Early Reader Review: American Housewife: Stories by Helen Ellis

Source: From Netgalley and Doubleday in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

American Housewife: Stories by Helen Ellis
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date:  January 12, 2016

 

Format: Ebook

Rating:
 


 


Goodreads Synopsis: 

A sharp, funny, delightfully unhinged collection of stories set in the dark world of domesticity, American Housewife features murderous ladies who lunch, celebrity treasure hunters, and the best bra fitter south of the Mason Dixon line.

Meet the women of American Housewife: they wear lipstick, pearls, and sunscreen, even when it's cloudy. They casserole. They pinwheel. They pump the salad spinner like it's a CPR dummy. And then they kill a party crasher, carefully stepping around the body to pull cookies out of the oven. These twelve irresistible stories take us from a haunted prewar Manhattan apartment building to the set of a rigged reality television show, from the unique initiation ritual of a book club to the getaway car of a pageant princess on the lam, from the gallery opening of a tinfoil artist to the fitting room of a legendary lingerie shop. Vicious, fresh, and nutty as a poisoned Goo Goo Cluster, American Housewife is an uproarious, pointed commentary on womanhood. 

Review: 
I got a glimpse of the first story in this book through an email from Shelf Awareness and decided that I HAD to read this book - luckily it was on Netgalley at the time so I snatched it up. I have been loving short stories and graphic novels lately so this made me feel like I was accomplishing some reading - being a full book but also keeping me entertained.

American Housewife is a collection or 12 stories that are all a bit crazy but also funny and really just portray being a housewife in the most sarcastic way. I love sarcasm and this over the top feel. In the stories you get variety: lists, murderer, book clubs, crazy sponsorship, and overall just a hilarious commentary about being an adult woman. 

Ellis does a great job with these stories - some had me laughing out loud, others had me saying 'what the heck was that?' but all in all I flew through the book over the course of a few nights. I would read a few stories feeling accomplished then go to bed - it was great an I think it helped me get out of a horrid reading slump.

This is an adult read and geared toward women, but I think it is funny enough to have broader appeal to readers. It was fun, laughable, and  easy to read.