Rectors Wife

Rating:
Summary: Anna whines a lot, but who can blame her?
Review: I read the book before I saw the Masterpiece Theatre version - and I'm glad I did. Couldn't put it down. The author has created believable and an unforgettable story. If you enjoy reading about life in an English village - and I do - then The Rector's Wife is good choice for you.

Rating:
Summary: Escape from a Stifled Life
Review: I've been in a Joanna Trollope phase lately, having read "Other People's Children" and "Best of Friends" and loving them both. This earlier title did not appeal to me as much, although I enjoyed it more towards the end of the story. The other two titles seemed simpler and yet somehow more complete and less contrived. Perhaps its just the growth of the author's talents.

It did seem a bit much that suddenly, after living as the rector's wife for so many years, Anna was both fed up with her life and attracting the attention of multiple men. She barely interacted with Patrick, the rich city man who decides he's mad about her.

However, I did enjoy the descriptions of English country life and applauded Anna's meager attempts to break the ties that bound her. The fury over her taking a job at a supermarket is priceless. One of Trollope's strongest suits is the way all of her character's actions affect their entire families. As in life, all decisions have fallout, and Trollope is a master at making that clear. Not her best, but worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: Good characterization, no passion, poor ending
Review: Joanna Trollope developed the character of Anna beautifully. By the time she took her supermarket job, I was in love with her character. What drove me mad was that, for 200 pages, Ms. Trollope built an atmosphere of sexual tension. When Anna finally found "release", it was done hurriedly, in all of 2 paragraphs, and was dreadfully disappointing. I had followed this character through life-shattering trials, and was cheated in one clumsily written scene. Other reviewers have already pointed out the dissapointment of the ending, which convienently avoided a showdown between the two main characters over the central conflict of the book. Overall, I loved the character development and descriptions of country life, but hated the handling of love interests and the ending.