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Wife in the North | 
 enlarge | Author: Judith O'reilly
Publisher: Penguin
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £4.49
You Save: £3.50 (44%)
Media: Paperback
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0141033436
EAN: 9780141033433
ASIN: 0141033436
Publication Date: July 3, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 A generally good read but she does whine a lot! October 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I started off quite unimpressed with this (because the author really does moan far too much about nothing and every time she runs out of fuel in the middle of nowhere with small children in the back of her car it's ALWAYS ENTIRELY HER OWN FAULT!)...but it grew on me a lot!
It's the autobiography of a reporter who, due to wishes of her husband, agrees to leave London for Northumberland with their children. I could relate to so much of this as I too loved living in London and moving away was a wrench for me. It's the simple things you miss. You miss being able to go shopping at 7pm on a weeknight. You miss being able to pop out and get a coffee and lose yourself in the city. There's an air of anonimity which is inherant to London and I miss that very much. Living somewhere village-y with a full-blown gossip network and everyone knowing your business and talking about it is very upsetting. In London, no one cared. The statements at the end about how in London you have very good friends scattered all over the city but seldom have ever spoken to your nextdoor neighbour and how no one "pops round" is so true. I'm not sure I like people "popping round" though. I like my privacy. Maybe I'll get used to it? Doubt it. Judith starts off very coy and doesn't reveal much of herself but gradually opens up through the book and ends up revealing some very deep and personal things towards the end which come as a bit of a shock when you read them. It's very, very funny and although I didn't find it remotely un-put-downable - in fact, it took me a month to finish it, which is strange for me - it's very readable and being in a diary format, it's accessable too.
 Wife in the North September 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book offers much more than the jokey romp suggested on the cover. The jokes certainly are tremendous. But it also explores in fearless detail the paradoxes facing mothers raised with feminist freedoms now trying to nurture a happy family. It will speak volumes to all mothers, not just rural ones, though readers should know that it's as sad and serious as it's funny.
 tricky one, this....... September 15, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
gosh this book stumped me - at first I was all set to give it one star because of the womans incessant moaning and whinging on how wonderful London is blah blah blah wish she was back there yadda yadda yadda and this went on for the entire book! I pushed myself to finish it as I wanted to know if the family ever returned to London...... and yes WHY was it her husband's job to fill up the car when he's in London????? Does she never check her fuel herself....? And the fact that she was extremely well off - most of us normals wouldn't have the money to do what she and her husband did.... buy two cottages and knock them into one have the builders in for months rent a house to live in meanwhilst and then at the end of it all install the Londoners dream of the AGA (mega bucks) and clawfooted bath (ditto) I certainly didn't find it funny despite what it said on the front cover!
And yet, and yet, she writes like a dream come true in some of her ruminations, particularly her observations of nature. And near the end of the book I was absolutely slain by her stark account of family tragedy - the suffering was there in every word. So I guess you pays your money and takes your choice - I see other reviewers liked it...... takes all sorts!!!
Why are there no names in this book ?? September 8, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I liked the book to an extent, but it just felt so strange to me not to EVER mention any names of people, Husband, children etc etc, we dont know what they are called, friends we have no idea, I think the only name that was ever mentioned was that of someone that came along with the health visitor, good read but just seems a bit strange to me not getting to know the names of people in the story.
Ignore the cover.... September 1, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I picked this book up because I had nothing else to read and from the cover I assumed it would be some jokey 'woman goes to country side meets hialrious characters and learns to love it and herself'. I was ready to hate it. However, it was beautifully written and some parts were so sad. I disagree that the author is selfish and spoilt, she is simply someone like me who loves city life and loathes the country. I hope she gets back to London some day I really do.
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