diana, he falls for her at first sight and she reciprocates. It is inevitable that Owen eventually finds out and over the next twenty years Chris tries to forget about Diana. There is a twist at the end which didn't come as a complete surprise but tied the story up neatly.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Cornerstone for the opportunity to read and review The Editor's Wife.

I love Clare chambers book and this was no exception. When aspiring novelist Christopher Flinders drops out of university to write his masterpiece (in between shifts as a fish delivery man and builder's mate), his family is sceptical.

But when he is taken up by the London editor Owen Goddard and his charming wife Diana it seems success is just around the corner. Christopher's life has so far been rather short of charm - growing up in an unlovely suburb, with unambitious parents and a semi-vagrant brother - and he is captivated by his generous and cultured mentors. However, on the brink of realising his dream, Christopher makes a desperate misjudgement which results in disaster for all involved. Shattered, he withdraws from London and buries himself in rural Yorkshire, embracing a career and a private life marked by mediocrity.

Twenty years on a young academic researching into Owen Goddard seeks him out, and Christopher is forced to exhume his past, setting him on a path to a life-changing discovery.
What an absolute mind spinning, story this was!

Really enjoyed this book. It was written in a dry 50s style which I really enjoyed and the characters are so brilliant - both endearing and eccentric. It also highlighted some 70s style parenting I’d rather forget.

I actually ended up buying it before the request was approved and what can I say, I adored it. Clare Chambers has a lightness of touch that I haven't seen in other authors, the characters are so real and the storyline was a delight, if I could give it 6/5 I would!

I enjoyed the story and the twist was very clever but I wasn't grabbed in an "unputdownable" way as I have been with other books. I didn't especially like any of the characters and didn't engage with any of them sufficiently to want to know what happened
i found part two very hard to get through.
hopefully will enjoy other books by clare chambers more!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author. The story is well structured. The chapters move along at a nice pace and there’s no major shocks. It’s a nice bit of light reading. I really liked all the characters and enjoyed learning about their relationships with each other. The only thing was that the ending was a little bit abrupt. Very enjoyable though.

Growing up in a restrictive, conventional family, Chris rebels against their expectations and moves away to become a writer. Living in squalor and trying to scrape a living by juggling casual jobs while writing his novel, he struggles to see a way forward until he submits the early chapters of his book to a repected publishing house where they are picked up by kindly editor Owen Goddard, who likes them and sees potential in Chris. Becoming both a mentor and friend, Owen invites Chris into his world and the home he shares with his wife and twin daughters,and lends him financial support in an act of incredible generosity which will change all their lives. In the present day, a young woman researching Owen’s life contacts Chris, and at last he decides to talk about what happened. Chambers is a good old-fashioned storyteller in the best possible sense, and catches the period beautifully. Chris is a skillfully drawn character, aspiring to more than the life his parents had but combining the thoughtless idealism and selfishness of youth, and sinking into despair and surrender for years after his life implodes. Even more memorable is the portrayal of his eccentric (autistic?) younger brother, Gerald, who unknowingly triggers events in Chris’s story that come to have major importance. He adds humour and sympathy to a narrative that is sometimes very sad, but that ends in hope. A satisfying and absorbing read.

I loved this book. If I could give six stars, I would.
The only question I was left with was how on earth have I not discovered Clare Chambers writing before?
This was entertaining, well-written and unpredictable. Perfect in my humble opinion.

The Editor’s Wife is told in first person. It follows Christopher Flinders who is an aspiring novelist. He drops out of university and meets an editor, Owen and his wife Diana. The story is told in parts and goes from the present when Chris is 45 to the past when Chris is 24. There is a good twist in this book and overall I really enjoyed it. Generally not much happens as it is a story of life and misunderstandings. I loved Gerald too. I really enjoyed the way Clare Chambers writes her stories and I will definitely be reading the rest of her books. This was a really good literary fiction novel that I would recommend to people who love the genre.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as Small Pleasures, but it was still a lovely read. I took a while for me to get into it, I wasn’t really sure where it was going nor what category to really put it into.

