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Wife on the Run
A mother's greatest fear…
A wife's worst nightmare…
What would you do?
When two technology-related disasters hit within days of each other, Paula knows her comfortable suburban life has been irrevocably blown apart. One involves the public shaming of her teenage daughter, the other is a discovery about her husband that shocks her to her core. With her world unraveling around her, Paula does the only thing that makes any sense to her: she runs away from it all.
She pulls her children out of school and takes off on a trip across Australia with her elderly father and his caravan. The only rule is No Technology - no phones, no Facebook, no Instagram, no tablets, games or computers. It's time to get back to basics and learn how to be a family again.
It all sounds so simple - and for a while, it is. But along the way Paula will meet new, exciting complications, and realise that running away is only a temporary solution. The past has to be faced before the future can begin.
A thrilling, tender and hugely entertaining story of loss, love and discovery from the bestselling author of The Mothers' Group.
A wife's worst nightmare…
What would you do?
When two technology-related disasters hit within days of each other, Paula knows her comfortable suburban life has been irrevocably blown apart. One involves the public shaming of her teenage daughter, the other is a discovery about her husband that shocks her to her core. With her world unraveling around her, Paula does the only thing that makes any sense to her: she runs away from it all.
She pulls her children out of school and takes off on a trip across Australia with her elderly father and his caravan. The only rule is No Technology - no phones, no Facebook, no Instagram, no tablets, games or computers. It's time to get back to basics and learn how to be a family again.
It all sounds so simple - and for a while, it is. But along the way Paula will meet new, exciting complications, and realise that running away is only a temporary solution. The past has to be faced before the future can begin.
A thrilling, tender and hugely entertaining story of loss, love and discovery from the bestselling author of The Mothers' Group.
432 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2014
40 people are currently reading
476 people want to read
About the author
Fiona Higgins
16 books161 followersFiona Higgins is the author of four novels - An Unusual Boy, Fearless, Wife on the Run and The Mothers’ Group - and a memoir, Love in the Age of Drought. She writes predominantly about contemporary life, with a special interest in intimate relationships, families and the complexities of parenting in the digital age. Her novels have been translated internationally, including in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain and Estonia.
Outside of writing, Fiona has tertiary qualifications in the humanities, social sciences and Indonesian Studies, and a longstanding involvement in the Australian not-for-profit sector. Over the past twenty years, she has worked with organisations specializing in philanthropy, international development, youth at risk, rural and regional issues and youth mental health.
She lives in Sydney with her family and enjoys ocean swimming, strong coffee and arguing about Monopoly with her three children.
Outside of writing, Fiona has tertiary qualifications in the humanities, social sciences and Indonesian Studies, and a longstanding involvement in the Australian not-for-profit sector. Over the past twenty years, she has worked with organisations specializing in philanthropy, international development, youth at risk, rural and regional issues and youth mental health.
She lives in Sydney with her family and enjoys ocean swimming, strong coffee and arguing about Monopoly with her three children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
October 25, 2014
3.5★s
The horror Paula McInnes felt as she was viewing the screen in front of her was intense. This could not be happening! But the school principal assured her it was – she gathered her shell-shocked thirteen year old, Caitlin, and they headed home together. But she was startled to find her eleven year old son Lachie sitting on the front step waiting for her…
As Paula tried to process what had happened, she needed her husband Hamish home from work so they could discuss the situation. But of course he wasn’t answering his phone – a person more dedicated and involved in his work she had yet to find, but the detriment to their family life was great. When his reaction on speaking to Caitlin ended up with Hamish in hospital with a serious injury, the problems accelerated. But it was what Paula discovered while Hamish was in hospital that was the final straw.
Paula’s seventy year old dad Sid had been living in the caravan in their back yard for some months; a spritely old man who had lost his beloved wife a year earlier, Sid was a wonderful Gramps to the children, and Paula loved him dearly. When Paula decided to take Caitlin and Lachie, along with her dad and the caravan and travel around Australia for at least three months, he supported her fully. She needed to get away – couldn’t stand the sight of her husband any longer – and her rules were simple; no technology at all. The children were devastated; how could they possibly manage without their phones, their Facebook; but Paula was adamant…
Travelling from Melbourne and sharing the driving with Sid, Paula felt the rigidity and stresses of her life gradually leave her. As they made their way across the Nullabor Plains after leaving Adelaide, Paula could see the changes in Caitlin and Lachie; she could feel the changes in herself. But what about the past? She just wasn’t ready to make any decisions yet…
Wife on the Run was written beautifully for the most part by Aussie author Fiona Higgins. The characters were well fleshed out – I loved Sid and his dry sense of humour. The descriptions of their travels throughout Australia, around the coast of Victoria into South Australia and up to Adelaide are all locations I know well, so visualising the beauty of the countryside was easy. The story seemed to move in an uneasy rhythm; parts of it where I raced along, laughing out loud, then parts I didn’t enjoy and so skimmed a few pages. This is a book about family, love and loss and about finding yourself when you didn’t think it possible. Recommended.
With thanks to TRR and the publisher for my uncorrected proof to read and review.
The horror Paula McInnes felt as she was viewing the screen in front of her was intense. This could not be happening! But the school principal assured her it was – she gathered her shell-shocked thirteen year old, Caitlin, and they headed home together. But she was startled to find her eleven year old son Lachie sitting on the front step waiting for her…
As Paula tried to process what had happened, she needed her husband Hamish home from work so they could discuss the situation. But of course he wasn’t answering his phone – a person more dedicated and involved in his work she had yet to find, but the detriment to their family life was great. When his reaction on speaking to Caitlin ended up with Hamish in hospital with a serious injury, the problems accelerated. But it was what Paula discovered while Hamish was in hospital that was the final straw.
Paula’s seventy year old dad Sid had been living in the caravan in their back yard for some months; a spritely old man who had lost his beloved wife a year earlier, Sid was a wonderful Gramps to the children, and Paula loved him dearly. When Paula decided to take Caitlin and Lachie, along with her dad and the caravan and travel around Australia for at least three months, he supported her fully. She needed to get away – couldn’t stand the sight of her husband any longer – and her rules were simple; no technology at all. The children were devastated; how could they possibly manage without their phones, their Facebook; but Paula was adamant…
Travelling from Melbourne and sharing the driving with Sid, Paula felt the rigidity and stresses of her life gradually leave her. As they made their way across the Nullabor Plains after leaving Adelaide, Paula could see the changes in Caitlin and Lachie; she could feel the changes in herself. But what about the past? She just wasn’t ready to make any decisions yet…
Wife on the Run was written beautifully for the most part by Aussie author Fiona Higgins. The characters were well fleshed out – I loved Sid and his dry sense of humour. The descriptions of their travels throughout Australia, around the coast of Victoria into South Australia and up to Adelaide are all locations I know well, so visualising the beauty of the countryside was easy. The story seemed to move in an uneasy rhythm; parts of it where I raced along, laughing out loud, then parts I didn’t enjoy and so skimmed a few pages. This is a book about family, love and loss and about finding yourself when you didn’t think it possible. Recommended.
With thanks to TRR and the publisher for my uncorrected proof to read and review.
May 20, 2017
I did not review this close enough to reading time due to busyness, and now I can't do it properly!
This is another fun contemporary read from a mother's perspective.
Reeling from two social media disasters (very on topic) involving her teenage daughter and her irresponsible husband, Paula has had enough of this drama so decides to turn her back on her 'has it all life', and takes off on a road trip which she had wanted to do for a long time.
This trip is social media free, and is meant to be a refreshing change to a family life that has spiraled out of control. Temptation and drama ensues, but of course, with lessons learned. The twists and turns are not overly realistic, but make for a fun read.
I rate this 3.5 stars as it can't match my enjoyment of The Mothers' Group, which I loved, but liked? I definitely did.
I think one of the things that happened with this book was my envy of the relationship between mother and teenage daughter, Paula's was better than mine! I did like an unexpected revelation in regards to the daughter, and the way in which Paula dealt with this in the end.
This is another fun contemporary read from a mother's perspective.
Reeling from two social media disasters (very on topic) involving her teenage daughter and her irresponsible husband, Paula has had enough of this drama so decides to turn her back on her 'has it all life', and takes off on a road trip which she had wanted to do for a long time.
This trip is social media free, and is meant to be a refreshing change to a family life that has spiraled out of control. Temptation and drama ensues, but of course, with lessons learned. The twists and turns are not overly realistic, but make for a fun read.
I rate this 3.5 stars as it can't match my enjoyment of The Mothers' Group, which I loved, but liked? I definitely did.
I think one of the things that happened with this book was my envy of the relationship between mother and teenage daughter, Paula's was better than mine! I did like an unexpected revelation in regards to the daughter, and the way in which Paula dealt with this in the end.
October 17, 2021
Wife on the Run is the second novel by Australian author, Fiona Higgins. The audio version is narrated by Tracy Mann. Paula McInnes, almost forty, has been married to Hamish for seventeen years and has spent much of that time making a good home for him and their now-teenaged children, Caitlin and Lachlan.
But suddenly a series of events turns her stable existence upside down, and she decides to escape. She resolves to finally undertake their long-planned-but never-achieved Caravan Adventure Trip Around Australia, taking the kids out of school and leaving Hamish to fend for himself.
Her elderly dad, Sid, now a widower, will accompany them, contributing his van and his caravanning expertise, although her sister, Jamie has grave reservations about all this. And as a large portion of the blame for her woes goes to the Internet, their trip will be technology free.
Despite plans and ground rules, things don’t proceed quite as intended: there is some rebellion by the teens and Sid has some quite clever ideas of his own; a rather sexy Brazilian backpacker is thrown into the mix; and Hamish decides he must act to prevent his family from disintegrating.
Higgins gives the reader an original plot that does not necessarily follow expectations. Her characters are easily recognisable from everyday life: the officious headmaster; the conscientious homemaker; the workaholic husband; the enthusiastic retiree; the true-blue Aussie mate; and the concerned older sibling. None of the characters is quite what they first seem: they all have weaknesses and succumb to temptation on occasion. Even the stereotypical chauvinistic male shows some depth as the story progresses, such that, at one point, readers may actually feel a little sorry for him.
However, the descriptions of Hamish’s sexual transgressions are quite explicit, and readers should be prepared for the abundant use of expletives in his parts of the narrative, though that certainly gives it an authentic touch. The dialogue is natural and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
Much of the subject matter is quite topical: Facebook postings that go viral; the pitfalls of internet porn sites; dependence on technology; appropriate Internet supervision of younger users; Higgins also touches on some traditional themes: family loyalty; the hazards of holiday romances; accepting people at face value; the importance of good communication.
