The Actor And The Housewife [Paperback]

You might be tempted to dismiss Shannon Hale's new novel The Actor and the House Wife as mere fluff.

Don't.

Yes, the premise details a woman who forms a relationship with her silver screen heartthrob but this novel also explores friendship, loyalty, family, love, faith and heartache. And the crowning achievement of this book, the elusive holy grail of writers-- is Shannon Hale's flawless portrayal of a good marriage. The movie star moments pale beside the beauty of a committed husband and wife dancing in the kitchen.

Famous people bewitch us; they intrigue us. And it's a common fantasy to believe the movie star, the brilliant inventor or the charismatic politician would enjoy spending time with a man like you or an ordinary girl like me. I would make him laugh, provide insight into common life and fill that empty corner of his soul. Can't you see that longing in Daniel Craig's eyes? He needs me.

For Becky Jack, it was Felix Callahan: a British Adonis who graced all her favorite films. When a chance meeting led to an instant rapport (totally believable, Daniel Craig would feel the same way about me), Becky felt like she was living the daydream of every woman in America.

But fantasy doesn't fit easily into a married mother-of-four's reality. Felix didn't enjoy tagging along to the ward potluck and Becky could hardly leave her family to mingle on the movie set. And the biggest question-- one that is revisited over and over as the story unfolds--is whether a happily married Mormon mother of four should maintain a friendship with a man at all.

Mormon women generally kiss their male friends goodbye on their wedding day. KC Brown was my closest buddy, my compatriot in zaniness until I fell in love with my beautiful husband. I neglected KC, along with my girlfriends, during that season of tunnel-vision romance. Later, my female friendships were renewed and multiplied, but I haven't cultivated a male friendship since. Would I love to see KC again? Would we laugh ourselves silly and concoct wild pranks? Would our spouses be completely annoyed? Yes, yes and oh yes.

So I'm not chatting it up with KC or even looking for him on Facebook. But would I make an exception if he were famous, extremely wealthy and offered countless opportunities to my family? Maybe.

And now I'm beginning to measure my words. How much shall I tell you? I want you to curl up and unwrap the book for yourself, layer by layer, moment by moment. I don't want to be like the annoying movie trailer that reveals every plot twist and discovery except for the oh-so-predictable ending. So let's chat about the novel's language, it's Mormonism and the oh-so-beautiful authentic marriage.

Like many readers, I was introduced to Shannon Hale's fairytale imagination and poetic prose in The Goose Girl. Let the book fall open to any page and the reader is immersed in haunting, gorgeous descriptive words. The Actor and the Housewife is written in a completely different style yet Hale's command of language remains. When she calls a Slurpee "shockingly purple slush" or notes that "it was a skinny moon, a mere fingernail clipping" I wonder that I saw them any other way.

Written for a general audience, Hales includes her characters' religion without proselyting or preaching. Mormonism is simply there, from the bishop's interview to Becky's faith in God. Her descriptions and interactions are spot-on--often hilarious but never irreverent. Mainstream readers will receive a gentle tutelage of Mormonism 101 that may increase understanding of our misunderstood culture.

Women may pick up this book in anticipation of the fantasy scenes between a common housewife and a glamorous movie star, but it is Becky's marriage to her darling husband Mike that carries the novel. Their relationship is genuine (even during arguments), inspiring and develops over the years. Since I happen to know that Shannon Hale is just a sweet young thing and has been married for less than 10 years (thank you Google) I'm awed at her uncanny ability to describe my own 18 year marriage and interactions with teenagers. The moments with Felix will make you smile; the hours Becky spends with Mike will bring you to tears.

And so, despite my protestations that The Actor and the Housewife isn't simply chick-lit, I'll admit that reading it was very much like curling up beside my husband to watch a silver-screen romance--when the credits roll and the music soars I turn to the very real and solid man next to me and feel oh-so-glad that he's mine.

I got this book because I like Shannon Hale's children's fantasy writing, but then, this novel is for grown-ups, so I'll have to switch my reviewer hats. Actor and Housewife is what might happen if the leads of When Harry Met Sally went on a double date with Romeo and Juliet. Only Sally/Juliet is Mormon. Keep in mind that even though the book starts off like a lighthearted romp, it is not ultimately a romantic comedy. It's not even chicklit. As the subtitle warns us, it's "A Novel"--so don't expect a happily-ever-after ending.

Frankly, the author has given herself a challenging task. On the one hand, she is working from the premise of wish fulfillment, as her housewife, Becky Jack, attracts the attention of a celebrity along the lines of George Clooney--while seven months pregnant, no less. On the other hand, we soon learn that Becky is not about to cheat on her husband.

Felix is intrigued by the attraction he feels to this unlikely woman, so he contacts her again, then introduces her to his wife, trying to figure out just what it is he's feeling. "Best friends!" Becky suggests brightly, remembering how much talking to Felix reminds her of her best banter buddy from high school. Though Becky makes a ready connection with Felix and gets a kick out of the incongruities of their relationship, she is very much in love with her wonderful hubby, Mike. Felix seems a little more willing to cheat on his gorgeous French actress wife, at least until Becky labels their relationship a friendship and convinces everyone to go along with it.

Becky also sells not one, but two screenplays in Hollywood without even having an agent. This is so unlikely that Hale has her characters point out just how unlikely it is, which is clever. THEN Becky is actually asked to star in a movie with Felix! Still more unlikely, but Hale has a lot of fun with all this, playing out the dream--red carpet, designer dress, and all.

