The Wives' Tale

by Alix Wilber

A magical, four-generational saga marking the brilliant debut of a promising young novelist which combines the slightly supernatural with just the right touch of horror.

The Dufore clan of Vermont has more than its share of quirks, but, like all good country wives, the Dufore women try to make the best of their decidedly odd circumstances.

Genres: Fiction, Novels

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1991

Reviews

[Terry Polston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to be confused with 'Old Wives' Tale' by Arnold Bennett - which was not as near as fun to read.
What a crazy ride. The men in the Dufore family are cursed with knowing how they will die, or the second sight, or seeing and hearing all who died before them. Not being able to handle the strain, they repeatedly tried suicide rather than suffer the death they knew was coming.
It's all a little fantastical like the movie 'Big Fish' where it makes sense in the end.
This was my 2nd reading. I've always remembered the man who had a dream of being hit by a meteor so spent 15 years with his family in a homemade bomb shelter. The one night he had to leave because the food had run out, a meteor hit the bomb shelter and wiped out his entire family. Or the boy who had to carry rocks in his pockets to keep the wind from carrying him away.
A fun book for teens.

[Angi M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember all the details of this book b/c it's been awhile since I read it but I've noticed that it pops into my head a lot. It's the story of this family of men who all have strange inherited traits that end up destroying them, as told by their wives. For example one of them will blow away in a strong wind unless he keeps a lot of rocks in his pockets. One of the boys' bones slowly disintegrate until he's just jelly inside. I don't remember what happened at the end, I need to read it again, but I keep thinking that I'd love to write a screenplay for it. Something similar to 'Big Fish'. It'd be great. One of these days I'll do that.

[Thomas Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this 15 years ago, so like the other reviewer, my memories are a bit vague. That being said, I remember this novel as an excellent piece of magic realism set in rural America. Check Angi's review for a better plot synopsis than I could have given. I wonder what happened to the author?. Such an excellent first novel, but I'm having trouble finding anything else about her on the web. Worth picking up if you can find a copy. Wherever you are Alix Wilbur, I really liked your book!

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

My roommate found this book in a bin at a thrift store. She read it and then made me read it. HOLY ISH. It's incredible. It's the most unique set of characters I have ever met. We have not been able to find copies of it anywhere. And until this site I hadn't known anyone else who'd read it as well. If you get your hands on this - READ IT. It's awesomely twisted.

[Stace Dayment · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book so much - I even tracked down the author in the 1990s working at amazon.com and meant to send her my copy to sign and never did. I bet she still would - she was quite nice. She mixes the magical and romance and family with humor and it's just such a wild tale. Wish it had been a bestseller. !! Now available on Kindle !!

[Francesca Penchant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent debut novel by Alix Wilber! Brilliant writing style/characters and impressive, complex plotting.

She is a commercial writer who lives in Seattle. Here’s her website: alixwilber.com