This latest offering by Higgins is moving, thought-provoking and quite often utterly hilarious. Readers familiar with her work will not be disappointed and newcomers will be prompted to seek out her earlier novel, The Mothers’ Group.
But suddenly a series of events turns her stable existence upside down, and she decides to escape. She resolves to finally undertake their long-planned-but never-achieved Caravan Adventure Trip Around Australia, taking the kids out of school and leaving Hamish to fend for himself.
Her elderly dad, Sid, now a widower, will accompany them, contributing his van and his caravanning expertise, although her sister, Jamie has grave reservations about all this. And as a large portion of the blame for her woes goes to the Internet, their trip will be technology free.
Despite plans and ground rules, things don’t proceed quite as intended: there is some rebellion by the teens and Sid has some quite clever ideas of his own; a rather sexy Brazilian backpacker is thrown into the mix; and Hamish decides he must act to prevent his family from disintegrating.
Higgins gives the reader an original plot that does not necessarily follow expectations. Her characters are easily recognisable from everyday life: the officious headmaster; the conscientious homemaker; the workaholic husband; the enthusiastic retiree; the true-blue Aussie mate; and the concerned older sibling. None of the characters is quite what they first seem: they all have weaknesses and succumb to temptation on occasion. Even the stereotypical chauvinistic male shows some depth as the story progresses, such that, at one point, readers may actually feel a little sorry for him.
However, the descriptions of Hamish’s sexual transgressions are quite explicit, and readers should be prepared for the abundant use of expletives in his parts of the narrative, though that certainly gives it an authentic touch. The dialogue is natural and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
Much of the subject matter is quite topical: Facebook postings that go viral; the pitfalls of internet porn sites; dependence on technology; appropriate Internet supervision of younger users; Higgins also touches on some traditional themes: family loyalty; the hazards of holiday romances; accepting people at face value; the importance of good communication.
This latest offering by Higgins is moving, thought-provoking and quite often utterly hilarious. Readers familiar with her work will not be disappointed and newcomers will be prompted to seek out her earlier novel, The Mothers’ Group.
October 25, 2014
Wife on the Run is the second novel by Australian author, Fiona Higgins. Paula McInnes, almost forty, has been married to Hamish for seventeen years and has spent much of that time making a good home for him and their now-teenaged children, Caitlin and Lachlan.
But suddenly a series of events turns her stable existence upside down, and she decides to escape. She resolves to finally undertake their long-planned-but never-achieved Caravan Adventure Trip Around Australia, taking the kids out of school and leaving Hamish to fend for himself.
Her elderly dad, Sid, now a widower, will accompany them, contributing his van and his caravanning expertise, although her sister, Jamie has grave reservations about all this. And as a large portion of the blame for her woes goes to the Internet, their trip will be technology free.
Despite plans and ground rules, things don’t proceed quite as intended: there is some rebellion by the teens and Sid has some quite clever ideas of his own; a rather sexy Brazilian backpacker is thrown into the mix; and Hamish decides he must act to prevent his family from disintegrating.
Higgins gives the reader an original plot that does not necessarily follow expectations. Her characters are easily recognisable from everyday life: the officious headmaster; the conscientious homemaker; the workaholic husband; the enthusiastic retiree; the true-blue Aussie mate; and the concerned older sibling. None of the characters is quite what they first seem: they all have weaknesses and succumb to temptation on occasion. Even the stereotypical chauvinistic male shows some depth as the story progresses, such that, at one point, readers may actually feel a little sorry for him.
However, the descriptions of Hamish’s sexual transgressions are quite explicit, and readers should be prepared for the abundant use of expletives in his parts of the narrative, though that certainly gives it an authentic touch. The dialogue is natural and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
Much of the subject matter is quite topical: Facebook postings that go viral; the pitfalls of internet porn sites; dependence on technology; appropriate Internet supervision of younger users; Higgins also touches on some traditional themes: family loyalty; the hazards of holiday romances; accepting people at face value; the importance of good communication.
This latest offering by Higgins is moving, thought-provoking and quite often utterly hilarious. Readers familiar with her work will not be disappointed and newcomers will be prompted to seek out her earlier novel, The Mothers’ Group.
With thanks to TheReadingRoom and Allen&Unwin for this copy to read and review.
But suddenly a series of events turns her stable existence upside down, and she decides to escape. She resolves to finally undertake their long-planned-but never-achieved Caravan Adventure Trip Around Australia, taking the kids out of school and leaving Hamish to fend for himself.
Her elderly dad, Sid, now a widower, will accompany them, contributing his van and his caravanning expertise, although her sister, Jamie has grave reservations about all this. And as a large portion of the blame for her woes goes to the Internet, their trip will be technology free.
Despite plans and ground rules, things don’t proceed quite as intended: there is some rebellion by the teens and Sid has some quite clever ideas of his own; a rather sexy Brazilian backpacker is thrown into the mix; and Hamish decides he must act to prevent his family from disintegrating.
Higgins gives the reader an original plot that does not necessarily follow expectations. Her characters are easily recognisable from everyday life: the officious headmaster; the conscientious homemaker; the workaholic husband; the enthusiastic retiree; the true-blue Aussie mate; and the concerned older sibling. None of the characters is quite what they first seem: they all have weaknesses and succumb to temptation on occasion. Even the stereotypical chauvinistic male shows some depth as the story progresses, such that, at one point, readers may actually feel a little sorry for him.
However, the descriptions of Hamish’s sexual transgressions are quite explicit, and readers should be prepared for the abundant use of expletives in his parts of the narrative, though that certainly gives it an authentic touch. The dialogue is natural and there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.
Much of the subject matter is quite topical: Facebook postings that go viral; the pitfalls of internet porn sites; dependence on technology; appropriate Internet supervision of younger users; Higgins also touches on some traditional themes: family loyalty; the hazards of holiday romances; accepting people at face value; the importance of good communication.
This latest offering by Higgins is moving, thought-provoking and quite often utterly hilarious. Readers familiar with her work will not be disappointed and newcomers will be prompted to seek out her earlier novel, The Mothers’ Group.
With thanks to TheReadingRoom and Allen&Unwin for this copy to read and review.
October 27, 2014
Okay - the good points - the fact that author Fiona Higgins managed to get all the plotlines together at the end, and Paula's father Sid who added a warmth to the book. And the writing style flowed nicely.
The bad points - pretty much everything else :(
I found the storylines very unconvincing and silly and parts oh so predictable , and the was quite ridiculous.
Probably a good book to read when you are sick in bed with the flu and don't have to think too hard.
Thanks to TRR and Allen&Unwin for my Uncorrected Proof Copy - I'm just sorry I couldn't appreciate the book more :(
November 13, 2014
In Fiona Higgins' Wife on the Run, Paula McInnes has been married to her husband Hamish for 17 years and is the mother of two teenage children, fourteen year old Caitlin and thirteen year old, Lachie. The family lives an ordinary, comfortable life in the Australian suburbs which is irrevocably changed when first Caitlin is the victim of a Facebook 'sex' scandal, and then, when Hamish is injured in an accident, Paula discovers what her husband has really been doing during his late nights 'working' from home.
Shocked and angry, Paula makes a snap decision to pull her children out of school and, along with her father Sid, embark on a three month caravanning tour around Australia, leaving Hamish behind. Freed from their structured routine, and with a ban on technology enforced, the family quickly embrace the pleasures of the journey - beautiful scenery, friendly locals, 'drinkypoo's' at sunset and for the teens, a growing sense of independence thanks to Grandpa Sid's 'life lessons'.
With her guard down, Paula is surprised to find herself susceptible to the charms of a charismatic Brazilian they meet on the road. Meanwhile, after a ten day bender, Hamish decides his life is empty without his wife and children in it, and sets out to catch up with them, but ends up making a detour or two along the way. Both Paula and Hamish are on the run, but neither of them are exactly sure if it is from or to one another.
Told from the dual perspectives of Paula and Hamish, Wife on the Run unfolds at a quick, entertaining pace. Part social commentary, part 'road trip' farce, Higgins tempers the serious themes of the novel - the perils of social media, marital breakdown, aging and self discovery - with some slightly absurd plot twists including an ever obliging tour bus operator, an illicit rendezvous, a Brazilian (of both types), and a lucky bet on the Melbourne Cup.
Strong but flawed characters, and the complicated dynamics between them, should resonate in one way or another with most readers. There is no denying that Paula is a bit of a control freak but she is largely a sympathetic character despite the mistakes she makes. Hamish is often a boorish sleaze but not entirely irredeemable, Sid is a treasure, and the children are fairly typical teens. The supporting cast is rich and varied, including 'Doggo', Marcelo, 'Farken' Frank, and Lisel17, all whom offer surprises you probably won't see coming.
Natural, if often earthy, language and dialogue is spiked with 'Australian-isms' and more than one surprisingly explicit sexual scene. There is plenty of humour, both overt and sly, but also astute and serious observations. The landscape, as the characters travel through South Australia, Western Australia and up to the Northern Territory, is familiar with a hint of the exotic.
Provocative, sharply insightful and wildly entertaining, Wife On the Run is not what you may expect from the synopsis but it is an engaging journey through love, heartbreak and self discovery.
January 1, 2015
Author Fiona Higgins says on her webpage that she like to write about the stuff no-one wants to talk about – what lies beneath the surface of apparently happy families. She has certainly achieved that in WIFE ON THE RUN. Paula McInnes is reasonably content organising the lives of her family, she has been married to her husband Hamish for 17 years and is the mother of two teenage children, fourteen year old Caitlin and thirteen year old, Lachie. As the story opens Paula is in the School Principal’s Office staring at a Facebook post accusing Caitlin of committing lewd sexual acts; the post has gone viral around Caitlin’s school. Later that evening, Paula’s husband is seriously injured and is in hospital unconscious and she finds evidence of him having had phone and online sex with a 17 year old girl. This has not been a good day. Paula’s elderly father, Sid, has been living in a caravan in their back yard, and Paula reminisces that when her and Hamish were first in love they had a dream to drive around Australia. Impulsively Paula decides to leave Hamish in hospital, take the two kids out of school and then spend 3 months driving around Australia with Sid and get away from technology completely – no phones, no Facebook, no Instagram, no tablets, games or computers. Slowly the children learn to control technology rather than be controlled by it, and Paula starts to find a new lease to life mostly due to the attentions of a sexy young Brazilian backpacker they pick up.
