The Stepford Wives: Amazon.ca: Ira Levin: Books

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"An efficient German motorcar of a book--masterful, ridiculously well crafted, and, like the ladies of Stepford themselves, flawless." (Esquire )

"[Ira Levin] is the Swiss watchmaker of the suspense novel." (Stephen King )

"Chilling...Entertaining...Read it." (Austin American-Statesman )

Product Description

All the beautiful people live in the idyllic village of Stepford, Connecticut, an affluent suburban Eden populated with successful, satisfied hubbys and their beautiful, dutiful wives. For Joanna Eberhart, a recent arrival with her husband and two children, it all seems too perfect to be true -- from the sweet, accommodating Welcome Wagon lady to all those cheerful, friendly faces in the supermarket checkout lines. But just beneath the town's flawless surface, something is sordid and wrong -- something abominable with roots in the local Men's Association. And it may already be too late for Joanna to save herself from being devoured by Stepford's hideous perfection.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
The Welcome Wagon lady, sixty if she was a day but working at youth and vivacity (ginger hair, red lips, a sunshine-yellow dress), twinkled her eyes and teeth at Joanna and said, "You're really going to like it here! Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant premise, Jul 28 2004

By A Customer

Levin's work has always fascinated me, especially his ROSEMARY'S BABY. But STEPFORD is just as good if not better. Levin has a knack for capturing the essence of a person and does so with swift, precise, and non-nonsense style. If only more writers were as cognizant of their readers as Levin is. Would also recommend another great book I just came across called THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD--extremely funny and probably the most shocking thing you'll ever read.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic..., Jul 8 2004

By	Bee-Bee "the bink" (Washington area) - See all my reviews

Joanna and her husband Walter and kids leave the hard-hearted city for the pastoral town of Stepford, where everything is just a bit too perfect. Soon enough, Joanna notices that many of her female neighbors-well, they're ditz-city as far as brains go. And they're always perfectly put together. Beautiful and always well dressed with perfect make-up, clothes, etc...

These women also seem to live only to do housework while their husbands gather nightly at a mysterious men's club. As time goes by, it seems more and more women are turning into these robot-like super homemakers. Joanna begins to suspect that she's next. Truly suspenseful reading and lots of fun.

Ira Levin is a writer who keeps you turning pages. In the 1960s and 1970s he wrote such classic horror novels as Rosemary's Baby and The Boys from Brazil. This is another classic. It's a fast read and a quick story but it's thought-provoking to be sure.

I saw the remake and don't know what the author thinks of it. It's a very different tone from the original movie, but it has it's own merits. In any event, this is the classic novel on which both movies were based and well worth checking out!

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Gloria Steinem, Jul 7 2004

By	John Forrest (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved this book! I ran across it while browsing through a bookstore last week. I was interested in seeing the recently released remake of the 1975 movie (which I had always wanted to see, but never have had the chance) and was surprised to find out the movie was based on a book by Ira Levine (I assumed the original movie was based on an original screenplay). The book started off a little slowly for me, but soon I was absorbed and the pace really picked up. I ended up reading the entire book on the inbound leg of my daily train commute (I had assumed that it would take up both legs, so I had nothing to read on the return). I won't go into the plot (other reviewers have given you their versions), but I was very happy to read a very well written, taut piece of thought provoking fiction after a lot of the pulp fiction (Grisham, Crichton, etc) that I have been reading lately. This is an intelligent thriller whose power rests in its subtlety. Much is left to the readers imagination, which is a relief compared to so many modern thrillers. However, more than a simple thriller, it is a brutally wicked satire, which is why I really enjoyed this book.

The book is a little dated. Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember 1972, but I fear some of the references to 1972 events and icons (for example, Betty Friedman's The Feminine Mystique) may go over many younger readers' heads. I am very curious now to see the movie (and even to rent the DVD of the original). I am particularly curious to how they maintain the subtlety of the book (or if they even try) in the movie version.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars good plot; too simplistic?
I saw the review for the movie in theaters but I thought there would be more if I read the book. I was wrong! Good plot; I just wish that there was more to it. Read more

Published on Jul 7 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Put It Down
I read this book in two days, I couldn't put it down. It's not your typical book where you can only read so much, you just keep reading and reading, and before you know it your... Read more

Published on Jun 28 2004 by Ross Flower

5.0 out of 5 stars AWSOME
it was REALLY amazing. The end takes a twist and makes you do a double take!

Published on Jun 7 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars THE WIFE MANY MEN SECRETLY DESIRE...
This is a thought provoking, tautly written novella. A gem of suspense, it was first published in the early nineteen seventies and went on to become a popular movie of the same... Read more

Published on Jun 5 2004 by Lawyeraau