Karma Brown's new novel doesn't require tissues
Credit to Author: Dana Gee| Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2020 19:00:55 +0000
Award-winning author Karma Brown’s latest book Recipe for a Perfect Wife follows the lives of two women living 50 years apart. The pair inhabit the same house, they use the same cookbook and they share the same struggles of trying to gain agency in their lives.
The Toronto-area writer of such well-received books as Come Away With Me, The Choices We Make, In This Moment and The Life Lucy Knew is in Vancouver for a writers festival event on Feb. 23. Postmedia News caught up with her recently and asked her to talk about her new novel:
Question: Why this book now?
Answer: That’s the funny thing about the book business … it takes such a long time for a story to go from manuscript to finished copy on a shelf, that usually by the time a reader gets it in hand it has been in the works for years. I started writing Recipe for a Perfect Wife about five years ago, and what’s most interesting for me is how the themes within it feel as relevant and important today (if not more so) as they did when I wrote that first sentence.
Q: Where did the idea of the shared cookbook and shared house (50 years apart) come from?
A: This idea began with the cookbook. I own quite a few vintage cookbooks (some passed down through family and others I picked up at used-book stores), and have always loved the spills and splatters on the pages and personal notations on the recipes. Nellie, the 1950s housewife, came to me as I imagined the women who had owned these cookbooks before I did, and what their lives looked like all those decades ago. As for the house, I was inspired by a movie called If These Walls Could Talk (1996) that followed three women whose stories spanned 20 years, all living in the same house. I wanted the house to be a character; a place that held memories of significant life moments … and secrets.
Q: You have written plenty of sad stories that require tissues and deep breaths. Recipe for a Perfect Wife doesn’t. How was that for you?
A: It was a relief, actually. I love pushing emotions to the brink in a novel, but it’s impossible to shield yourself from the sadness while you’re writing a “tissues-required” story. It can be tough to simmer in that emotional state book-after-book, and so this story — while still delving into heavy topics and themes — gave me a much-needed reprieve from that.
Recipe for a Perfect Wife, by Karma Brown. Photo: Courtesy Viking Canada
Q: What has been the feedback from the devout Brown fans been like for this book tour?
A: So far, very positive! What I’m hearing is that it still feels like a ‘Karma Brown book’ — the voice feels familiar to readers — but no one needs a box of tissues at the ready for reading sessions.
Q: What was it about being a woman you really wanted to talk about?
A: When I think back to the eras my mother and grandmother grew up in, I recognize the progress we’ve made as women. At the same time, even here in Canada and the U.S., which are some of the most progressive countries in the world, there continues to discrepancies: women are still paid less than their male counterparts; women continue to be the main caregivers and housekeepers, even when they work full-time and as many hours a week as their spouses/partners; women are still judged on appearance; and gender-role expectations within marriages and households are frustratingly resilient. We have an 11-year-old daughter and my hope for her is a more equal playing field sooner than later — she deserves it, as do all women.
Q: The big question in this book is the big question for all of us: who are we? Did you discover anything about who you are by writing on this topic?
A: I just celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary and have been a stay-at-home mom since our daughter was young, which was a choice both my husband and I agreed to. I also have a busy writing career and manage the majority of the household tasks and child care while my husband works outside of the house. So part of my discovery with this book, and for myself, was to explore how I felt about that. More specifically, about the role of feminism within traditional marriage, and how to build a career while also striving for balance and equality within my little family unit. What I’ve come to believe is that balance is overrated and that women can “have it all,” but perhaps not at the same time. I wish that weren’t true, but at least for me it is — and that’s OK.
Q: Tell us about these two characters: Nellie, a 1950s housewife, and Alice, the modern-day millennial. Why did you want to put them together?
A: Nellie Murdoch is the quintessential 1950s housewife who checks the boxes applied to many wives of that era: dotes on her husband and her house, and understands her place within her marriage and society. Similarly, Alice is young and married, but she also has a career and the freedom to choose her path in life … or does she? Both women have ambitions outside their roles of “wife” and both have challenges and secrets within their marriages. Nellie’s 1950s housewife character came more easily — she arrived in my brain fully formed, and while there were a few twists and turns in telling her story, it was the more linear and clear-cut storyline. Alice will be misunderstood by some, because though it may appear she has little to complain about — with her husband providing her this, some would say, “most-enviable” life — she feels trapped by expectations within her marriage, even in these more modern, progressive times. She is imperfect, as we all are, and makes many unfortunate mistakes as she tries to figure out what she wants and who she is. Though their stories and outcomes differ, I always viewed Nellie and Alice as strong, independent women. You may not always agree with their choices, but I hope readers try to at least understand them.
Q: Is any of this book autobiographical?
A: It is not autobiographical, but that’s a question I often get. I expect readers believe authors put a lot more of themselves into a book than probably happens. Outside of a few of the recipes (which are old family recipes) and the fact that I love to bake — which I share with Nellie — my own story is not portrayed throughout the pages. Writing this novel certainly pushed me to evaluate my feelings about marriage, motherhood and being a woman, but these characters have their own distinct lives that look nothing like mine. It sounds strange, but by the time I’m finished a book the characters feel like old friends who I knew quite well for a time but haven’t had the chance to catch up with in a while.
Q: What is the bedrock of your parenting of a young daughter?
A: Parenting is the toughest job I’ve ever had and, in many ways, I feel I’m learning along with her as she grows up. But I have a strong partnership with my husband, plus excellent role models in both my parents, and so I often invoke my own childhood experiences to help guide me. If I have a parenting mantra with my daughter, it probably goes something like this: “Don’t give up, have fun (and be safe) and never forget that you are not here to make anyone else happy.”
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m working on my next novel, which will again be a dual-timeline story, but I’m going to keep the details under wraps for now.