Hausfrau

A scorching character study, along with an examination of infidelity and modern-day ennui, Hausfrau exposes the ease of deceit, the disregard for compassion, and the stifling boredom that can so easily consume. Anna, an American living in Switzerland with her husband and three children, is utterly disengaged from her colorless life. Capricious and erratic, Anna moves from one sticky situation to another and cannot seem to manage her moods or her life. Like a contemporary Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina, Hausfrau follows the internal angst and unease of a woman on the brink of disaster. Impeccably written, Jill Alexander Essbaum's novel is a brilliant victory of literary skill.