Meanwhile Hamish decides he can’t live without Paula and sets off in hot pursuit of his family. The settings in the book as they drive around the coast from Melbourne to Darwin via Adelaide and Perth are described beautifully – and thrilled to bits to have my hometown of Darwin mentioned – and even the restaurant I like to go to. So pretty much set the scene for me and made me think that if the author got this Darwin setting right – then the others must be too. I also loved how the characters interacted with each other, for example how sometimes the teens were so wise beyond their years, teaching their parents a thing or two, and at other times they were squabbling over whose music was to be played. Once or twice I felt a couple of the scenes seemed to want me to stretch my imagination just a bit far – I am talking Hamish in Perth and then Paula in Darwin here. I did make the comment in my notebook at that stage "…I don't know which person is the most stupid - Hamish or Paula. The story certainly has me engrossed as I try and figure out who I sympathize with…"
All the characters are all people we meet every day – the self-sacrificing housewife, workaholic husband, bureaucratic school principle, the typical Aussie mate, salt of the earth pensioner and self-absorbed teens but all of the characters undergo growth, Paula from being a control freak and Hamish from being a total sleaze. Both learn that there are consequences for their actions and there is a lot of laughter as they launch into different adventures and misunderstandings. I loved the settings, the people they met, the drinkypoos at sunset, and Sid’s alternative technique of teaching his grandchildren about life. I loved the multiple stories told from two main viewpoints – Hamish and Paula - all based around the central plot – and anyone who has read Fiona Higgins earlier novel, The Mothers Group, will understand what I mean. If you haven’t read ‘The Mothers Group’ then I suggest you go and grab it at the same time you buy WIFE ON THE RUN – you won’t be disappointed.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin and the author for this copy to read and review.
Meanwhile Hamish decides he can’t live without Paula and sets off in hot pursuit of his family. The settings in the book as they drive around the coast from Melbourne to Darwin via Adelaide and Perth are described beautifully – and thrilled to bits to have my hometown of Darwin mentioned – and even the restaurant I like to go to. So pretty much set the scene for me and made me think that if the author got this Darwin setting right – then the others must be too. I also loved how the characters interacted with each other, for example how sometimes the teens were so wise beyond their years, teaching their parents a thing or two, and at other times they were squabbling over whose music was to be played. Once or twice I felt a couple of the scenes seemed to want me to stretch my imagination just a bit far – I am talking Hamish in Perth and then Paula in Darwin here. I did make the comment in my notebook at that stage "…I don't know which person is the most stupid - Hamish or Paula. The story certainly has me engrossed as I try and figure out who I sympathize with…"
All the characters are all people we meet every day – the self-sacrificing housewife, workaholic husband, bureaucratic school principle, the typical Aussie mate, salt of the earth pensioner and self-absorbed teens but all of the characters undergo growth, Paula from being a control freak and Hamish from being a total sleaze. Both learn that there are consequences for their actions and there is a lot of laughter as they launch into different adventures and misunderstandings. I loved the settings, the people they met, the drinkypoos at sunset, and Sid’s alternative technique of teaching his grandchildren about life. I loved the multiple stories told from two main viewpoints – Hamish and Paula - all based around the central plot – and anyone who has read Fiona Higgins earlier novel, The Mothers Group, will understand what I mean. If you haven’t read ‘The Mothers Group’ then I suggest you go and grab it at the same time you buy WIFE ON THE RUN – you won’t be disappointed.
With thanks to Allen & Unwin and the author for this copy to read and review.
November 27, 2014
I'm rather conflicted by this book. The blurb mentions two "technology-related disasters", which let's face it, they weren't even close to the kind of disasters I envision, so the start of the book was already a let down with respect to that, but then it took a very strange turn. The middle of the book seemed to be on rails, with any plot twists easily guessable ahead of time, but just when I thought I figured it how it was going to end, it took another strange turn leading to a surprising climax and even more surprising resolution.
December 6, 2014
This book was extremely disappointing and full of awkward moments which saw the author try to inject far too much of an 'Australian' flavour into the book. Cringeworthy and politically incorrect references to the original Australians peppered the book; references which are probably fifty years out of date. The plot was reasonable enough, but I'm sorry, it was a similar experience to watching an American television show do an Australian episode. Those tired stereotypes might go over well overseas, but very few are still relevant in modern Australia.
November 11, 2014
Do you know what your children get up to on social media? Do you ever wonder what your husband is doing late into the night on the computer or even his mobile phone for that matter? In this latest novel by best-selling author of The Mother's Group, Fiona Higgins, brings the grim reality of technology’s drawbacks to the fore.
When Paula finds out that her daughter, Caitlin, has been caught in the midst of a Facebook cyber-sex scandal, she doesn’t think things can get any worse. Unfortunately, life has a few more lessons that it would like to mete out to her, so she is further shocked when she discovers that her husband, Hamish, has been keeping his own shameful secrets. Suddenly, the cracks in their marriage become painfully clear and Paula realises that it’s decision-making time. The first, however, may just prove to be one of the easier ones she’ll ever make!
With her son Lachlan somewhat embarrassed by the scandal surrounding his sister, she decides to pull them both out of school for the remainder of the year as she makes plans to take a trip around Australia (something her and Hamish had always planned to do), with her aging father, Sid, accompanying them.
She sees this as an opportunity to escape the rat-race, her mundane existence and daily drudgery of a part-time job, housework and looking after her family that has morphed into what she now calls life. Of course, the children have a choice to go along or stay with their father, but if they decide to go, there’s one condition that they’ll need to consider - the use of modern technology will be prohibited unless an emergency presents itself. At first, the children aren’t happy about this, but soon realise that Paula is serious, while Paula discovers that some of the rules she's put in place are perhaps working to her detriment.
Life on the road, however, allows her time to re-connect with her children and her aging father and the trip becomes a great chance at reflecting on her life and making changes she thought she'd never be able to make, promising to change her life completely.
When they meet an intriguing and handsome Brazilian stranger along the way Sid, wanting to teach his grandchildren real life lessons, welcomes him in to the circle of their family while Paula finds herself hopelessly attracted to this younger man. Nobody realises this will be a life-lesson in itself, even to the adults, and by the end of their journey, all truths will present themselves with some agonising decisions to be made.
A marriage in crisis, a family in the midst of upheaval, Paula’s story could belong to any one of us with a couple of kids and a house in the ‘burbs trying to fit too much into her everyday life instead of taking some time out for herself just to re-group and re-evaluate the things that are important. Fiona makes it all the more frighteningly real by giving us the story from the first-person perspectives of two flawed and deeply human characters, with chapters alternating between the voices of Paula and Hamish, and the way each of them view their relationship with one another.
As I read Paula’s story, I couldn’t help but feel empathy towards her and we began to develop quite an emotional bond as I saw her constantly struggling with self-doubt, disappointment, and body image issues. Not so with Hamish who I found to be rather shallow and egotistical, constantly thinking about his own needs and always putting those first before anyone else. Of course, when he got his just desserts, I had to contain myself from pumping my fists in the air as I was sitting under the trees at work during one of my breaks - could you imagine the looks I would have got!
While the focus of the story is on Paula and her dilemmas relating to her marriage and journey of re-discovery of self, there are plenty of other topics within the storyline that will keep you engaged from the descriptions of the scenery on their journey across Australia, the mystery man “Farken Frank” who Hamish meets on his travels as he tries to trace his family’s whereabouts and continues to pop up unexpectedly, to the warm relationship Paula shares with her father Sid.
The way Fiona recounts the lives of her characters is delightfully humorous yet achingly honest with some strong language in parts, particularly in Hamish’s narrative, but it is not at all gratuitous, instead giving the scenes the reality and frankness they deserve as she explores the gritty reality of modern day life touching on issues from the ever-increasing draw-backs of social media and cyber-bullying, family relationships, infidelity, aging and other issues that long-term marriages in today’s society face. Life lessons prevail on this journey, not only for the children but for the adults as well. You can run, but you can’t hide, and the time will come when you need to face your demons!
With modern-day problems and family drama at its core, Wife on the Run is a story that will have you laughing more than crying and will appeal to a broad range of readers and book clubs alike.
When Paula finds out that her daughter, Caitlin, has been caught in the midst of a Facebook cyber-sex scandal, she doesn’t think things can get any worse. Unfortunately, life has a few more lessons that it would like to mete out to her, so she is further shocked when she discovers that her husband, Hamish, has been keeping his own shameful secrets. Suddenly, the cracks in their marriage become painfully clear and Paula realises that it’s decision-making time. The first, however, may just prove to be one of the easier ones she’ll ever make!
With her son Lachlan somewhat embarrassed by the scandal surrounding his sister, she decides to pull them both out of school for the remainder of the year as she makes plans to take a trip around Australia (something her and Hamish had always planned to do), with her aging father, Sid, accompanying them.
She sees this as an opportunity to escape the rat-race, her mundane existence and daily drudgery of a part-time job, housework and looking after her family that has morphed into what she now calls life. Of course, the children have a choice to go along or stay with their father, but if they decide to go, there’s one condition that they’ll need to consider - the use of modern technology will be prohibited unless an emergency presents itself. At first, the children aren’t happy about this, but soon realise that Paula is serious, while Paula discovers that some of the rules she's put in place are perhaps working to her detriment.
Life on the road, however, allows her time to re-connect with her children and her aging father and the trip becomes a great chance at reflecting on her life and making changes she thought she'd never be able to make, promising to change her life completely.
When they meet an intriguing and handsome Brazilian stranger along the way Sid, wanting to teach his grandchildren real life lessons, welcomes him in to the circle of their family while Paula finds herself hopelessly attracted to this younger man. Nobody realises this will be a life-lesson in itself, even to the adults, and by the end of their journey, all truths will present themselves with some agonising decisions to be made.
A marriage in crisis, a family in the midst of upheaval, Paula’s story could belong to any one of us with a couple of kids and a house in the ‘burbs trying to fit too much into her everyday life instead of taking some time out for herself just to re-group and re-evaluate the things that are important. Fiona makes it all the more frighteningly real by giving us the story from the first-person perspectives of two flawed and deeply human characters, with chapters alternating between the voices of Paula and Hamish, and the way each of them view their relationship with one another.
As I read Paula’s story, I couldn’t help but feel empathy towards her and we began to develop quite an emotional bond as I saw her constantly struggling with self-doubt, disappointment, and body image issues. Not so with Hamish who I found to be rather shallow and egotistical, constantly thinking about his own needs and always putting those first before anyone else. Of course, when he got his just desserts, I had to contain myself from pumping my fists in the air as I was sitting under the trees at work during one of my breaks - could you imagine the looks I would have got!
While the focus of the story is on Paula and her dilemmas relating to her marriage and journey of re-discovery of self, there are plenty of other topics within the storyline that will keep you engaged from the descriptions of the scenery on their journey across Australia, the mystery man “Farken Frank” who Hamish meets on his travels as he tries to trace his family’s whereabouts and continues to pop up unexpectedly, to the warm relationship Paula shares with her father Sid.
