When it all boils down you gonna find in the endA bitch is a bitch, but a dog is a man's best friendSo what you found you a hoe that you likeBut you can't make a hoe a housewifeClearly Dr. Dre has never been to Stepford. You can make ANYONE a housewife there. In October 2011, I read Rosemary's Baby, and it was amazing. I'm glad that I read it before this one, though, because I feel like if I had read Stepford on its own, I might not have gotten as much out of it as I did, even though that's still probably less than I should have. I feel like there was a pattern of behavior in the way that the two main character husbands behaved in these two books. Both move their wives/family into a seemingly perfect new home, with just the nicest neighbors. The Hubs fit in like a fish to water, but Wifey is... a little on the outside. Things just don't feel right, but Hubs is there to encourage her to keep on keepin' on, that everything's fine... And when that doesn't reassure Wifey, he starts with the manipulation: Maybe YOU'RE the problem. Everyone here is so nice, and you're the one making things difficult. Don't you want to fit in? Won't you even TRY?He plays on these wives' desires to compromise, to trust in their husband, to stand by that "love, honor, and obey" crap. They want to give it a chance, and not be unreasonable. And in the end, the wives are the ones who suffer.And it's this that makes Levin a genius. He writes from the perspective of the victims, the ones who lose in the battle they didn't know they were fighting, against the men they swore to stay with through thick and thin... and in doing so, he shows us how ordinary men can become almost evil in their aspirations and greed, and their deluded ideas of picture-perfect marriages. The very women they should be fighting to protect against outside threats are the ones they betray from the inside... and in such mundane fashion that it's THIS that makes these stories so terrifying. I mean, yes, there's the supernatural aspect - and the overall fate of these wives was awful... but the loss of trust, that's the scary thing. Levin's writing here was great, and just as straightforward as in Rosemary's Baby... but there were times when I felt that sections ended in an awkwardly abrupt way. As though there was another sentence to follow, but it was just forgotten. In fact, there were a few times when I had to check the page numbers in my copy (which is an old, well-read ex-library edition) to make sure that none of the pages were missing. It's for this that I can't give this one 5 stars. In every other aspect, it's completely deserving of it. The little details in this book are great, the things that only have significance after things come to a head and you are able to see the whole picture. (This is one of the things that I loved about Rosemary's Baby, as well.) I really enjoyed the repetitiveness in the newly Stepfordized ladies' explanations of their recent, err... attitude adjustments. It's creepily nearly verbatim, something that I noticed, but Joanna likely wouldn't have. I love the vagueness of the story, how we have Joanna's suspicions and theories, but nothing concrete... and we never really find out for sure, but we do know that she was right about the end result. I do wonder, though... How would this little community carry on like this? I mean, sure, it's a blast for a few years. Picture it: You get to hang with the dudes, play poker and watch porn all you like, no nagging wife at home to cramp your style, and even better, when you waltz in at 3:45 in the morning, smelling like a brewery and a cigar factory, Robo-Wife is there to do her nightly duty while you lay back and think of how perfect your life is. But they are very short-sighted. What happens in 5 or 6 years? Or 10? Or 15 and all the daughters are learning that their one role in life is to be a man's slave... Do these fathers want their daughters to end up married to guys like they've been? Do these fathers care that they are teaching their daughters to be nothing more than a cooking, cleaning, penis receptacle for some guy who can't be bothered to actually think of them as a person? Probably not. And considering that there are people in the world who really do think this way is terrifying. The moral here, ladies? Just buy a "personal massage device". They always satisfy, and can be disposed of when they go bad, unlike men. Well... legally, anyway. ;)
I can handle watching or reading just about any level of horror... so what was it about this tiny little novella that I read in an hour that truly chilled me? First, I have never seen the movies... so I had no real preconceived notions other than having seen the commercials. Something about being a girl, who was raised in a society where everything tells you that you have to be beautiful, you have to be talented, and above all you have to be perfect or you are nothing... this book really taps into that mantra. The feeling that every little girl has that "I'm not good enough" most of us (hopefully) follow that up with "but at least I'm ME" and that is where the terror of this book lies.What if the ultimate deceiver, the true villain is the one person who should love you the most, your protector, your partner, your husband. What if he would change you... take away your identity for his own pleasure... and what if everyone was on his side. How would you hold on, how could you escape?As you can tell this book really hit a nerve with me... true I was born in 1978, so this was a little before my time, but it hasn't changed all that much even though we want to think so. The book is really about men's desires, or Levin's interpretation of them. That they would be willing to sacrifice their wife's very identity, her being, to make her a mindless barbie that did what they pleased. The men in this book are truly horrifying beings... but even more frightening is that this is a doubt shared by all women, across the globe. From a young age we are taught to doubt ourselves, our physical appearance, our mind, our talent, the love of others. I know women with genius IQ's who act like idiots because that is what men want from them. Though there is overnight drug that can do this to a woman... there is the lifelong barrage of the media and society which does a pretty good job in and of itself.Off my soapbox now. This book freaked me out... it was very well written, very tight and compact, and rediculously short for the price. I would advise getting it from a library, a used book store, or a friend rather than spending the cover amount on it. Mainly because it is so short. Still, I think this book has a lot of meaning, this book should be read and discussed with others... and to the ladies out there... odds are you will end up a bit unsettled and a bit angry at the end of it all.
