The Bride Stripped Bare: A Novel

Been hearing about this controversial bestseller for a long time, and it was only fitting that my husband, who had no idea what this book was about, bought this for me on our civil wedding day. There is something taboo and "hush-hush" about a novel done anonymously and this alone gives any literary work an instant 'oomph' to it. "For my husband. For every husband" is the dedication of this book. Take your super ordinary, super plain and content wife. The woman you would never give a second glance to as she walks down an aisle at the supermarket; the woman who has completely disappeared into being the "little wife". This book, told in the second person point of view (You being the protagonist), is about the awakening (sexual, mainly) of the ordinary wife in her mid 30's. She is the proper clean wife, and when her marriage hits a bump (husband and her bestfriend betrays her), she decides to start living her life selfishly, why not. Selfishly meant putting her own indulgences ahead, writing an erotic novel under her husband's nose and succumbing to dark thoughts that she never thought she'd be capable of. She forms an affair, a student-teacher relationship with that of a Spanish-English virgin. And for once, she is the ringleader of the bed. Her young lover soon becomes obsessed with her, and she puts the trysts to a stop. Her relationship with her husband revs up again, with the help of her newfound sexuality and soon they conceive a child, and she tries to live her life on the normal mode again, content on having, for now, the stint with her young lover, as the most sensational chapter in her life. A very simple plot, but boldy, very honestly and admiringly told. One should take all the time in the world to read this book, because, apart from the feminist plot, the story is written very beautifully. The protagonist was unamed purposely, so that every woman can distinguish herself and relate to the story. I originally thought that the author, Nikki Gemmel, wanted the book to be written anonymously only to gain the mystique factor. The book has an exclusive interview with the author and she explained very well, that she Had to finish the novel knowing her name will not come up, because anonymity will release her from inhibitions and reluctance of writing a novel that may be described as vulgar and literary pornography. She dared to describe, in graceful detail, what I believe, every woman has thought of, but had no audacity to declare out loud--to her husband, friend, etc. After reading this book, it has sunk into me that no matter how liberated and opinionated women are of today, we are still not in the man-woman equal stage. A novel such as this is becomes controversial because 'bad impure thoughts' from a woman (girlfriend, mother, wife, grandmother), are still considered to be shocking. A man who thinks of sex 24 hours a day is considered human but once a woman confesses to that, its not exactly a sin, but it comes off as "unusual, but yeah, th

I didn't know what to think about this book when I read the opening statements about the protagonist disappearing not to mention the "odd" way the book is layed out. But the words quickly brought me in and keep me reading until I finished it just hours later. This book is a fantastic summer/beach read if you are looking for a titilating subject without wanting to read what my friends and I lovinly refer to as "Summer Smut". Her words are poetic and the story was never dull or boring. I realize that some might not care for the subject matter but I recommend this book to anyone with an open mind and looking to explore the inner workings of a young woman. Excellent book!

If you're American, you may have a little trouble finding it. Thus far, the publisher has only distributed it in London and Sydney. But The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmel (published anonymously by 4th Estate in 2003) is surprisingly worth the hunt. The story jetes off the premise that the anonymous diarist's mother found the text after her daughter and grandson disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving only their car at the top of a cliff. Their bodies were never found. From there follows the inner secrets of the ostensibly perfect housewife - from her Marrakech honeymoon to her illicit Sevillian affair and her descent into a sexual awakening at the hands of strangers. The book closes with an open letter from Gemmel explaining that she intended the book to be published without any connection to her due to "personal reasons". She quickly adds that the story is not autobiographical and berates the media for sniffing her out and "forcing" her to put her name to it. One would think the paparazzi had taken great interest in slapping her face on the cover of every tabloid. Given that without this tangential letter most readers would not associate the book with Gemmel, a cynic would wonder if this was all a marketing stunt. Gemmel takes some fabulous stylistic risks - most notably in writing the entire diary in the second person. The effect is, at worst, a psychological distance created between the reader and the anonymous narrator that reflects the narrator's own internal separation from herself. She doesn't know who she is and, despite reading the most intimate thoughts in her head, neither do we. At best, when the ideas hit home, when they reflect something in the reader's own life or with which she can identify, the second person style gives the eerie sensation that the diarist is reading her interloper's mind. Not only is the anonymous bride stripped bare, but her reader as well. Each chapter - dubbed "lessons" in the text - begins with a pithy quote from Household Science: Readings in Necessary Knowledge for Women by the Reverend JP Faunthorpe or A Woman's Words to Women on the Care of Their Health in England and India by Mary Scharlieb. These little dictums for women's lives include "making a comfortable bed is a very important part of household work" and "girls can never be too thoughtful". As might be expected, the content of each quote loosely corresponds to the content of the ensuing chapter with a gruesome, if cliched, irony. In fact, very little about this book is NOT cliche and, surprisingly, it works in spite of this. It tells a story that certainly wouldn't shock the reading public unless it had been published a good sixty years ago. When Lady Chatterley's Lover was first published by DH Lawrence in 1928, a woman's sexual secrets were uniquely titillating, but Gemmel's playing to a much more jaded readership these days. Even every possible feminist angle on the story has been done to death - unfulfilled housewife....t

I can't even begin to explain what I thought about this book. I was mad, I was scared, I was in awe... I think I felt every emotion known to mankind reading this book. I picked this up at the bookstore on a whim. I had no idea what it was about. I figured it was another fluffy chick lit book. But when I started reading it, I realized that it isn't the same as all of the rest. This book is what I've been through! I couldn't put this book down for three days. I've felt myself change for a man, I've thought my significant other was having an affair with my best friend, I've turned around and had an affair with another man that I thought I was deeply, madly, uncontrollably in love with but in the end realized that it would not work. This book filled me with so many raw emotions, it was sometimes frightening. Since the author is anonymous (much like I am in writing this review), it is hard to say if this is truly a work of fiction or not. Either way, this book is hauntingly accurate and beautifully written with tongue-in-cheek lessons at the beginning of every chapter. I highly recommend every woman to read this.

This is a book that's destined to become a classic of feminine fiction alongside Marguerite Duras' "The Lover" and Elizabeth Smart's "By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept." Why? All of them share a love of language, a rigorous respect for the truth, and clear-eyed view of the complexities of womanhood and love. They're all intensely passionate and "The Bride Stripped Bare" is a thriller as well, which keeps the reader (this reader at least) guessing until the last page. And beyond it! I was seduced by the beauty of the writing, the book's wit and eroticism, and it's amazing honesty. It's one of those reads where every line counts. I also loved the texts it alludes to, a boldly sexual sixteenth century handbook for women and some Victorian manuals for housewives. You can tell the author's had a lot of fun writing this. Get me to the London Library! The Bride Stripped Bare is a facinating read that's hard to categorise...is it fiction or non-fiction, declaration, crie-de-couer, instruction manual?? I don't really know. A bit of everything I think and all the richer for it. It's a unique genre in female writing, unlike anything I've read before...a haunting classic.