The way Fiona recounts the lives of her characters is delightfully humorous yet achingly honest with some strong language in parts, particularly in Hamish’s narrative, but it is not at all gratuitous, instead giving the scenes the reality and frankness they deserve as she explores the gritty reality of modern day life touching on issues from the ever-increasing draw-backs of social media and cyber-bullying, family relationships, infidelity, aging and other issues that long-term marriages in today’s society face. Life lessons prevail on this journey, not only for the children but for the adults as well. You can run, but you can’t hide, and the time will come when you need to face your demons!
With modern-day problems and family drama at its core, Wife on the Run is a story that will have you laughing more than crying and will appeal to a broad range of readers and book clubs alike.
March 4, 2015
Oh I feel crap leaving bad reviews and I'm sorry I have to say this but the book should be called "Everyone is terrible and extremely stereotypical". I don't know why the Aussie stereotypes are so overly hyped up, maybe aiming for an overseas audience? That being said, I couldn't stand any of the characters, not even "lovable Sid" that everyone is talking about. And it's not like the people are awful but still intriguing like the characters in The Slap. I just couldn't enjoy or relate or even feel a base connection to these privileged people and their crazy adventures before they return to their privileged lives.
I give this 2 stars because a 1 star review is for a book I can't finish. This took me so long to read cause at times I had to put the book down in sheer frustration, but I got through. And several scenarios and storylines were amusing and made me laugh cause they are so over the top and crazy. So yeah 2 stars. Not really my thing I guess. If you like the author Kylie Ladd (I don't), then you'll enjoy Fiona Higgins.
I give this 2 stars because a 1 star review is for a book I can't finish. This took me so long to read cause at times I had to put the book down in sheer frustration, but I got through. And several scenarios and storylines were amusing and made me laugh cause they are so over the top and crazy. So yeah 2 stars. Not really my thing I guess. If you like the author Kylie Ladd (I don't), then you'll enjoy Fiona Higgins.
January 25, 2015
When Paula’s ordered life starts to fall apart she decides that getting away from everything, the city, technology and getting back to basics is what she and her children need.
Wife on the Run is a light hearted and humorous look at one woman’s answer to the trials and tribulations of today’s technological world. Run away!
I had a really hard time connecting with Paula. Even though the author puts a lot of effort into making the reader dislike Hamish. I still kept thinking that Paula brought most of her problems on herself. She had double standards for everything. Admonishing Hamish for his online affair but quick to jump into a real affair of her own. No technology for the children but she could use her phone, to call her sister, whenever. Got rid of all Hamish’s alcohol but it was ok for her to drink every night. She didn’t seem to be a good role model for her children.
Paula’s father, Sid, and Frank were great characters. They were so typically Australian, friendly, easy going and such a dry sense of humour. I loved how Sid was always there to step in and support Paula, but never judge her.
There are themes throughout the story that all readers will connect with and the Australian backdrop is a real treat.
Loved the twists and had a few laughs along the way. Wife on the Run will appeal to all readers, whether you’re overwhelmed by today’s busy life and technology driven world or completely on top of it all.
Contains: sexual content and explicit language
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof copy to read and review.
Wife on the Run is a light hearted and humorous look at one woman’s answer to the trials and tribulations of today’s technological world. Run away!
I had a really hard time connecting with Paula. Even though the author puts a lot of effort into making the reader dislike Hamish. I still kept thinking that Paula brought most of her problems on herself. She had double standards for everything. Admonishing Hamish for his online affair but quick to jump into a real affair of her own. No technology for the children but she could use her phone, to call her sister, whenever. Got rid of all Hamish’s alcohol but it was ok for her to drink every night. She didn’t seem to be a good role model for her children.
Paula’s father, Sid, and Frank were great characters. They were so typically Australian, friendly, easy going and such a dry sense of humour. I loved how Sid was always there to step in and support Paula, but never judge her.
There are themes throughout the story that all readers will connect with and the Australian backdrop is a real treat.
Loved the twists and had a few laughs along the way. Wife on the Run will appeal to all readers, whether you’re overwhelmed by today’s busy life and technology driven world or completely on top of it all.
Contains: sexual content and explicit language
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for my uncorrected proof copy to read and review.
October 21, 2014
I feel obliged to nail my colours to the mast here: the author is one of the finest people I know and, to my great fortune, one of my dearest friends. Its fair to say that my review of her work could be accused of partiality.
I was asked to read this text with a technical focus on a particular aspect of it, which I hope I achieved. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but be drawn into the yarn and taken along for the ride. One of the remarkable achievements of this book is the extent to which Fiona Higgins has channeled her inner grandpa! Paula's father, Sid, is the loveable larrikin who brings, not so much comic relief, but a sense of "groundedness" which tempers the series of events which befall Paula and those closest to her.
'Wife on the Run' is also a cautionary tale about the implications and consequences of "everyday" decision-making and the assessment of what really matters to each of us in our brief existence.
I'm confident I would have enjoyed this book even if it wasn't written by my good friend.
Buy a copy!
I was asked to read this text with a technical focus on a particular aspect of it, which I hope I achieved. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but be drawn into the yarn and taken along for the ride. One of the remarkable achievements of this book is the extent to which Fiona Higgins has channeled her inner grandpa! Paula's father, Sid, is the loveable larrikin who brings, not so much comic relief, but a sense of "groundedness" which tempers the series of events which befall Paula and those closest to her.
'Wife on the Run' is also a cautionary tale about the implications and consequences of "everyday" decision-making and the assessment of what really matters to each of us in our brief existence.
I'm confident I would have enjoyed this book even if it wasn't written by my good friend.
Buy a copy!
October 30, 2015
Well this was a nice surprise package. Absolutely loved it, what a ripper of a read. Really engaging, amusing and enlightening. Recommend this one, particularly liked the fact that all the characters interacted with each other and there was something to reflect about each relationship.
December 12, 2014
Wife and mother of two teenagers Paula McInnes has her safe and comfortable world rocked twice in days, both times by technology. The first time involves her 14yo daughter Caitlin and a facebook picture, the second involves her husband of 17 years Hamish and some indiscretions she discovers via his mobile phone. Determined to get away from it all, Paula decides to load up her two children and her 80yo father and just get away from it all. Do that caravan trip around Australia that she’s always planned to do.
There are several rules on the trip but the most important one is no personal technology. iPods are to be communal, played in the car between destinations. Anything else Paula wants strictly prohibited, wanting them to focus on the experience, not uploading it to facebook. She agrees with her father’s suggestion that they bypass the official homework and Paula hands the kids education over to him for some ‘life lessons’.
But running away is never the answer and when Hamish sets out in pursuit and Paula and the crew pick up a traveler on the road, things are going to get a bit more complicated. Paula is going to have to sort out her head and what she wants….and then face her future.
I absolutely loved Fiona Higgins’ book The Mothers’ Club so when I heard about this one I immediately added it to my the top of books I had to read. I’m really interested in books that are exploring social media and the negative aspects of them as well, so this book plays into that interest perfectly. My children are younger than Paula’s but I feel like I’m going to need to be prepared for this sort of thing early. My son is 6 and has an iPod touch which we monitor but already he’s asking what facebook is and can he have it. When I was in high school, it was prior to the myspace, facebook etc craze and cyber bullying hadn’t even been thought of.
Paula has what is no doubt, a very bad day. Firstly she’s called to her daughter’s school to be shown a post on facebook that has been made, concerning her daughter. There’s a graphic photo and her 14yo daughter has been excused from school until they discover the culprit, get the photo taken down and sort it all out. To make it worse, after her husband has an accident, Paula discovers incriminating messages on his phone, which devastates her. It’s clear that things haven’t been going well for them for a while and she makes the decision to take off on a trip around Australia with her children and her father while Hamish is still recovering in hospital.
I love the idea of the trip around Australia, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I also didn’t blame her for her desire to get away, especially from her husband. Hamish struck me as a bit of a traditional sort of guy, he went to work and earned the money and contributed very little to what happened at home. In the book you get Hamish’s point of view occasionally and some of his thoughts made me cringe. As a woman who has had two children, his views on his wife’s body post childbirth and her lack of interest in sexual relations were really blunt and at at times, cruel. Even as he’s chasing his wife and family across the country, attempting to prove that he can change and that he wants Paula back and for them to begin a new life together, Hamish is betraying her. He seems incapable of actually putting anyone other than himself first and every time he was back on the page, I just wanted him gone again.
The journey Paula and her family take sounds like such fun, especially once Paula loosens up and turns her two kids over to her dad for ‘life lessons’. When the kids complain that Paula’s cooking is ‘crap’ he gives them the week’s shopping budget and instructs them to buy what they want with the warning that they’ll have to eat it and it’ll have to last them the week because they won’t be buying anything else. The two children go mad buying the sort of food that they think they want to eat but after a few days, it’s clear that they’re learning a valuable lesson about what sort of food their bodies need. I absolutely loved the character of Paula’s dad. He’s such a funny old bloke, full of wisdom and charm. I have to admit, I did find his luck on the punt a bit far-fetched until I saw this article, which may have been the inspiration for his success in the 2012 Melbourne Cup! I also feel a bit miffed, as I backed the winner of the Melbourne Cup in 2012 but did not get anywhere near as lucky as Paula’s dad!
I loved the way this book explored social media and its impacts on not only teenagers but also an entire family – this photo is after all, the catalyst for everything that follows. It’s also an exploration of marriage, or rather the implosion of one. Paula is horrified to discover what Hamish has really been doing on his laptop late at night, especially who he has been doing it with. Hamish’s thoughts, as I’ve mentioned, are often really hard to read. In a society where women are already judged on their ability to “snap back” to their pre-baby bodies after giving birth, hearing those sorts of thoughts from the man who fathered Paula’s children…. who watched her give birth to them….. who was supposed to love her, was horrible. I felt so sorry for her, that he felt that way looking at her, even though he didn’t voice those thoughts to her. I actually loathed Hamish far more for his view of Paula than I did for his other actions.
I have to admit, my interest did wane during some of the more fantastical parts of the road trip, such as the “Brazilian” Marcello and Hamish’s repeated interactions with a mysterious Indigenous man who appears to help him at the most desperate times. However the parts of the story concerning family and marriage and relationships kept me utterly fascinated.
There are several rules on the trip but the most important one is no personal technology. iPods are to be communal, played in the car between destinations. Anything else Paula wants strictly prohibited, wanting them to focus on the experience, not uploading it to facebook. She agrees with her father’s suggestion that they bypass the official homework and Paula hands the kids education over to him for some ‘life lessons’.
But running away is never the answer and when Hamish sets out in pursuit and Paula and the crew pick up a traveler on the road, things are going to get a bit more complicated. Paula is going to have to sort out her head and what she wants….and then face her future.
