I have read about 1/5th now and I can't say I am really loving it. it feels a bit weird but that can also be because I could not keep my eyes open and I kept forgetting who was who last night. Celebrated children book author Judy Blume’s 1978 work for adults seems desperate to distance itself as far from children’s books as possible. The unsympathetic protagonist, caught in a boring marriage, decides to have an affair. This theme has been much better done by other writers. The numerous sex scenes are blunt, chilling and embarrassing instead of sensual. Norman. Since the POV is Sandy's, we don't see what goes on in his head. I think I may know a Norman irl, someone who wants a routine and freedom to do his guy stuff and not have to say all that touchy-feely junk and is so confused why his wives have not stayed with him. I can't say I understand him, but I do pity the fool. To grow up with a certain system and do all the things to have that system for yourself, then find that she wants you to second her emotions and be unable to adapt? That seems to be the sad grayness of many domestic partnerships. Wifey” marks the first announced television project for Shaw since her Showtime series “SMILF”— which she created, starred in, served as showrunner on, and directed — was canceled last year amid allegations of misconduct. Shaw’s overall deal with ABC Studios was suspended at that time, but according to sources she was eventually paid out the full amount of her deal after an internal investigation by the studio cleared her of wrongdoing. She is also set to write and direct the feature “Ultraluminous” produced by Steven Soderbergh, which will mark her directorial feature debut. As an actor, she has appeared in shows such as “Mr. Robot,”“Homecoming,” and “Blue Mountain State.” Judy B is one of my absolute idols and I adored reading this, mostly because it made me blush a million shades of red on the PATH. And then came into the office, gave an arched eyebrow to that poster and said, "JUDY!" It was a nicely timed read alongside this week's Mad Men, although my notes are from three weeks old at this point and I can't remember which particular episode that is.

Wifey (novel) - Wikipedia Wifey (novel) - Wikipedia

The naked man in full erection who arrives on Sandy’s lawn, like the Ghost of Christmas Future, does indeed “point” the way, as his actions are both metaphoric and prophetic. From her bedroom window, Sandy watches the man, who discards the sheet initially draped over him, masturbates, and then leaves on a motorcycle. He knows she is watching, and she knows he knows. Though the scene is charged with sexual tension, it is at a remove and both inexplicable and random. This book was written in 1978 and I thought it would have more rebellion. I thought Wifey would be busting out of the cage so to speak. Not so much. I wanted way more.I am not so sure of this book. I do not know when this and Summer Sisters was published, I thought these were older books, but boy does she love to talk about sex. Refreshing in Summer Sisters although I am not so sure with this book. For example, Sandy’s outer narrative is the happy homemaker, and Blume’s inner narrative of her is the scared little girl who longs for sexual freedom. Sandy chooses to abandon the ephemera of sexual freedom because she is a coward. She realizes that she would be equally unhappy in any marriage, so she chooses to stay in an abusive one. She is a threat from Judy Blume to every unhappy housewife who doesn’t value her own sexuality. At the same time, she is Blume’s symbol of the futility of women fighting for freedom in a biased world. She is Blume’s cowardly version of Edna Pontellier. now there are some strawberries that have been marinating on the champagne at the bottom of this glass that need my attention...

Develop Judy Blume Novel ‘Wifey’ as HBO Frankie Shaw to Develop Judy Blume Novel ‘Wifey’ as HBO

I was curious about Wifey as I had read & enjoyed her YA (young adult) novels several decades ago when I was a teenager. Reading Wifey today, I have to say this book is not particularly memorable. it chronicles the great american dream for women of the recent past - find a nice enough well-off husband, get married, have kids,tend house, play tennis,make pot roast, find yourself terribly bored,attempt suicide, have an affair or two, stay with husband for the sake of the children or whatever, close book. poor wifey. she has a nightmare husband and i do not buy any sympathetic last minute bullshit.

Overall the novel is lightweight and superficial, and a far cry from the complexity of Erica Jong's 1973 ground-breaking "Fear of Flying." Sandy the 31-year-old protagonist is described by her husband as possessing half a brain, and sometimes it feels as if Wifey is written for a younger (than Sandy) audience, or for women who fit Sandy's IQ description. That's what bothered me in the end; Wifey doesn't challenge the reader in any intelligent way. The situations come off as formulaic and Sandy is quite stereotypical in her marital malaise.

