The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel Hardcover Author: Visit Amazon's Ariel Lawhon Page | Language: English | ISBN:
038553762X | Format: PDF, EPUB
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Amazon.com Review
Joshilyn Jackson
Ariel Lawhon
Joshilyn Jackson interviews Ariel Lawhon, author of
The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A NovelAriel: I’d never heard of Joseph Crater until I read an article about him in The New York Post nine years ago. I didn’t know that his disappearance was the biggest missing person’s case of the twentieth century or that he was a household name for almost fifty years. It was fascinating. But in all of that, what intrigued me most was his wife Stella, and her strange yearly ritual. Starting on the first anniversary of her husband’s disappearance, she would go to a bar in Greenwich Village and order two drinks. She’d raise one in salute, “Good luck, Joe, wherever you are!” Then she’d drink it and walk out of the bar, leaving the other untouched on the table. She did this every year for thirty-nine years. After reading that article Stella Crater took up permanent residence in my mind. I’d close my eyes and she’d be there, in that corner booth, a glass of whiskey in her hand, practically daring me to tell her story. So I did.
Ariel: The real Crater mystery is filled with all these fascinating but seemingly disconnected details: mysterious cash-filled envelopes, theater tickets, grand jury investigations, random injuries, missing wills, bribery allegations. I wanted to take all the peripheral details that are often nothing more than footnotes in the historical record and make them integral to the story. But this could only be done when put in contrast with the real people involved: crooked politicians, seedy gangsters, an uncooperative wife, ambitious dancing girls, theater moguls, police officers, nosey reporters. It was all there for the taking but there were gaps. Big questions no one could answer with any certainty, not the least of which is what actually happened to Judge Crater. So I took the details I could verify (hello research you are my drug) and then arranged the blank spaces to fit my own theories. In the end, it became a portrait of what could have happened.
Ariel: Don’t be like me. Don’t write three different stories centered on the same missing man and then try to weave them together into a cohesive whole. You will feel like you’re sewing up a bag of cats. And you will, inevitably, find that one character is easier to write than the others (Ritzi). You will like her best even though you aren’t supposed to play favorites. This will do strange things to your moral compass, because you like the mistress best. One of the characters will be cold and elusive and you will have nothing in common with her (Stella). She will scare you a little bit and make you doubt your own ability at every turn. Her name will become an expletive. And then there will be one that surprises you (Maria). She will be both devout and sensual. You will make her do things that cause you unreasonable guilt given her imaginary status. You will lose sleep. In the end she will break your heart.
Ariel: Anywhere. Everywhere. The first flat surface I can find that isn’t littered with Legos or used Band Aids. The better question would probably be when do you write (answer: whenever white space shows up on the calendar). Apparently there is this thing called biology. And it WORKS. So thanks to biology I have four children. All of them boys. All of them highly intelligent and off-the-charts active. We call them The Wild Rumpus. And we will not buy nice things until they grow up and leave home. So the when and where of writing is a daily tightrope walk for me. It’s probably not the best way to write books but it’s the only way I know how and it seems to be working well so far.
From Publishers Weekly
Lawhon's disappointing debut novel reimagines the 1930 disappearance of justice Joseph Crater, an unsolved crime that fixates armchair detectives to this day. Set among the speakeasies and society soirees of Jazz Age Manhattan, the story also winds its way through the cramped tenements of the Lower East Side and goes behind the scenes of Broadway spectaculars. One August night, Joseph Crater leaves Club Abbey, a speakeasy owned by notorious gangster Owney Madden, and is never seen again. There are rumors of political corruption and shady connections with the criminal underworld, but the story centers on three women in his life—his wife, Stella; his mistress, showgirl Ritzi; and his maid, Maria. The three of them, all severely affected by his disappearance, must deal with the unexpected consequences, while trying to decide if there is a chance that he might still be alive. Stella hides in her Maine vacation home to avoid being harassed by police detectives and journalists. Ritzi shoulders a grueling life that is nothing like the glamorous starlet's existence that she dreamed of. Maria, whose husband is a detective assigned to the Crater case, works on starting a family while managing two jobs. These women do everything they can to protect themselves and their families from the malevolent men who let nothing stand in the way of them and their money. A fascinating story, but rendered colorless by its lack of momentum and stock characters. (Jan.)
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- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday (January 28, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 038553762X
- ISBN-13: 978-0385537629
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
As usual, I didn't pay anything for this book but instead received it for free directly from the publisher. Also as usual, despite that kindness I will proceed to be completely honest about it.
At a high level, this book is the speculative history of the disappearance of Joseph Force Crater in 1930. At the time the story kept the world riveted to their newspapers and was the object of much editorial speculation. This narrative cobbles the story together from the perspective of the women in Judge Crater's life.
On the positive side, Lawhon's novel is set in a wonderfully provocative period in history and gives us a story as capable of captivating an audience as it was 80 years ago. Lawhon's characters are believable and sympathetic and she renders them wonderfully. She also very skillfully weaves her fictional threads through the facts of the case in a way that gives it great credibility. In her ending notes, she describes some of the liberties she took with the story and based on these tiny provisos, she has been very true to the tale which inspired her.
To the negative, despite the above, the novel does seem to take a while to get started. It took a week to get through the first half and a day to get through the last half. This is not the sort of novel that immediately inspires one to long persistent reading, though it does eventually gain momentum. Also, despite the wonderfully entertaining locale and time period, one cannot help but think it was not put to as great a use as it could be. While it was easy to tell we were in the 1930s, the story didn't take full advantage of that fact. I would have anticipated greater use of the language of the times and a truer rendering of the culture.
In summary, a great story set in a grand part of history.
Hooray! This is the first book of the year that I have absolutely loved and it will definitely make an appearance on my "Best Books of 2014" List come December (click here for previous "Best Books of the Year" Lists). The "true crime" angle reminded me of Sutton by J.R. Moehringer, while the setting of 1930 NYC is reminiscent of Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Both books that I loved!
Apparently, this still unsolved crime was a huge story when it happened - in both hard news and the gossip rags. Many theories surrounded Crater's disappearance, which is easy to imagine given the cast of characters in his life (gangsters, prostitutes, Broadway showgirls, and various other crooked characters). These characters, along with Stella (his wife), Ritzi (his mistress), and Maria (his maid), also lend themselves to a great story! Some are real people from the case and that time in NYC and some are fictional characters that the author included as composites of multiple people or for the purpose of the narrative. The "Author's Note" at the end of the book clearly lays out what/who is real vs. fiction, but I recommend saving it until after you've read the story - it makes it more fun!
The story builds slowly at first, setting the scene, allowing the reader to get to know the characters, and really making you feel that time period in NYC. Once I hit the halfway point, I couldn't put it down! Lawhon expertly releases bits of information at the perfect times and I was dying to know how everything fit together. However, I was thankful that she didn't rush things because the initial focus on the time period and characters added more power to the story in the end.
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