Book Review: "The Perfect Wife" by JP Delaney
“The Perfect Wife” by JP Delaney
Please note: I received a free copy of this book from Random House.
Publisher Synopsis: Abbie awakens in a daze with no memory of who she is or how she landed in this unsettling condition. The man by her side claims to be her husband. He’s a titan of the tech world, the founder of one of Silicon Valley’s most innovative start-ups. He tells Abbie that she is a gifted artist, an avid surfer, a loving mother to their young son, and the perfect wife. He says she had a terrible accident five years ago and that, through a huge technological breakthrough, she has been brought back from the abyss.
She is a miracle of science.
But as Abbie pieces together memories of her marriage, she begins to question her husband’s motives—and his version of events. Can she trust him when he says he wants them to be together forever? And what really happened to her, half a decade ago?
Beware the man who calls you . . . the perfect wife.
Rating (out of 5): 3.75
Review: I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book because, again, full disclosure, I was sent a copy of this one from Random House. (Thank you!!) I don’t normally go for sci-fi, but this one was also a bit of a thriller, which made the pace super exciting. (I read it in an afternoon.)
It’s no spoiler to say that the Abbie who awakens in the novel’s first pages is an AI reproduction of Tim’s wife (referred to as a cobot [a companion robot]). This hook was fairly original and reminded me a bit of Dave Eggers’ “The Circle” in that it’s dystopian, but also very possible in the not-so-distant future. (Also see: the classic DCOM “Smart House.”)
The main plot, which Abbie narrates, begins with Cobot Abbie “remembering” (downloading) memories that Tim has provided for her. However, as the novel winds along, Cobot Abbie becomes distrustful of several key characters, and we begin the search for what happened to Human Abbie. As Cobot Abbie comes to terms with who/what she is, her goals ultimately change a bit, and there’s definitely some commentary here about machine vs man, and how realistic/emotional AI can actually be. I should note that this is further demonstrated by Cobot Abbie’s relationship to Danny, Tim and Human Abbie’s autistic son. (I can’t speak to how accurate the novel’s overview of different types of autism treatment is.)
The book is also narrated by an unknown employee of Tim’s startup, Scott Robotics. The unknown narrator details the culture of the company, how Tim and Human Abbie met, their courtship, and subsequent whirlwind marriage. This simultaneous narration helps us understand Tim in a way that Cobot Abbie doesn’t, and it’s no spoiler to say that there are definitely twists along the way.
Again, we’re spoiler-free here, but there were one or two red herrings throughout that I fell for. I enjoyed this book quite a bit—it’s part-parent/child relationship, part-sci-fi/dystopian, and part-thriller/mystery, part-#MeToo (to a certain extent, the actual movement is not mentioned). A great, thought-provoking read!
I will say that the primary reason I docked a bit in the rating is because I don’t love when cis men write in the voice of cis women narrators. However, I don’t think it was entirely ineffective here (perhaps because Cobot Abbie isn’t technically a cis woman?). Just thought I’d throw it out there in case that also annoys anyone else.
Trigger Warning: extreme misogyny, general AI creepiness
TL;DR: A hard-to-categorize novel (is it sci fi? is it a thriller? who can say) seemingly about how far grief can drive a man, but actually about misogyny, parent/child love, with some commentary on AI.
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