Paper Wife: A Novel
By: Laila Ibrahim / Narrated By: Nancy Wu
Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
A really, really good book IF you’re not expecting much “conflict”
First, to get it outta the way: We all know that yeh yeh yeh, I listen to EVERYthing at x1.25 speed, right? Well, with Paper Wife that about near drove me nuts. And x1.5 was too fast, soooooo, I say we lobby the main purveyors of audiobooks and their apps to offer a x1.4 speed. Maybe x1.39.
Too much to ask?
Hmm… I thought so.
But Nancy Wu narrates this quite well, it’s just that she does it so very, very, VERY slowly that I was in a snit until I just gave up and braced myself with x1.5 speed. I just could NOT do it any other way, and I have NO idea how completely and unutterably appalling it would be at x1. Ghastly!
But she differentiates voices decently, does Kai Li, the husband, decently, and she brought warmth to Mei Ling, our heroine, something which mighta turned out differently in the hands of a different narrator as the woman’s Dragon spirit rises up, and she very well could’ve come off as a shrew. So, hats off for Ms. Wu.
I s’pose I was expecting more in the way of conflict. It’s supposed to be, after all, about Mei Ling trying to save the little girl, Siew, from a life of child prostitution. CHILD PROSTITUTION?!? Holy Cow, right?
Uhm, not really. We go through about the first, say, over six hours of the barely 9+ hours audiobook with nary a scrape, and barely a snivel. Mei Ling learns of a betrayal once she’s in Kai Li’s home; that turns out okay. She’s been lying all along about who she is (she’s been pretending to be her sister as part of the family’s marriage agreement); that turns out okay. They have trouble making ends meet, but never really struggle in the muck or mire of poverty. Daughter turns out to be a girl? Not getting what she deserves for her intricate embroidery work? Done, and done, and done some more, aaaaaall okay. No spoilers here, as the writing dictates from the very git-go that Paper Wife is not a fraught book.
Still, I liked it. It kinda reminded me of the fiction I do so dearly love. You know? The Happily Ever After kind? LOOOOOOOVE that stuff!!!
It’s just that… well, CHILD PROSTITUTION, and all that!!!!
Whatever. If you’re not looking for a desperate edge-of-your-seat thriller, this book is it. It has affection that grows, it has splendid and hardworking characters who don’t take life for granted, and it has good friendships. Maybe not the most elegant writing in the world, but it was 9+ hours of relaxation where I didn’t have to worry about my toes curling in anxiety.
…and I appreciate that…!
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