Owen
Gerald
Diana
Chris
The life and times of these four people are so well written, their characters are so complete, their lives so real, their feelings and actions so relatable, I literally felt I was in the room watching every event, feeling all the frustration, fears, hopes and love which permeate this book. Having read this, I now need to go and find every book ever written by Clare Chambers.
There is no high drama, but the day to day lives of these intensely real characters and how their lives inter-weave are so compelling that I spent all the time away from this book, needing to get back and see what would happen next.
It is an absolute masterpiece in character analysis and true life experience.
Easily a five star event.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review

The Editor’s Wife isn’t something I would normally pick up - Penguin have recently republished it with a gorgeous new cover, and asked if I’d like to read it. Despite my initial feeling that it wouldn’t really be my thing, I soon found I was desperately enjoying myself. I tend to think I know who I am, but I really don’t.

We begin by meeting Christopher, who has found himself jobless and dispirited. He moves to Yorkshire, to a rustic little farmhouse, and attempts to mend. We meet his brother, his ex-wife, his recently passed parents, and see his life for what it is - mundane, undistinguished, and (for Christopher) mildly depressing. Until a letter arrives which throws everything into a spin and forces Christopher to consider his past.

The way Chambers throws us back in time is a wondrous moment. We think we know this guy until she assures us we don’t. Christopher’s account and admissions of his past are frank and almost heartbreaking. Chambers ensures her characters are deeply explored, perfectly human, and expertly characterised. I loved each of them, and wanted the best for them, even in the situations Chambers put them in, which were ones where there couldn’t be any winners, and even when they were behaving abhorrently. They felt incredibly real to me, people with complex lives and feelings, people with conundrums, people with desires.

I will admit the biggest appeal for me in this was just the routine small scandals which pepper most of our lives. Such everyday betrayals, so tiny in the grand scheme of the world; things we often find ourselves mixed up with. But, for me, a self-confessed nose, seeing these things happen behind closed doors,and being permitted my life’s wish of being a fly on the wall, was simply too delicious.

This is so very well crafted that I can see myself coming back to it in future. I’ve still been thinking over some of it in the days which have passed since I’ve finished. Chambers has truly created something gorgeous here, and I’m very keen to try some more of her offerings.

An engaging story, fluid writing and realistically drawn characters - what is not to like about this book?! The protagonist, Chris leaves the drudgery of regular employment to make his way as an author. He is taken under the wing of Owen, a literary editor and his future looks to be assured until he makes a monumental misjudgement which will haunt him for decades to come. It took a little while to get into this story at the start, but once involved with the characters and plot the book became a bit of an obsession, drawing this reviewer back again and again to learn the fate of all the characters - I couldn’t leave it alone until the very satisfying ending. I have enjoyed Clare Chambers’ work before and I loved this too.

The republication firstly must be commended on the beauty of the cover.
This is a heartwarming story following the eccentric characters of Chris and Gerald (brothers) who are trying to navigate their relationship after their parents have died. A series of life events leads to Chris meeting Diana, a friend's wife from the past.
The first part of this book sets the scene, I found it a bit mundane and slow personally but it did give Chambers a nice platform to develop her characters.
Part 2 follows Chris as he meets Owen, an editor, and sets out on his dream to write a book. By meeting Owen, he is also introduced to Diana, who Chris cannot hide his attraction to.

Part 3 reverts to present tense. Alex is an academic researcher who gets in contact with Chris for information on Owen and one of his more famous clients. Alex and Chris meeting sparks a series of events that ultimately leads to a satisfying ending.

This story took a while to get going but it was quite heartwarming at the end, after having to navigate through various losses and heartbreaks. thank you Netgalley and publishers for an advanced review copy ahead of republication

I was so thrilled to get the opportunity to re read The Editor's Wife which I first read when it was originally released. I am so pleased that after the success of Small Pleasures, Clare Chambers is getting the recognition that she so rightly deserves. I love the covers of her reissued novels and I will definitely be buying a copy of this. I adore Chambers insightful writing, which reminds me of Patrick Gale, another of my favourite writers. Christopher Flinders may not be a particularly sympathetic character but the author writes all of her characters with such empathy and attention to detail that I find myself drawn to them and into their lives. This is a charming, funny and moving novel that I would highly recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC.