What do You think about The Stepford Wives (2002)?
I am actually glad I saw the movie first before reading this (I'm referring to the 2004 remake with nicole kidman, matthew broderick and bette midler) simply because while this was interesting, it was quite short and left a lot up to interpretation, whereas the movie goes into a lot more detail. plus I loved picturing bette midler as bobbie markowitz the whole time I was reading ^_^this book reminded me how much I love the movie and inspired me to watch it again. when it first came out, I saw it three times in theaters lol I was hooked on the cheesiness. it was too cute, albeit strange. jon lovitz and bette midler, and also the character of roger really lightened the mood and made things hysterical. anyway, the book had no roger and I missed his presence dearly. but the book just wasn't as detailed as I thought it was going to be although I did really enjoy it. I have to say I am a fan of mr. levin's writing style and can't wait to read rosemary's baby to see how it compares.
—Alexandra
Unlike most of my reviews, this review contains hints towards the final revelation in The Stepford Wives. It's safe to read if you know what the story is about, or if you have ever seen one of the movie adaptations.A few years ago I wrote an essay about the movie of The Stepford Wives (2004) and how it fit in with the Pygmalion myth. To give a quick recap - Pygmalion is a character from Greek mythology who sculpted a woman and fell in love with the statue. Aphrodite, sucker as she is for a love story, turns the statue into a woman of flesh in blood. What's most interesting about the myth is how Pygmalion has no interest in ordinary women. Only the woman he has shaped himself can he love.Just like in the movie, the Pygmalion myth is evident in The Stepford Wives, maybe even more so. The book is more subtle than the 2004 movie, and because of that, also more uncomfortable. Even though what's happening in Stepford isn't all that scary in horror terms, it freaked me out. The Stepford Wives is actually more like a longish novella rather than a full novel. The tension is well spread through the story, and I loved how everything when from creepy, to bad, to worse. Unfortunately, Levin never attended the writing class where pupils are taught "show, don't tell". Entire paragraphs are just summations of what the main character Joanna does; things like "she picked up the kids, made them dinner. Kate still had a cold, but hopefully tomorrow she would get better. At night, she made love to her husband, and fell asleep." I get that these passages have some meaning. They show how time passes, how Joanna is caught up in the normalcy of her life, but dear god, who wants to read these dry pieces of day to day life like that? I sure didn't. Even though The Stepford Wives was written over forty years ago, its message hasn't lost an ounce of its strength. Highly recommended for people who would like to read about a feminist's worst nightmare.
—Celine
Well then... One of the scariest things is to have no voice. That is exactly what happens to the women in Stepford. They are quieted by their husbands. The fact that a community could pull something like this off for 7+ years is an uncomfortable thought. I think what drives me crazy about this book is Walter. How easy he came around to the ideas of the Men's Association. (view spoiler)[I mean usually murder is something that one does not just agree to not even for the perfect wife. (hide spoiler)]
—Annie