Naturally, the dream has its downside: Mike is somewhat bothered by the situation, and that's even before the tabloids speculate in nasty ways. Hale also delves into the reactions of family members and the worry of Becky's pastor (bishop, in Mormon parlance).

The friendship fades in and out over time, and then Mike becomes very ill. Will the field be clear at last for Felix? Even if it is, if you've been paying the least bit of attention, you'll realize the author is determined not to go there. No, this is When Harry Met Sally WITHOUT the sex and its aftermath.

While cynical readers may feel that Becky is committing emotional adultery, others will enjoy Hale's examination of male-female friendships. The author's various purposes do create a slightly disjointed read, however. When women dream about having someone like George Clooney show up in their lives, the fantasy is usually not couched in terms of husbands and moral considerations. Of course, this is one of the ideas Hale addresses. Movies are not real life, she reminds us.

Yet the author is a little too successful at creating a relationship between the actor and the housewife. The "best friend" scenario doesn't quite ring true for me. Although Becky is determined to take the high road, these two have something pretty intense, and I found Mike to be abnormally understanding. What's more, Becky's emotional state seems inconsistent over the course of the book. Whether they admit it or not, Becky and Felix seem more like soulmates than best buddies.

In When Harry Met Sally, we're told that men and women can't just be friends because sex gets in the way. Shannon Hale begs to differ. I'm not sure she pulls it off, but you'll have to read The Actor and the Housewife and decide for yourself.

I had an extreme reaction to this book. An extreme and unexpected reaction. The thing is I haven't reacted so strongly to a book for quite some time and it took me a bit by surprise. Oh, well, who are we kidding? It threw me for one hell of a loop and I had an extremely hard time shaking it off. Despite all this I'm going to try to continue my tradition of spoiler-free reviews and, as a result, won't be able to tell you the precise reasons why I reacted the way I did. I won't be able to go into excruciating detail explaining exactly how and when my emotions bounced back and forth. But let's be honest. That's probably for the best. So.

Becky Jack is a Mormon housewife living in Layton, Utah, pregnant with her fourth child. She has just sold a screenplay to a film agency in LA and is meeting them there to sign the contract, when in walks Felix Callahan--sexy British star of Becky's favorite romantic comedies. The two of them clash right from the start and, despite their visible disdain for one another (and the fact that Felix has long been Becky's movie star crush), they find themselves staying at the same hotel and eating dinner together that night. Becky returns to Utah sure it was some fluke, a fun story to tell the fam, and that she'll never see Felix again. Au contraire, Becky. Turns out Felix hasn't been able to get their abrasive encounter out of his head and the next time he has a layover in Salt Lake City, he turns up to see her and figure out what the deal is. From there these two unlikely characters become the very best of friends. Talk on the phone daily, stay up all night long talking, drop everything to jet off to New York at a moment's notice kind of BFFs. As you might expect, a whole host of factors get in the way of their "friendship," including at times concerned/jealous spouses, their different faiths (or rather Becky's strict one and Felix's utter lack of one), their diametrically opposed lifestyles, etc. Self-proclaimed platonic lovers, these two weather the small and large storms of life as their friendship and story stretches out over a decade and more.

I'll preface my comments by saying I have read all of Shannon Hale's YA books. I love her The Books of Bayern Box Set, Books 1-3 and thought her first adult novel Austenland: A Novel was a fun, light romp for Austen fans. I expected to like this book just fine. I knew it would be quirky and different and fun. I certainly didn't go in expecting a happy ending because, well, given the subject matter who would? I laughed my way through the first 100 pages because any scene Becky and Felix share sparkles. I even cried. Once. At a scene about 80 pages in or so that was just so real (and a little close to home) it struck me in the gut. However, I felt that the next 250 pages were an uneven roller coaster ride of conflicting emotions, increasingly hard-to-swallow turns of event, and very inconsistent characterizations. Every aspect of the story felt so deliberate and pre-planned that it got in the way of my reading experience. It was strangely a prime example of too much telling and not enough showing. The narrator and Becky herself told me over and over (and over again) how much she was in love with her solid-as-a-brick-wall husband, how little Felix meant to her compared to Mike, how she would never do anything to jeopardize her marriage, etc. Her actions spoke differently. The actual depiction of her marriage was lukewarm at best. The rock Mike was too vague an image to grasp onto. Next to Felix he was a mere smudge. Felix clearly meant an inexplicable amount to Becky. And vice versa. These two cannot function properly without each other. They will always be returning to each other. The crystal clear, most evocative, and resonant depictions were of Becky and Felix. And it was simply too difficult for me to buy everything Becky was saying in the face of what she was showing me page after page. THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE is an exploration of whether or not married men and women can be friends and just friends. The answer is, of course, yes. But that is not what Becky and Felix are. I know that's what they're supposed to be. But they're not. They are intimates. They are soulmates. That is the way every encounter, ever glance, every touch is characterized. The intent seemed to be some sort of Humphrey Bogart-Ingrid Bergman-Paul Henreid triangle a la Casablanca. The result was a Rock Hudson-Doris Day-Tony Randall anti-triangle a la Pillow Talk. And by the time the overwrought, rushed ending arrived I felt so completely jerked around I was unable to deal with the melodrama a moment longer.

I'm really sorry it ended this way, THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE. I know you've gotten a lot of positive reviews and it's quite possible it's me and not you. Fortunately, each reader can decide for herself. And I hope they do. As for you and me, I think it's time we start seeing other people.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 78 reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars