How to Be an American Housewife

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[November 2011]

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How to Be an American Housewife, Margaret Dilloway

number of voters: 7

percentage of voters who finished the book: 100

highest rating: 8

lowest rating: 5

average rating: 6.857

*****

A compliant reader will not question where her book came from or what other books the author has written, or what critics have to say. Such pryings might drive a good book away.  It is important to mind your own business and stay within the arena of the book itself. —modified excerpt from the book “How to Be an American Housewife”

Should you find yourself in posession of a book titled How to Be an American Housewife by author Margaret Dilloway, you may want to consider your options. Please allow the First Monday Reading Group to elaborate on a few misconceptions.

First, this is not, in fact, a how-to book. It is a novel. The “How to” in the title refers to a how-to book that the protagonist in the novel reads. Also, note: This how-to book that the protagonist reads is not, in fact, an actual how-to book; it is a made-up how-to book written by the author of the “How to…” book.

Second, this is not, strictly speaking, a book about an American housewife. It is about a young Japanese woman who marries an American soldier after World War II. While this technically makes her an “American housewife,” the “American housewife” in the title actually refers to the idea of American housewife-ism in general, as exemplified by the old-fashioned advice of the fake how-to book mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Third, if you are comfortable with points one and two, this may be the book for you! While not what we originally expected, it was an interesting and quick read. The characters were not very well drawn, but the multicultural aspects were intriguing. The husband was endearing — (perhaps the book should be retitled How to Be an American Husband?) — but the children were unlikable at best and poorly written at worst.

In summary, should you decide to undertake How to Be an American Housewife, may we politely suggest you relish its strong points, overlook its weaknesses, and enjoy a decent read by a promising author? It may not transform you into an American housewife, but it might just inspire you to join a book group as cool as ours to discuss books like this one.

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