A brilliant new novel — deeply humane and entirely convincing — from Lori Lansens, author of two previous bestsellers and a writer who can be counted on to deliver an amazing story and characters to fall in love with.

In Lori Lansens’ Leaford, Ontario — home of Rose and Ruby Darlen, the sorrowing parents of Larry Merkel, and not far from Rusholme where Addy Shadd once looked after an abandoned child — love and grief combine to awaken an obese woman from her loneliness. When her husband doesn’t come home on the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary, Mary Gooch, who has never learned to be self-sufficient, sets out on a truly remarkable journey of self-discovery that takes her first to the big city and then to another country.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

"Like short-story queen Alice Munro, to whom she is often compared, Lansens demonstrates a singular gift for discerning both the ordinary and the extraordinary in small-town life and small-town people."
— Winnipeg Free Press

"A persuasive, dynamic storyteller, Lansens leads us through flashbacks into the world of a lonely, always-hungry child, who grows into a dutiful, anxious, hungry adult."
— The Toronto Star

"[Lansens’s] gift, and it’s to be cherished, is one of deep engagement with her subject, and empathetic involvement that broadens to draw in the reader."
— The Globe and Mail

"Heartwarming. . . . It's the urgency of this quest, along with Lansens's great capacity for humour and insight, especially as pertaining to the complex world of human emotions, that makes this book so riveting and compelling. . . . Lansens's equation of middle age with a second chance is a cheeringly attractive proposition."
— The Gazette

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

"I found Lori Lansens' The Wife's Tale to be a narrative masterpiece, drawing the reader into the world of its protagonist, Mary (Brody) Gooch, a middle-aged woman from small town Ontario who has had a life-long battle with food. I found this to be one of the most captivating reads of the year, and could not put the novel down. Lori Lansens is a gifted author whose previous work The Girls is one of my all-time favourite books. It is clear to me that The Wife's Tale will join my bookshelf of favourites."
— Carol L, Ontario

"I really enjoyed reading The Wife's Tale. Though I lost patience with Mary, the heroine, and her inability to stop gorging herself and take an interest in those around her and in the events of the world — in spite of this I liked and cheered for her. There are delightful twists, whimsical but not unbelievable."
— Margaret S, Ontario

"An excellent read and extremely well-written. The Wife's Tale is a story of self-discovery unlike any that I have read. Mary Gooch is a believable, very sympathetic character and I found myself cheering her on at every turn. The Wife's Tale is a worthy successor to Lansen's previous novels Rush Home Road and The Girls. In this novel, Lansens moves outside the familiar confines of Southern Ontario as she takes Mary on the journey of a lifetime."
— Margot H, Ontario

"I enjoyed The Wife's Tale. It was well written and the story was something that could happen in real life."
— Daphne W, Saskatchewan

"I found this book to be a touching read. Overall a good, nice, comforting touchy-feely story. One I would recommend to those that like a "feel good" book."
— Caroline C, British Columbia

" This book was very enjoyable. I cheered for Mary, her sheer determination was inspiring. A must read for anyone who enjoys character development and growth."
— Pacifica V, Ontario

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Visit Lori Lansens' website.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Lori Lansens is the author of two bestselling novels, Rush Home Road and The Girls, which was a Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year in 2006 (and sold over 300,000 copies in the UK) and a finalist for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, Lori Lansens now makes her home in California.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page