I absolutely loved Fiona Higgins’ book The Mothers’ Club so when I heard about this one I immediately added it to my the top of books I had to read. I’m really interested in books that are exploring social media and the negative aspects of them as well, so this book plays into that interest perfectly. My children are younger than Paula’s but I feel like I’m going to need to be prepared for this sort of thing early. My son is 6 and has an iPod touch which we monitor but already he’s asking what facebook is and can he have it. When I was in high school, it was prior to the myspace, facebook etc craze and cyber bullying hadn’t even been thought of.
Paula has what is no doubt, a very bad day. Firstly she’s called to her daughter’s school to be shown a post on facebook that has been made, concerning her daughter. There’s a graphic photo and her 14yo daughter has been excused from school until they discover the culprit, get the photo taken down and sort it all out. To make it worse, after her husband has an accident, Paula discovers incriminating messages on his phone, which devastates her. It’s clear that things haven’t been going well for them for a while and she makes the decision to take off on a trip around Australia with her children and her father while Hamish is still recovering in hospital.
I love the idea of the trip around Australia, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I also didn’t blame her for her desire to get away, especially from her husband. Hamish struck me as a bit of a traditional sort of guy, he went to work and earned the money and contributed very little to what happened at home. In the book you get Hamish’s point of view occasionally and some of his thoughts made me cringe. As a woman who has had two children, his views on his wife’s body post childbirth and her lack of interest in sexual relations were really blunt and at at times, cruel. Even as he’s chasing his wife and family across the country, attempting to prove that he can change and that he wants Paula back and for them to begin a new life together, Hamish is betraying her. He seems incapable of actually putting anyone other than himself first and every time he was back on the page, I just wanted him gone again.
The journey Paula and her family take sounds like such fun, especially once Paula loosens up and turns her two kids over to her dad for ‘life lessons’. When the kids complain that Paula’s cooking is ‘crap’ he gives them the week’s shopping budget and instructs them to buy what they want with the warning that they’ll have to eat it and it’ll have to last them the week because they won’t be buying anything else. The two children go mad buying the sort of food that they think they want to eat but after a few days, it’s clear that they’re learning a valuable lesson about what sort of food their bodies need. I absolutely loved the character of Paula’s dad. He’s such a funny old bloke, full of wisdom and charm. I have to admit, I did find his luck on the punt a bit far-fetched until I saw this article, which may have been the inspiration for his success in the 2012 Melbourne Cup! I also feel a bit miffed, as I backed the winner of the Melbourne Cup in 2012 but did not get anywhere near as lucky as Paula’s dad!
I loved the way this book explored social media and its impacts on not only teenagers but also an entire family – this photo is after all, the catalyst for everything that follows. It’s also an exploration of marriage, or rather the implosion of one. Paula is horrified to discover what Hamish has really been doing on his laptop late at night, especially who he has been doing it with. Hamish’s thoughts, as I’ve mentioned, are often really hard to read. In a society where women are already judged on their ability to “snap back” to their pre-baby bodies after giving birth, hearing those sorts of thoughts from the man who fathered Paula’s children…. who watched her give birth to them….. who was supposed to love her, was horrible. I felt so sorry for her, that he felt that way looking at her, even though he didn’t voice those thoughts to her. I actually loathed Hamish far more for his view of Paula than I did for his other actions.
I have to admit, my interest did wane during some of the more fantastical parts of the road trip, such as the “Brazilian” Marcello and Hamish’s repeated interactions with a mysterious Indigenous man who appears to help him at the most desperate times. However the parts of the story concerning family and marriage and relationships kept me utterly fascinated.
November 28, 2014
Fiona Higgins is the author of the critically-acclaimed, bestselling 2012 novel ‘The Mothers' Group’ which I, regrettably, have not got round to reading yet. ‘Wife on the Run’ is her latest novel, and has ensured that I’ll be going back to read her breakout hit.
‘Wife on the Run’ is set in modern-day Melbourne, and follows the increasingly tangled and crumbling lives of the McInnes family. Wife and mother, Paula, has been called to her daughter’s school after a pornographic image is uploaded to Facebook and attributed to her and a friend. Teenager Caitlin is gently told to take a few weeks off school while the scandal dies down, the school scrambles to get the image removed from Facebook and some much-needed cyber-bullying education can be organised for the community.
Paula’s husband, meanwhile, is feeling unloved at home and finds temptation everywhere but with his disinterested wife. Hamish thinks their marriage was sidetracked by their children – Caitlin and Lachlan – and it’s never quite righted itself. So Hamish seeks sexual gratification elsewhere and as close to not-really-infidelity as he can get – cyberspace.
When the virtual world intrudes on the McInnes family, everything is turned on its head. Paula decides to take the kids and her recently widowed father, Sid, on a caravan trip from Melbourne to the top-end of Australia. She needs some time away from Hamish after discovering his online secret, and she also wants to fulfil a life-long road trip dream.
His curvy, intelligent, committed wife.
The only girl with a university degree who’d ever agreed to go out with him; all the other chicks had been too stuck-up. Watching them across the room every Thursday night at the trendy pub near the university, Doggo and Hamish had called them the ‘Fig Jam’ girls. An acronym for their attitude – Fuck I’m Good, Just Ask Me. Skinny girls with chambray shirts and plums in their mouths, studying law, science medicine. But Paula had been a standout; her big, open smile, her infectious laughter, a not-so-serious degree. And no tickets on herself, either. She hadn’t thought twice about going out with him.
They’d got together, got married, had two great kids. He’d made the money and she’d run the home.
Except now she wasn’t there, for the first time in seventeen years.
‘Wife on the Run’ is an interesting novel – there’s a bit of ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’ to it, but the plot trigger is a look into what happens when the virtual world intrudes upon the real, and our false identities are revealed to the world … in fact, the whole novel is an exploration into ripping off the masks we wear, and exposing our true (sometimes ugly) selves.
I can see a bit of Liane Moriarty in Higgin’s writing – both women have a keen eye for observing the insidious suburban underbelly, and exploring ‘suburban-paradise lost’ through outlandish but oddly believable storylines. I would highly-recommend Fiona Higgins in fact, for anybody who loves Liane Moriarty’s books.
Higgins touches on cyber-sex and cyber-cheating in this book, as well as cyber-bullying and online identity – and all of these grubby online liaisons are being tapped out on the keyboards inside family homes, behind picket fences, along tree-lined streets. Investigations into the virtual contrast beautifully with Paula’s road-trip with the kids and her dad that sees them navigating the far-reaches of Australia: along the Nullarbor Plain and through country townships where fast-friends are made and sausages sizzled.
We actually get two sides to the story in ‘Wife on the Run’, which is told in third person but offers both Paula and Hamish’s version of events. From Hamish we get to read his slippery-slope into a seriously questionable online hook-up, and then we also get to read Paula navigate her hurt and distrust in equally destructive, morally-questionable ways.
It’s odd, but I wouldn’t say Hamish or Paula were terribly nice characters … but I did enjoy spending time with them. Even Hamish whose moral slip-up is truly contentious, I liked seeing things from his perspective. They’re both so flawed, and the stresses they’re under do not bring out the grace in either of them – but I understood how, once they’d started digging holes for themselves, they found it nearly impossible to find their way out. Maybe for that reason I found the ending quite abrupt, because it swings back to following Paula for the climax but I was rather hoping to get Hamish’s final take on things too… he’d been with readers for as much of the book’s journey as Paula, and I really felt the book needed one more chapter following his fall-out to feel properly concluded.
I really loved ‘Wife on the Run’. It’s a rather outlandish book at times, particularly towards the end, but I found Higgins’ investigations into our online moral compass fascinating and revolting, and very appropriate for the times. Paula and Hamish were both fantastically flawed – but I enjoyed reading their unravelling (of both lies and lives) and found myself rooting for both of them, even though neither comes out as hero or villain by book’s end.
4.5/5
‘Wife on the Run’ is set in modern-day Melbourne, and follows the increasingly tangled and crumbling lives of the McInnes family. Wife and mother, Paula, has been called to her daughter’s school after a pornographic image is uploaded to Facebook and attributed to her and a friend. Teenager Caitlin is gently told to take a few weeks off school while the scandal dies down, the school scrambles to get the image removed from Facebook and some much-needed cyber-bullying education can be organised for the community.
Paula’s husband, meanwhile, is feeling unloved at home and finds temptation everywhere but with his disinterested wife. Hamish thinks their marriage was sidetracked by their children – Caitlin and Lachlan – and it’s never quite righted itself. So Hamish seeks sexual gratification elsewhere and as close to not-really-infidelity as he can get – cyberspace.
When the virtual world intrudes on the McInnes family, everything is turned on its head. Paula decides to take the kids and her recently widowed father, Sid, on a caravan trip from Melbourne to the top-end of Australia. She needs some time away from Hamish after discovering his online secret, and she also wants to fulfil a life-long road trip dream.
His curvy, intelligent, committed wife.
The only girl with a university degree who’d ever agreed to go out with him; all the other chicks had been too stuck-up. Watching them across the room every Thursday night at the trendy pub near the university, Doggo and Hamish had called them the ‘Fig Jam’ girls. An acronym for their attitude – Fuck I’m Good, Just Ask Me. Skinny girls with chambray shirts and plums in their mouths, studying law, science medicine. But Paula had been a standout; her big, open smile, her infectious laughter, a not-so-serious degree. And no tickets on herself, either. She hadn’t thought twice about going out with him.
They’d got together, got married, had two great kids. He’d made the money and she’d run the home.
Except now she wasn’t there, for the first time in seventeen years.
‘Wife on the Run’ is an interesting novel – there’s a bit of ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’ to it, but the plot trigger is a look into what happens when the virtual world intrudes upon the real, and our false identities are revealed to the world … in fact, the whole novel is an exploration into ripping off the masks we wear, and exposing our true (sometimes ugly) selves.
I can see a bit of Liane Moriarty in Higgin’s writing – both women have a keen eye for observing the insidious suburban underbelly, and exploring ‘suburban-paradise lost’ through outlandish but oddly believable storylines. I would highly-recommend Fiona Higgins in fact, for anybody who loves Liane Moriarty’s books.
Higgins touches on cyber-sex and cyber-cheating in this book, as well as cyber-bullying and online identity – and all of these grubby online liaisons are being tapped out on the keyboards inside family homes, behind picket fences, along tree-lined streets. Investigations into the virtual contrast beautifully with Paula’s road-trip with the kids and her dad that sees them navigating the far-reaches of Australia: along the Nullarbor Plain and through country townships where fast-friends are made and sausages sizzled.
