My Stepford Experiences

I have a little obsession with The Stepford Wives by Ira Levine. And I have found a way to justify writing about the new movie version (which I just happened to see yesterday) here at a blog for children's and YA books and writing.

You see, when I was a YA I read The Stepford Wives. The brand new book was serialized in some woman's magazine my mother got. I read the first installment and could not wait for the next issue. I have a vague recollection of being a little disappointed when I finally read the rest of the serialization, but still...to like a book that much--at any point--is a great experience.

As a budding feminist I probably should have been a little horrified by what was going on in the book. But as a farm kid moving out into the greater world I have always seen The Stepford Wives as a cautionary tale about how uniform and conforming our society is.

Regarding the new movie (I know I saw the old one but don't remember much about it): Reviews are mixed. I think one reason is that Glen Close, who is marvelous through most of the movie, kind of explodes at the end. Someone should have told her to control herself just a little bit. There is also a little question of whether or not the Wives are robots because sometimes they shoot sparks and sometimes they appear to just be women with chips inplanted into their brains. And the movie is now a comedy instead of a horror movie, which seems to bother some diehard fans of the original.

To which I say, Get a sense of humor, people!

And that is how I managed to write my blog entry about The Stepford Wives.