Playing Pretend

Some books are black and white: you either love them or you hate them. Others are gray, bringing on feelings of indifference or tepidness. Then there are the books that surprise you, the books you thought you would adore, but ended up disliking or the book that started out dull and dry, but became a favorite.

Bridget Asher's The Pretend Wife falls into the last category. When I first started reading it, I simply couldn't connect. Perhaps it was because I had the television on in the background. Perhaps it was because I was tired and unable to focus. For whatever reason, when I first began to read, my expectations were low and I debated tossing it aside in favor of something else. But I don't like to give up so easily, so I tried again and, to my surprise, was completely won over by this charming novel.

Gwen Merchant's life is perfect on the outside: she's got a great husband and good friends and a steady job, even if it's not the one she wants. Gwen is satisfied and content - until the day her ex-boyfriend Elliot walks back into her life. After bumping into each other one day and reconnecting, Gwen suddenly finds herself agreeing to pretend to be Elliot's wife in order to appease his dying mother. Suddenly, her perfect life isn't so perfect. Lingering questions about her mother's death come to the surface and long-dormant feelings for Elliot fill her with doubts about her marriage. Gwen is left wondering: should she return to reality? Or is her pretending really something more?

Though Asher's book starts slow, it grows and develops in a realistic way. From the moment Gwen is introduced, the reader is on her side, rooting for her and commiserating with her. The plot isn't complicated and in some ways, the outcome is inevitable, but that's okay. We can already guess what will happen. The real story is in how we get there. We're along for the journey, being given a glimpse into Gwen's life and mind.

There's a sort of quiet loveliness to this book. Though I didn't really like it at first, after I had been reading for awhile, I found myself drawn into the story more and more. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to turn the page. It's as if the story snuck up on me, silently crawling its way into my consciousness. Moreover, Asher has a wonderful way with words. Her phrasing and style have a somewhat philosophical tone that's earnest but never condescending. Several times during my read, I stopped to make a small mark on the page, reminding myself to go back to retrieve a quote or phrase. At different points in the novel, I found myself nodding, saying, "Yes! Exactly!"

We've all wondered about what could have or might have been. We've all thought about the "one that got away." Bridget Asher's The Pretend Wife lets us tag along as one woman gets the chance to walk down the path not taken and, in the process, rediscover who she really is.

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