We actually get two sides to the story in ‘Wife on the Run’, which is told in third person but offers both Paula and Hamish’s version of events. From Hamish we get to read his slippery-slope into a seriously questionable online hook-up, and then we also get to read Paula navigate her hurt and distrust in equally destructive, morally-questionable ways.
It’s odd, but I wouldn’t say Hamish or Paula were terribly nice characters … but I did enjoy spending time with them. Even Hamish whose moral slip-up is truly contentious, I liked seeing things from his perspective. They’re both so flawed, and the stresses they’re under do not bring out the grace in either of them – but I understood how, once they’d started digging holes for themselves, they found it nearly impossible to find their way out. Maybe for that reason I found the ending quite abrupt, because it swings back to following Paula for the climax but I was rather hoping to get Hamish’s final take on things too… he’d been with readers for as much of the book’s journey as Paula, and I really felt the book needed one more chapter following his fall-out to feel properly concluded.
I really loved ‘Wife on the Run’. It’s a rather outlandish book at times, particularly towards the end, but I found Higgins’ investigations into our online moral compass fascinating and revolting, and very appropriate for the times. Paula and Hamish were both fantastically flawed – but I enjoyed reading their unravelling (of both lies and lives) and found myself rooting for both of them, even though neither comes out as hero or villain by book’s end.
4.5/5
January 7, 2015
Australian author Fiona Higgins places the spotlight on technology and how it has the power to encroach deeply upon the lives of a suburban family in her latest release, Wife on the Run. The story begins when we meet Paula McInnes, an everyday housewife living in Melbourne. In the opening pages of the book, Paula is called into her teenage daughter Caitlin’s school to meet with the Principal. It appears an online Facebook scandal involving a dubious photo connected to her daughter has surfaced. Paula is shocked that her daughter would be involved in such an incident. However, things take a turn for the worst when again another technology related incident occurs in the McInnes household. Paula discovers her husband of seventeen years is engaging in an online sexual relationship with a teenager. It gets all too much for Paula, who decides to take that long dreamed of road trip with her Father, with her two teenage children in tow. Distancing herself from her husband Hamish, Paula’s trip has one big priority, no technology is allowed. Travelling across Australia with her family, Paula indulges in some much needed time to herself. A few complications thrown her way makes Paula’s journey to self discovery less than straight forward.
A couple of things immediately struck me when I finished Wife on the Run. The first is that I really enjoyed Fiona Higgins style of writing, particularly the interactions between the characters. The book was engaging, entertaining and kept the pages turning nicely. Secondly, I saw a little of myself, albeit in a few years time in Paula, the main character. It is so easy in the throes of being wife, mother and employee to let things slip, including a sense of yourself and your relationship with your partner. Much of what Higgins describes her main character going through resonated with me. I was immediately invested in Paula’s journey. I was also inspired by Paula’s journey to escape it all and her decision to remove any kind of technology was certainly bold. The road trip scenes were top notch for me, Higgins made me feel like I was another passenger on the McInnes family caravan, taking in the incredible Australian landscape. Plot wise, the twists in this part of the book held my interest right until the end. The characters were well drawn, I liked how they were flawed but in the same sense believable. The supporting characters, Sid, Frank and Doggo were original and memorable, injecting humour into the book. Wife on the Run explores the themes of family, loss, love, infidelity, self discovery and the cyber world, giving the reader a picture of contemporary Australian life. This book was a pleasure to read, which has prompted me to search out Fiona Higgins previous book, The Mothers Group.
Thank you to The Reading Room and Allen & Unwin for an uncorrected proof copy of this book for review.
A couple of things immediately struck me when I finished Wife on the Run. The first is that I really enjoyed Fiona Higgins style of writing, particularly the interactions between the characters. The book was engaging, entertaining and kept the pages turning nicely. Secondly, I saw a little of myself, albeit in a few years time in Paula, the main character. It is so easy in the throes of being wife, mother and employee to let things slip, including a sense of yourself and your relationship with your partner. Much of what Higgins describes her main character going through resonated with me. I was immediately invested in Paula’s journey. I was also inspired by Paula’s journey to escape it all and her decision to remove any kind of technology was certainly bold. The road trip scenes were top notch for me, Higgins made me feel like I was another passenger on the McInnes family caravan, taking in the incredible Australian landscape. Plot wise, the twists in this part of the book held my interest right until the end. The characters were well drawn, I liked how they were flawed but in the same sense believable. The supporting characters, Sid, Frank and Doggo were original and memorable, injecting humour into the book. Wife on the Run explores the themes of family, loss, love, infidelity, self discovery and the cyber world, giving the reader a picture of contemporary Australian life. This book was a pleasure to read, which has prompted me to search out Fiona Higgins previous book, The Mothers Group.
Thank you to The Reading Room and Allen & Unwin for an uncorrected proof copy of this book for review.
November 30, 2014
I received this as an uncorrected proof to review via The Reading Room, and now that I'm finished, I'm still unsure on how I am going to word this review. Let me start by saying the book wasn't what I expected. I suppose if it was a movie, it would be classed as black comedy. That might be my problem; I've always hated that genre. The book is being promoted as a woman going on a road trip with her kids and dad, and banning technology. 'It's time to get back to basics and learn how to be a family again,' the blurb states. It's an interesting premise, but not really what the book is about at all. A classic finding yourself/sea change type thing, I thought. But... Yes, the lead character, Paula, does embark on a road trip in a caravan, but the 'no tech' rule doesn't last long and isn't a real theme of the book. The theme of redemption is sort of in there, but Paula and her estranged husband, Hamish, have few redeeming qualities between them... And thus lies the problem with me and the book, I think. I want to at least like one of the main characters. Instead I found their ignorance overwhelmingly pathetic. Some startling examples of the characters' ignorance includes not knowing where Brussels is, never having met/or talked to an Indigenous Australian (what the?), setting off for a drive across the Nullabor with no preparation, going for a dip in a Northern Territory river, and inviting a shady stranger they met in a RSL to travel with them. Hamish's 'escapades' with alcohol and sex were an uneasy read for most. Paula's similar obsessions were just as annoying. Someone needs to tell this pair there're other things in life than sex. At times, I had to wonder if the author's attempt to write 'gritty true-to-life' characters and situations went too far, making them quite unbelievable for me. For example, the homophobic miners in a pub bordered on the ridiculous. I really don't think anyone carries on like that in this day and age, sorry. And a school principal acting like the one did in this book? Er... What? The twists in the book were unfortunately also predictable, especially the Marcello and Leisl ones. You could see them coming a mile away. I'm not sure if I would have bothered finishing this book if I hadn't had to review it. I'll give it 3/5 for the writing, which I can't really fault, and the Australian settings, which I enjoyed and made me itch to go on a holiday.
October 31, 2014
I genuinely enjoyed this little Aussie tale of one woman's journey into understanding her family and herself. There is nothing like the Australian desert to bring clarity and light, after all. And nothing like human beings for some interesting complexity to consider in that clarifying light. I enjoyed the various twists in the plot and just loved letting myself be pulled along with these likable, interesting characters.
I thought that the story was funny and human and interesting and pretty fast-moving. The characters resonated with me, as did many of the scenes and the dialogue. Watch for the 'conversation' between the two bloke-mates at the pub. It rings with The Truth, and it is as beautiful as it is funny in its own way.
I rather thought that I might like to be friends with the people in this novel. In fact, that might be the reason that the story worked for me; I think I AM friends with the people in this novel (that's ALL of them, in one form or another).
And, how lovely, the thought of curling up with an interesting story about people you like doing wonderful, life-enriching things.
Lucky us, having such a story to read!
I thought that the story was funny and human and interesting and pretty fast-moving. The characters resonated with me, as did many of the scenes and the dialogue. Watch for the 'conversation' between the two bloke-mates at the pub. It rings with The Truth, and it is as beautiful as it is funny in its own way.
I rather thought that I might like to be friends with the people in this novel. In fact, that might be the reason that the story worked for me; I think I AM friends with the people in this novel (that's ALL of them, in one form or another).
And, how lovely, the thought of curling up with an interesting story about people you like doing wonderful, life-enriching things.
Lucky us, having such a story to read!
October 24, 2014
The characters in this novel are beautifully imperfect. Imperfect people making imperfect choices and decisions, then living the consequences.
Gritty and real, this book tackles a number of society's current issues - the impact of technology on families, and, the challenge of living in a longterm monogamous relationship, are just two of those dealt with. Relationship dynamics are the driving force of this novel; each relationship with its own history, personality and energy. Spouses, parents, siblings and children each bring their individuality to the mix.
The characters are people we all could know - family, friends or colleagues....they might even be us! Flawed people making flawed decisions in the real world.
A 'must' read!
Gritty and real, this book tackles a number of society's current issues - the impact of technology on families, and, the challenge of living in a longterm monogamous relationship, are just two of those dealt with. Relationship dynamics are the driving force of this novel; each relationship with its own history, personality and energy. Spouses, parents, siblings and children each bring their individuality to the mix.
The characters are people we all could know - family, friends or colleagues....they might even be us! Flawed people making flawed decisions in the real world.
A 'must' read!
August 27, 2014
I read an uncorrected proof - emphasis on the uncorrected. Despite this, the story was driven and enthralling. I expected to REALLY love this book, but there was something that didn't quite engage me - it could be the flu, though. Or perhaps my expectations were just too high? Strongly recommend you add it to you "to read" list though :-)
October 20, 2014
A great sassy page turner
January 14, 2015
Chick lit - poorly written, stupid plot, even stupider characters.
October 28, 2016
I received a free proof copy of this book from a First Reads giveaway, in return for an honest review. I apologise if there are any spoilers. There's a lot of bad language, sexual content and mature themes in the book. Please be warned when reading it.
I like the writing style of the author in this book. She has a great way with descriptions and uses Australia as a beautiful back drop for her plot.
I'll start my character portion with Hamish. In the first chapter, it became painfully obvious that we're meant to think poorly of him; Paula made a big deal about him being on the phone all the time, but never being able to contact him for anything important. I admit, I kind of fell for that as well and did think a bit badly of him. However, in the second chapter, it became a little more clearer to me about his feelings and I drew to like him. Though, it became even more obvious that we're meant to think badly of him. It just seems like he meant well all through the first few chapters. He provided for his family, well enough so that Paula didn't even have to work. She wanted a new job and then I think the author was trying to imply that it was Hamish's fault that he was making too much money that she didn't need to become a midwife. He wasn't necessarily saying that she shouldn't do it; he was saying that it wouldn't pay out much in comparison to the work that she would put into it. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, we were put into the mindset that Hamish isn't as good a father as Paula is a mother. Right from the birth of caitlin, Hamish faints and when he wakes up, she won't let him hold the baby. From then on, Paula just seems overly controlling. She keeps on implying that he's doing the wrong things and that he ends up only being allowed to do "blue jobs", like building cots and stuff. To me, however, it just seems like he's kind of depressed and sad about his situation. He is genuinely trying to do the best for his family and even steps out of Paula's way so she can be a better mother. He does his best in trying to raise both children, even if he doesn't really understand them. I thought it was really gratuitous to have him have an "affair" with the 17 year old girl over the internet. The sexual impulses he felt towards other women were only natural and it just felt as if the author were trying to make Hamish out to be really nasty.
