The Stepford Wives

I was in the fortunate position of knowing nothing about the Stepford Wives before reading it, even though it’s been around for decades and has been made into multiple movies.

Some of us live under a rock, I guess?

Ira Levin creates an accessible thriller in a beguilingly straightforward writing style that has you plowing through the pages wanting to know what happens next and why the Stepford Wives behave so strangely?

They dust, they clean, they love mundane housework, are super subservient to their husbands and look like a million dollars ALL the time, with incredibly trim waists, luxurious hair dos and unnaturally burgeoning busts: everything a happy husband could dream of and more.

⚫ But something isn’t quite right

⚫ All the Stepford wives are exactly the same in attitude

⚫ Consistent and nearly perfect

⚫ They never have bad days

⚫ And have no creativity or desire to explore wider boundaries

Which is why the main protagonist, Joanna, has difficulty accepting how collectively different they are in comparison to her own disorganized and sometimes haphazard outlook, as she tries to uncover what’s really going on.

First published in 1972, Ira Levin explores the differences between female attitudes of the 1950s and earlier, in comparison to the 1960s onwards when women became more independent and liberal.

For such an easy page-turning thriller, The Stepford Wives is remarkably profound, similar to Rosemary’s Baby by perceiving strange goings-on in the background but unable to pinpoint exactly what, often brushing suspicions under the carpet while being systematically lined up as the next potential victim.

We’re just as blind from the husband’s perspective - we know what they want - perfect wives, but kept in the dark on the finer details of how it’s possible, as Ira Levin gives just enough information to keep you clinging on and trying to second guess what’s behind the weird community.

There’s an element of Erin Brockovich going on as Joanna runs around town trying to figure it all out before she dons the duster and accepts a life of TV-commercial blandness comparing brands of soap powder to get the whitest whites.

A short book and a really satisfying read, recommended by me at 5 dust-free stars.