Book Review: The Editor's Wife, Clare Chambers

Title: The Editor's Wife
Author: Clare Chambers
Published: 2nd September 2021, Cornerstone
Pages: 404
Source: Netgalley
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4/5
When aspiring novelist Christopher Flinders drops out of university to write his masterpiece (in between shifts as a fish delivery man and builder's mate), his family is sceptical.

But when he is taken up by London editor Owen Goddard and his charming wife Diana it seems success is just around the corner. Christopher's life has so far been rather short of charm - growing up in an unlovely suburb, with unambitious parents and a semi-vagrant brother - and he is captivated by his generous and cultured mentors. However, on the brink of realising his dream, Christopher makes a desperate misjudgment which results in disaster for all involved. Shattered, he withdraws from London and buries himself in rural Yorkshire, embracing a career and a private life marked by mediocrity.

Twenty years on a young academic researching into Owen Goddard seeks him out, and Christopher is forced to exhume his past, setting him on a path for a life-changing discovery.

The Editor's Wife tells the story of Chris and how his relationship with a book editor and his wife changes his life. It isn't my usual choice of book, but after seeing Sara Cox rave about Small Pleasures, I knew I had to read Clare Chambers. So when I saw this crop up on Netgalley I just had to hit request. 

The story is told in 3 parts with parts 1 and 3 taking place in the present, and part 2 is Chris telling his story. I really liked this method of putting the entirety of a flashback into its own section rather than the common jumping back and forth technique often used. It meant I was never confused about what timeline I was currently reading about.

The Editor's Wife is set between rural Yorkshire (present-day) and London (flashback). I thought this suited Owen really well as where better to run from problems and mistakes but to a rural location. It also helped the plot move along too.

I really liked the characters too, despite their flaws. I think my favourites were Carole, Chris' ex-wife, and Gerald, Chris' brother. I loved the relationship that Carole and Chris had. There were not really any hard feelings between them and they showed that exes can still be quite close friends. (Even if it's a bit weird that her current husband isn't aware). I just loved Carole's independent, take-no-shit attitude. Gerald on the other hand is the complete opposite. He's a bit of a recluse sofa-surfing his way through life, but very funny. I loved reading about Gerald's escapades. 

The story is told from Chris' POV and although some parts are predictable (for instance what actually happens with the editor's wife...), there were plenty of twists to the story that held my interest. His story is quite poignant really.

When it comes to pacing, part 1 was slower-paced than the other parts. My reading really sped up when I hit part 2. Based on part 1, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book (even considered DNFing for a millisecond), but by part 2 my opinion had changed so much. It's definitely a book to stick with until you get to the main story.

The ending tied the story up very nicely, although it wasn't the most climatic. I found the ending quite bittersweet for what Chris's life could have been like. But at the same time, his story ends in quite a nice place.

I really enjoyed The Editor's Wife and loved Clare Chambers' style of writing. It's such a character-driven story which I love. She ties together the characters and setting with their story so well. I'm definitely recommending this book to a lot of people, particularly those who like contemporary fiction. To me, it just has a message of hope and being in charge of your own choices. I do own a copy of Small Pleasures and after reading The Editor's Wife I really hope I can bump it up my TBR a bit.

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