I have enjoyed this authors work before so was very pleased to read this book! Though very different it really had me gripped! The characters were true to life and completely engaging, especially Chris and Gerald. The storyline was easy to follow and definitely made me want more! Another well written book!

A republication.

Christopher Flinders has just lost his somewhat mundane job and has retreated to his North Yorkshire home while he surveys what the future may hold. He has an amicable relationship with ex-wife Carole and a rather frustrating one with his elder brother Gerald. A chance discovery of a letter at his deceased parents home plunges Chris back into the past. The story is told in three parts, the first gives context to the present day, Part Two focusses on his dropping out of university to write a novel and his meeting with Owen and Diana Canning (who is the Editors wife) and Part Three picks up the narrative from part one.

Although the first part is not as engaging as the rest, the stand out feature is the brilliant characterisation. Every character is well developed and acutely observed and their portrayal is therefore vivid and easy to picture. Most are extremely likeable and although Gerald initially baffles me you realise that he is marginalised and surviving as best he can and I like him more and more. This is a well novel, I really like the humour especially from Chris who even when things get quite dramatic and surprising, you laugh at his self deprecating wry understatements which are so funny! I thoroughly enjoy parts two and three, the Goddards liven up the pages and I like how it pans out in the final section with Chris’s ‘resurrection’ as it’s so obvious since meeting Owen and Diana his life has been on hold. Events take an unexpected turn towards the end and it’s riveting reading! The emotions are well conveyed, there’s everything from love to obsession to heartache, there’s shock, guilt and ultimately recovery. It’s extremely easy to read because it’s so well written and perceptive.

Overall, this is an engaging novel as you immerse yourself in the lives of a disparate bunch of characters linked by Chris.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Arrow for the widget in return for an honest review.

Genre: Literary Fiction | Adult Fiction

Release Date: Expected 2nd September 2021

Publisher: Random House UK | Cornerstone

Originally published in 2009


Christopher Flinders didn't have a charmed life. He grew up in a less than pleasant neighbourhood with a family who's only ambitions were to keep their heads down and not make a fuss. So they weren't too supportive when he decided to drop out of university to chase his dreams of finally writing his first novel.

But that didn't matter, as he was soon taken under the wing of his new mentor and sucessful editor, Owner and his charming wife Diana. He was close to finally achieving everything - and then a string of poor decisions destroy everything causing him to flee his broken life back to the quiet countryside to live in anonymous mediocrity.

And he would've stayed there, if not for a curious academic who reaches out and starts asking questions about Owen. Now he has to face the events he's spent twenty years trying to outrun - and maybe he can finally learn the truth about the life he left behind him.


Told over three different moments in time, this was very easy to follow and slowly built up a full image of our characters and the decisions that have shaped their lives in different ways. The characters were cleverly crafted, from his nomadic brother Gerald, his hesitant parents, a rather arrogant Author and the enigma that was Owen and Diana. Each had a very distinct voice and while not very endearing they were definitely engaging.

I wasn't fond of Chris, and while I appreciate a character being written with flaws, his outdated and misogynistic views on women made him extremely unlikeable and unable to connect with for me. However, he was a perfect example of a tortured artist. His relationship with Owen and Diana fell flat, I didn't see any real growth or progression as their relationship gained intensity - it felt like this was simply stated rather than allowing it to evolve for the reader.

However, Clare Chambers definitely has a special way of taking the mundane and everyday monotony of modern life and reframing it in a new and intruging light.






RATING: ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Clare Chambers, Random House and Netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Chris Flinders has dropped out of university to write the novel he is sure will make his name. When respected editor Owen Goddard shows interest in his writing sample, Chris is thrilled. And when Owen invites him into his home and takes him under his wing, it seems like Chris is destined for success. But as he grows increasingly close to Owen's wife, Diana, Chris's carefully constructed life begins to unravel...

Fast forward twenty years and Chris is living in rural Yorkshire when he is contacted by a young researcher wanting to know if he can help with her project. But little does either of them know what digging into the past will turn up, and how it will affect the future...

I really loved this book set in literary London. The characters were well realised, and each likeable despite their particular flaws. The story was well paced and I found myself rooting for each character even when a favourable outcome for one was in direct conflict with the fortunes of another. An accomplished and engaging novel which drew me in from the start.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, who gave me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.