Paperback, 256 pages
Published Jan. 24, 2022 by Tor Books.
The slow drip of dread becomes a tsunami of terror by the last few chapters. Sarah Gailey's writing of a character who is monstrous, aware of her monstrosity, and simultaneously trying to defend herself against even greater monsters all around her is fantastic.
Easily the most engrossing book I've read in a long time. Take science fiction (cloning) and mix it with domestic suspense (murder!) into a very compelling and original plot. Rather than presenting the reader with a babyface and heels, the book has complex characters that lean toward mean because they come from damaging backgrounds. And while I didn't want to root for them, the story drew me in to where I wanted to see everyone have a satisfying end, rather than get what they deserved.
The background of these characters makes the story extremely layered and rich, but a warning. As the author writes in their acknowledgements, The Echo Wife is about abuse, grooming and identity. My abuse was long enough ago, and my psyche is hard to damage these days. The specific situations described are also dissimilar enough from what I faced that I did not have trouble with …
Easily the most engrossing book I've read in a long time. Take science fiction (cloning) and mix it with domestic suspense (murder!) into a very compelling and original plot. Rather than presenting the reader with a babyface and heels, the book has complex characters that lean toward mean because they come from damaging backgrounds. And while I didn't want to root for them, the story drew me in to where I wanted to see everyone have a satisfying end, rather than get what they deserved.
The background of these characters makes the story extremely layered and rich, but a warning. As the author writes in their acknowledgements, The Echo Wife is about abuse, grooming and identity. My abuse was long enough ago, and my psyche is hard to damage these days. The specific situations described are also dissimilar enough from what I faced that I did not have trouble with my own memories while reading. However, there are a lot of people for whom this will be tough reading. Check your headspace before diving in.
Apparently I read this some time in 2023, and then forgot about it. Went to read my new copy, and it felt strangely familiar. Indeed, it's twin is sitting on the shelf in my bookcase. How very apt.
I love Sarah Gailey - the rawness; the way her characters transcend the rules for femininity even to the reader's discomfort. This was great, twisty, reflective and quick-paced. What does identity mean? How much are we shaped by who we are versus what happens to us?
I loved the sense of creeping doom as I unraveled each drip of exposition.
At first I couldn't see how this and Upright Women Wanted could possibly be from the same author, but eventually similar themes around trust, betrayal, and self-loathing/-punishment emerged.
This was a fascinating book - quite challenging because the characters can be quite hard to like, and it definitely requires CW for domestic abuse, but it was tense and creepy in the right way, and I really liked the ending.
The underlying science fiction plot is well-crafted in the way it twists and turns, but what I appreciated most was the description of the main character's inner thoughts. At times uncomfortably recognizable, she's got a desire to be in control, and has many of the flaws she sees in other people (her husband, lab assistants and parents), but is in perfect denial about that.
THE ECHO WIFE gripped me from the first line, using calm and precise language to build a horrific tale of abuse and death. Every revelation drops like a stone into water, raising the level by inches until it feels like it can hold no more.
This is a well-paced thriller which doles out disturbing news just often enough to be unsettling. Evelyn's descriptions consistently bury the lede, pondering first the reactions and consequences to some very important piece of information before finally circling back to say what caused the fuss in the first place. It reshapes the weight of these moments to emphasize how dealing with each horrible (and sometimes not so horrible) event affects those who remain. It's disassociation in book form, as if Evelyn isn't ready to look at what's going on and must approach everything at an angle in order to have any chance of reaching it …
For most women the word “wife” is complicated. It’s the wife you hope you will be. It’s a potentially dangerous thing to become. It’s what we’ve been, on some level, shaped by society to be and, thanks to that, something we resist. It’s something we wish we could have for ourselves. All of these forms are explored in a narrative that is filled with mad scientists and murderers, some more intentional than others, making for a book that delivers genre thrills while also remaining a literary meditation on those complexities of the word “wife”. It’s amazing.
This is an interesting method for an author to assess and examine stress, travail and life's unwarranted cruelties. In many ways the book is incredibly disturbing; in others, it is uplifting. I would 'probably' have given the book 5 stars if the ending hadn't been quite so obvious.
A big resounding YAY for The Echo Wife. This is absolutely the best book I've read this year.
Now, I'm not a sciencey type person so maybe there were things that someone with a science background would call BS over but, for me, the whole thing seemed plausible and, because of that, scary. I loved Evelyn's perspective and I'm glad we only got her POV. She had emotions but didn't allow them to overshadow her logic. And Martine... I loved her too. I loved the whole damn book. All of it. I don't believe I've ever read anything quite like it.
Now I need to find more books by Sarah Gailey. Because wow.
Massive thanks to Tor Books for inviting me to read this through NetGalley.