Wifey – Judy Blume on the Web Wifey – Judy Blume on the Web

Within this generic mishmash, parts of the book reminded me of other literature. Early on, Sandy daydreams that her husband has died. Like the woman in Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour,” who has just learned of her husband’s death, Sandy guiltily contemplates what Norman’s death would mean: “ Free, free, free. She’d never been free, could only imagine what it might be like.” Wifey” chronicles one life-changing summer of Sandy Pressman, a 1970s suburban housewife whose predictable existence compels her to make her rich sexual fantasies a reality. In the introduction, Judy Blume explains that she left her marriage and took her two kids away and sat down after being a best selling children's author and wrote this book. While she says that this story isn't a representation of her own story, I have to wonder what the purpose of this particular book is - it oozes bitterness, discontent and not a single sound choice. It seems odd to me that the woman who made a way for herself to leave an unhappy place would write a book with such a desolate conclusion. Judy is a longtime advocate of intellectual freedom. Finding herself at the center of an organized book banning campaign in the 1980's she began to reach out to other writers, as well as teachers and librarians, who were under fire. Since then, she has worked tirelessly with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read. She is the editor of Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers. and i am glad that i waited to write this review until after the season premier of mad men, because they have their similarities - poor bored betty draper has one little affair and ends up marrying the guy and she gets called "a whore" by the man whose day is incomplete without an infidelity or two. at least here, the affairs are frequently a little more giggly and overt.It is impossible to feel for Sandy or have any type of sympathy for this character at all. Throughout the book, Sandy comes across as being completely wrong. Holden Caufield from The Catcher in the Rye has a similar predicament in characterization, but with one saving grace: Holden is meant to be wrong, the reader is meant to realize Holden is wrong, and before the end, he's called out as being wrong; and because of this flaw, we find a connection to ourselves underneath his elitist attitude. In Sandy's case, even if we are to realize that she is wrong, everyone who calls her wrong is more wrong and messed up than she is. With more than four million copies sold, Wifey is Judy Blume's hilarious, moving tale of a woman who trades in her conventional wifely duties for her wildest fantasies—and learns a lot about life along the way. November 20 2013: Hmm after my first time reading a Judy Blume novel (in this case Summer Sisters) I had expected a lot of her cause that book was awesome. At this point, Sandy considers suicide. I suppose this is where I should be sympathetic, but I really HATE everyone in this book by now and can gather no sympathy. I hate that Sandy is stupid, that she betrayed her sister, that she can't figure out a healthy way out of her life, that she can't find a hobby, that she lives in fear and is a victim while knowingly hurts her husband. I hate that her husband is a jerk, that he ignores her few cries for help, that he does hit her when he finds out about her infidelity. Written in the 1970s, Wifey is about Sandy, a wife whose two children are currently away at summer camp and how she fills her time without them at home. Sandy’s husband Norman encourages her to take golf and tennis lessons at the club, and to socialize with the other wives there. Sandy isn’t really interested in these activities but gives them a half-hearted attempt to appease Norman. Things aren’t great in their marriage and Sandy finds herself often thinking about other men.

Wifey by Judy Blume | Goodreads Wifey by Judy Blume | Goodreads

I don't know how I managed to get through this book -I have read straight porn that had more of a story than this book did. None of this happens. The book contains sex aplenty, but no sensuality and no affection. The characters are alienated from one another and from themselves. In fact, they are written to be incapable of growth, flat and sterile as paper dolls. Sandy's inability to see those around her, even her own family members, as real people who must have thoughts and needs, signs her own emotional retardation. She is not a person, she is cipher for a demographic of women whose crippled condition Blume wishes to convey. Wifey is the anti-romance. No sympathetic characters, no personal growth, no love, no happy ending. Judy received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year the American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Other recognitions include the Library of Congress Living Legends Award and the 2004 National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.Here's where it starts...and for me, where it ends. We aren't a chapter into this book and I'm just certain that what we'll find that what Sandy really needs is an emotional connection, and that we'll wade through a story - perhaps a lurid story, I'm never really afraid of those - of someone who may or may not find what they're looking for.