Review: The Tiny Wife by Andrew Kaufman

The Friday Project, 2011.

A robber charges into a bank with a loaded gun, but instead of taking any money he steals an item of sentimental value from each person. Once he has made his escape, strange things start to happen to the victims.

A tattoo comes to life, a husband turns into a snowman, a baby starts to shit money. And Stacey Hinterland discovers that she’s shrinking, a little every day, and there is seemingly nothing that she or her husband can do to reverse the process.

The Tiny Wife is a weird and wonderful modern fable. Small, but perfectly formed, it will charm, delight and unnerve in equal measure.

The Tiny Wife is a short novella. It’s about ninety pages in length and so I read it in a couple of sittings (night shifts got in the way again,) so it’s great if you’re looking for something short to read. This book got recommended on You Tube so I thought I would give it a go. I chose the hardback version as I just thought the cover was beautiful. You can also get in paperback and on Kindle too. 

The story opens on a bank robbery but the thief doesn’t take money. Instead, he takes a sentimental item from each person. Soon after the robbery, each person goes through a different experience – some have a positive outcome and some don’t. The story is mostly told from the point of view of the husband of someone in the bank. Stacey begins to shrink soon after the robbery as a reflection of her own life. Another example is Dawn’s tattoo of a lion that comes to life and begins to chase her. 

This story makes you really think and the lesson is not to take your life for granted. It really made me reflect on my life. From the first page this book pulled me into everyone’s story. I wanted to know how it ended and it’s beautifully written. I loved the illustrations which are dotted throughout the book too. It made me think of what would happen to me. Even though I finished it a couple of days ago, I am still thinking about it. 

This was an original, magical story and well worth reading. I loved it. 

Buy from Amazon. 

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.