As much as we're meant to hate Hamish, I kind of valued that he was willing to put in such a huge effort. Not only did he stay with Paula for so many years of marriage, when he was obviously depressed by it, he really went the extra mile to save the marriage. Heck, he went a whole bunch of extra miles in the attempt to win her back.
As for Paula, the wife and main character, in the beginning, I could sort of understand her feelings. It seemed that she was really genuinely caring for her daughter's situation with the school. It kind of struck me as odd that she seemed to think more highly of the daughter than she did her son, but then told her husband off for doing the same. My feelings completely changed towards her in the next few chapters, especially after seeing things from Hamish's point of view. I know that she's mean to seem like a good wife and a good mother, but I couldn't help but feel that she fails a little in both respects. Rather than talking to her husband after his accident, she barely visits him in hospital and she then decides to take his children away on holiday, not even bothering to speak to him about it, leaving the children to do the hard work. She deprives him of the necessary communication so that he can arrange his own ride home, even to the point where he has to get a nurse to find the telephone number of his friend. On that point, he likely would have had to make his own arrangements for work and not having his phone or proper contact might have meant that he'd lose his job if the situation were more dire. On the note of the holiday, it seemed completely ridiculous just to pack up the kids and take them away at a moment's notice. Sure, both Caitlin and Lachie might be experiencing traumatising feelings about the Facebook incident, but they would still likely have schoolwork to do. Considering Caitlin is meant to be going into her tenth year in a few months, her time would be better spent studying than going on a holiday across Australia. The same with Lachie. How are either of them expected to get good marks (or even graduate) if they're busy going on holiday? Also, as I read on, I found out that she took various homework for them to do. Only once did she try to make them do it, and then I believe she let them throw it out. A stupid thing to do, being honest. As much as she wanted the grandfather to teach them life lessons, they could have done it just as well, while learning a bit of school work now and then.
I can't get over what a hypocrite Paula is, though. She makes vast rules that they ought to be technology free, yet breaks them to gossip to her sister. Yes, I understand that keeping Jamie updated on location and status is important. However, to gossip about a male hitchhiker is just breaking her own rules. Also, another one of her rules being bad language, yet on the holiday, she's the one who breaks the rule the most. I can't condone willfull destruction of property. Nope. Not going to do it. No matter how angry she is at Hamish, it's just downright nasty to destroy someone elses' property, and especially things that are so expensive like an iPhone and a laptop. There are people in this world who could really use that type of thing, but don't have access to it. It's just wasteful. The same with the alcohol; it's just wasteful and you're basically pouring your money down the drain. Also, it was shameful that she used her son's chess magazine to prop up a wobbly table. Doesn't she have any respect for anyone elses' property? Despicable. Now, I don't drink and I'm not usually one to judge peoples' alcohol intake. However, it just seems ridiculous to me that she complains at her children for wasting the entire $250 grocery budget on junk food, when she and her father take up alcohol every single night. She makes a major complaint about only having a limited budget for food. Alcohol isn't necessary and it just seems hypocritical that they're spending money on booze when they could be spending that money on extra provisions or something that could really be used. She keeps on complaing about these money troubles, but keeps on partaking in unecessary things like alcohol and a Brazillian wax. It was such a waste to throw out those cloths in the beginning as well; they could have been used. It doesn't make sense at all to me. It all just seems ridiculous that Paula implies that this is for her family's own good; that getting away from school/ Hamish might instantly make their lives better. I understand that a lot of people feel the need to get away from their problems, but when they need to get back home, the problems are still there. Not to mention that there are likely going to be more problems. It just makes Paula (supposedly a strong character) seem emphatically weak, that she can't even bring her kids up to deal with a problem, just to run away from them. There's likely going to be a LOT of catch up school work for them to do. Not only that, she refused to let her own husband explain the problem from his perspective, which just makes her look selfish because she can't even think of a problem from anyone elses' perspective. This is also shown in relation to the Facebook incident; she just doesn't really understand it and keeps considering that it just wouldn't have happened back in her day. She doesn't even try to understand many of the kids' other problems such as using social media or even her father's gambling (or lack thereof) problem.
What the heck is with these kids? Firstly, they're stereotypical. Caitlin, the elder, is the victim of the Facebook incident. She's a sporty teen, smart, popular, good looking and has lots of friends. The younger is Lachie, who has no real important plot line. The author keeps on implying that Hamish looks down on him. Paula, who aparently treats both equally, also obviously finds Caitlin more important. Anyway, Lachie is stereotypically geeky. He enjoys things like chess, console games, reading, insert other stereotypically things authors think that geeks do. Which was also pretty odd to me considering that Caitlin seems to be the bookworm, while Lachie doesn't really care about schoolwork. The weirdest thing is that, from their personalities and the way they speak, neither teen really shows much of those traits, except for when they're being introduced or spoken about. I guess the author didn't really know how to write those in later on... The thing that's most surprising is the bad language that comes from their mouths. Paula doesn't seem to mind them speaking with such contempt, which is later proven when she ends up using more bad language than them at various points. Also, in the beginning of the book, she doesn't even care that Lachie was truanting school.
Sid, Paula's father is likeable. He seems charming and full of life, despite being an older gentleman. I particularly liked the story about his father gambling away the family's money and then him having to grow up in poverty afterwards. I thought it kind of sweet with his own gambling plot line where he refuses to place a bet, but still picks out winners. It was adorable and kind of heart warming that he didn't want to put his own family's welfare in trouble. It was also really sweet when he made those bets for the retired couple to help them with the animal shelter. I really thought it would have been a nicer plot line to explore.
Overall, I really didn't enjoy the book. There were a lot of stupid scenes that had me cringing because they lacked common sense and the characters just made idiots of themselves. Originally, when reading the plot online, I thought I might like the book and it might be a little adventure where they explore the country. It turned out to be an over-dramatised mess of plot lines, none of which made much sense. I'm so very disappointed in Paula. I was looking forward to a book with a strong, female character who takes it upon herself to look after her family. It was just upsetting to see her make so many stupid mistakes. Hamish turned out to be my favourite character. As above, I really felt sorry for him, especially that he kept putting in so much effort to try and get his family back. He really did seem like he was being genuine throughout the book and I can't help but feel so badly for the way he was treated. I was going to rate it three stars at one point, but after the ending, I can't help but feel it doesn't deserve it. I would rate it one star, but there were some heartwarming scenes that I kind of enjoyed. Two stars. I don't really intend to read more of this author's work in future. However, at the same time, I kind of feel like the problems here might just be part of this book, that the other works might be better. I might read their work in future, but I hope it's vastly improved.
I like the writing style of the author in this book. She has a great way with descriptions and uses Australia as a beautiful back drop for her plot.
I'll start my character portion with Hamish. In the first chapter, it became painfully obvious that we're meant to think poorly of him; Paula made a big deal about him being on the phone all the time, but never being able to contact him for anything important. I admit, I kind of fell for that as well and did think a bit badly of him. However, in the second chapter, it became a little more clearer to me about his feelings and I drew to like him. Though, it became even more obvious that we're meant to think badly of him. It just seems like he meant well all through the first few chapters. He provided for his family, well enough so that Paula didn't even have to work. She wanted a new job and then I think the author was trying to imply that it was Hamish's fault that he was making too much money that she didn't need to become a midwife. He wasn't necessarily saying that she shouldn't do it; he was saying that it wouldn't pay out much in comparison to the work that she would put into it. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, we were put into the mindset that Hamish isn't as good a father as Paula is a mother. Right from the birth of caitlin, Hamish faints and when he wakes up, she won't let him hold the baby. From then on, Paula just seems overly controlling. She keeps on implying that he's doing the wrong things and that he ends up only being allowed to do "blue jobs", like building cots and stuff. To me, however, it just seems like he's kind of depressed and sad about his situation. He is genuinely trying to do the best for his family and even steps out of Paula's way so she can be a better mother. He does his best in trying to raise both children, even if he doesn't really understand them. I thought it was really gratuitous to have him have an "affair" with the 17 year old girl over the internet. The sexual impulses he felt towards other women were only natural and it just felt as if the author were trying to make Hamish out to be really nasty.
As much as we're meant to hate Hamish, I kind of valued that he was willing to put in such a huge effort. Not only did he stay with Paula for so many years of marriage, when he was obviously depressed by it, he really went the extra mile to save the marriage. Heck, he went a whole bunch of extra miles in the attempt to win her back.
As for Paula, the wife and main character, in the beginning, I could sort of understand her feelings. It seemed that she was really genuinely caring for her daughter's situation with the school. It kind of struck me as odd that she seemed to think more highly of the daughter than she did her son, but then told her husband off for doing the same. My feelings completely changed towards her in the next few chapters, especially after seeing things from Hamish's point of view. I know that she's mean to seem like a good wife and a good mother, but I couldn't help but feel that she fails a little in both respects. Rather than talking to her husband after his accident, she barely visits him in hospital and she then decides to take his children away on holiday, not even bothering to speak to him about it, leaving the children to do the hard work. She deprives him of the necessary communication so that he can arrange his own ride home, even to the point where he has to get a nurse to find the telephone number of his friend. On that point, he likely would have had to make his own arrangements for work and not having his phone or proper contact might have meant that he'd lose his job if the situation were more dire. On the note of the holiday, it seemed completely ridiculous just to pack up the kids and take them away at a moment's notice. Sure, both Caitlin and Lachie might be experiencing traumatising feelings about the Facebook incident, but they would still likely have schoolwork to do. Considering Caitlin is meant to be going into her tenth year in a few months, her time would be better spent studying than going on a holiday across Australia. The same with Lachie. How are either of them expected to get good marks (or even graduate) if they're busy going on holiday? Also, as I read on, I found out that she took various homework for them to do. Only once did she try to make them do it, and then I believe she let them throw it out. A stupid thing to do, being honest. As much as she wanted the grandfather to teach them life lessons, they could have done it just as well, while learning a bit of school work now and then.
I can't get over what a hypocrite Paula is, though. She makes vast rules that they ought to be technology free, yet breaks them to gossip to her sister. Yes, I understand that keeping Jamie updated on location and status is important. However, to gossip about a male hitchhiker is just breaking her own rules. Also, another one of her rules being bad language, yet on the holiday, she's the one who breaks the rule the most. I can't condone willfull destruction of property. Nope. Not going to do it. No matter how angry she is at Hamish, it's just downright nasty to destroy someone elses' property, and especially things that are so expensive like an iPhone and a laptop. There are people in this world who could really use that type of thing, but don't have access to it. It's just wasteful. The same with the alcohol; it's just wasteful and you're basically pouring your money down the drain. Also, it was shameful that she used her son's chess magazine to prop up a wobbly table. Doesn't she have any respect for anyone elses' property? Despicable. Now, I don't drink and I'm not usually one to judge peoples' alcohol intake. However, it just seems ridiculous to me that she complains at her children for wasting the entire $250 grocery budget on junk food, when she and her father take up alcohol every single night. She makes a major complaint about only having a limited budget for food. Alcohol isn't necessary and it just seems hypocritical that they're spending money on booze when they could be spending that money on extra provisions or something that could really be used. She keeps on complaing about these money troubles, but keeps on partaking in unecessary things like alcohol and a Brazillian wax. It was such a waste to throw out those cloths in the beginning as well; they could have been used. It doesn't make sense at all to me. It all just seems ridiculous that Paula implies that this is for her family's own good; that getting away from school/ Hamish might instantly make their lives better. I understand that a lot of people feel the need to get away from their problems, but when they need to get back home, the problems are still there. Not to mention that there are likely going to be more problems. It just makes Paula (supposedly a strong character) seem emphatically weak, that she can't even bring her kids up to deal with a problem, just to run away from them. There's likely going to be a LOT of catch up school work for them to do. Not only that, she refused to let her own husband explain the problem from his perspective, which just makes her look selfish because she can't even think of a problem from anyone elses' perspective. This is also shown in relation to the Facebook incident; she just doesn't really understand it and keeps considering that it just wouldn't have happened back in her day. She doesn't even try to understand many of the kids' other problems such as using social media or even her father's gambling (or lack thereof) problem.
What the heck is with these kids? Firstly, they're stereotypical. Caitlin, the elder, is the victim of the Facebook incident. She's a sporty teen, smart, popular, good looking and has lots of friends. The younger is Lachie, who has no real important plot line. The author keeps on implying that Hamish looks down on him. Paula, who aparently treats both equally, also obviously finds Caitlin more important. Anyway, Lachie is stereotypically geeky. He enjoys things like chess, console games, reading, insert other stereotypically things authors think that geeks do. Which was also pretty odd to me considering that Caitlin seems to be the bookworm, while Lachie doesn't really care about schoolwork. The weirdest thing is that, from their personalities and the way they speak, neither teen really shows much of those traits, except for when they're being introduced or spoken about. I guess the author didn't really know how to write those in later on... The thing that's most surprising is the bad language that comes from their mouths. Paula doesn't seem to mind them speaking with such contempt, which is later proven when she ends up using more bad language than them at various points. Also, in the beginning of the book, she doesn't even care that Lachie was truanting school.
Sid, Paula's father is likeable. He seems charming and full of life, despite being an older gentleman. I particularly liked the story about his father gambling away the family's money and then him having to grow up in poverty afterwards. I thought it kind of sweet with his own gambling plot line where he refuses to place a bet, but still picks out winners. It was adorable and kind of heart warming that he didn't want to put his own family's welfare in trouble. It was also really sweet when he made those bets for the retired couple to help them with the animal shelter. I really thought it would have been a nicer plot line to explore.
Overall, I really didn't enjoy the book. There were a lot of stupid scenes that had me cringing because they lacked common sense and the characters just made idiots of themselves. Originally, when reading the plot online, I thought I might like the book and it might be a little adventure where they explore the country. It turned out to be an over-dramatised mess of plot lines, none of which made much sense. I'm so very disappointed in Paula. I was looking forward to a book with a strong, female character who takes it upon herself to look after her family. It was just upsetting to see her make so many stupid mistakes. Hamish turned out to be my favourite character. As above, I really felt sorry for him, especially that he kept putting in so much effort to try and get his family back. He really did seem like he was being genuine throughout the book and I can't help but feel so badly for the way he was treated. I was going to rate it three stars at one point, but after the ending, I can't help but feel it doesn't deserve it. I would rate it one star, but there were some heartwarming scenes that I kind of enjoyed. Two stars. I don't really intend to read more of this author's work in future. However, at the same time, I kind of feel like the problems here might just be part of this book, that the other works might be better. I might read their work in future, but I hope it's vastly improved.
January 5, 2023
Absolutely vivid and brilliant. Ordinary characters and situations that are so finely drawn, they seem real and I feel like I am right there with them.
April 22, 2022
Easy book to read. Didn’t see the ending coming
December 19, 2014
I have to admit that the title, and the books cover really pushed me to read this book. I would have been better off flicking through the first few pages though, because what lies beneath was not what I was expecting at all!
I’m sure that there’s an audience who will very much appreciate the sloppy sexual references in this book (really, how many times do you need to use the phrace ‘his cock sprang up’ in a novel?). The sexual overtones were far too explicit and as I mentioned, sloppy, to add anything valuable to the projection of the story.
Paula is a complex character, who appears to have her life together, until technology causes rifts and dramas in her life and she makes a spur of the moment decision to uproot her sullen children and her aging father, and take a caravan trip around Australia.
The benefits of on the road stories is usually the ability to create connections and meaningful dialogue that furthers the characters emotional bonds. Unfortunately, the book spent more time describing disturbing sexual fantasies (Hamish and Lisel is the case in point). So if you’re looking for a feel good read about a family coming together through adversity, you’ll be disappointed by this novel.
The redeeming factor of the story was Sid and his lovable character – often the wise old man in the story, who guides the children and their mother to thinking outside the box and making meaningful choices in their lives. The other character that I enjoyed was Frank, the mysterious “tour guide/guardian angel” that turns up at opportune times to guide the family on their way.
The other aspect of the novel that was worthwhile was the descriptions of the Australian landscape and towns along the way. There was a real sense of feeling the heat, smelling the ocean and appreciating what Australia has to offer.
Unfortunately I found the sexual aspect to be overbearing and slightly ridiculous, there’s something to be said for subtle inferences to sex in novels, but this one reads more like a Mills and Boon, not my style at all.
If you want to read about middle aged men getting off on underage children on the internet, then this book is perfect for you. If you want to read an Australian story about a family overcoming hardships, then you’d best find another novel!
May 28, 2015
For an opening line Wife on the Run by Fiona Higgins must have one of the most startling. Just two words: “Blow queens.” Yep! It’s fun being a mother in the digital age as our main character Paul McInnes finds out in the opening paragraph.
“When two technology-related disasters hit within days of each other, Paula McInnes knows her comfortable suburban life has been irrevocably blown apart...With her world unravelling around her, Paula does the only thing that makes any sense to her; she runs away from it all.”
And good luck to her I say. With sensitivity and an easy readable style, Higgins portrays the McInnes family. Sid, Paula’s father is a delight - a real and believable larrikin. The two children are also very well characterised and their dialogue was a strong point for me in the novel. Hamish I didn’t like from the start but hey, that’s me. He is your typical ocker male with a best mate Doggo to confide in and an out of control sex drive.
What delighted me with Wife on the Run was how well the author handled the story of their trip. The pacing was excellent and the story never flagged. It’s a trip I will probably never do - such a long haul by road - from Melbourne all the way to Darwin. I often checked up towns on google to see where the McInnes family was. Loved the characters they met on the way, especially “Farken Frank”. And wouldn’t we all like to meet a Marcello, the Brazilian who takes a fancy to Paula?
One of the main things that is important to me as a reader and a writer, is that the main characters learn from their journey - that they are different people by the end of the book; that they have changed and grown. I applaud Fiona Higgins for the depths she brings to her story. Paula is definitely not the naive housewife when she finally returns home. Highly recommended.
“When two technology-related disasters hit within days of each other, Paula McInnes knows her comfortable suburban life has been irrevocably blown apart...With her world unravelling around her, Paula does the only thing that makes any sense to her; she runs away from it all.”
And good luck to her I say. With sensitivity and an easy readable style, Higgins portrays the McInnes family. Sid, Paula’s father is a delight - a real and believable larrikin. The two children are also very well characterised and their dialogue was a strong point for me in the novel. Hamish I didn’t like from the start but hey, that’s me. He is your typical ocker male with a best mate Doggo to confide in and an out of control sex drive.
What delighted me with Wife on the Run was how well the author handled the story of their trip. The pacing was excellent and the story never flagged. It’s a trip I will probably never do - such a long haul by road - from Melbourne all the way to Darwin. I often checked up towns on google to see where the McInnes family was. Loved the characters they met on the way, especially “Farken Frank”. And wouldn’t we all like to meet a Marcello, the Brazilian who takes a fancy to Paula?
One of the main things that is important to me as a reader and a writer, is that the main characters learn from their journey - that they are different people by the end of the book; that they have changed and grown. I applaud Fiona Higgins for the depths she brings to her story. Paula is definitely not the naive housewife when she finally returns home. Highly recommended.
June 9, 2016
I probably shouldn't even be reviewing this book as I didn't even make it through the first chapter, and I'm not sure that counts as giving a book a fair go. But this book just rubbed me the wrong way from the start. Paula acts all concerned in a meeting with her daughter's school principal and comes over all protective Mama Bear like 'Bring me my daughter *now*', yet a few pages later she freely admits she's always forgetting her mobile phone, leaves it under the car seat, lets it run out of battteries etc because she's never been too concerned about being unreachable. Wtf? How are your kids meant to reach you in an emergency? Just irresponsible and ditzy. So much for protective Mama Bear. And she referred to her mobile as her 'telephone'. That annoyed me for some reason - no one calls their mobile their 'telephone'. Haven't heard anyone use that word since 1982. And her kids just seemed rude and obnoxious. Maybe this book is aimed at mothers with surly teenagers who can relate?
December 12, 2014
Wife on the Run by Fiona Higgins is the story of Paula, a struggling mother battling against modern technology and the effects it has on her family. After two scandals involving the internet she and her father pack up her children and head out in an effort to get away from it all. The journey becomes an amazing adventure and a comical farce in some respects. But throughout reading the book I felt the urge to get in a car with and travel Australia and see parts of this great country that I have yet to explore. The characters were mostly believable, but I find it had to believe that Paula was as gullible as she was. Overall a very well written book that I managed to read in just a couple of days, very easy reading with an intesting story.
I would like to thank The Reading Room and Allen and Unwin for my free advanced reading copy, I emensely enjoyed the journey it took me on.
I would like to thank The Reading Room and Allen and Unwin for my free advanced reading copy, I emensely enjoyed the journey it took me on.
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