A woman disappears, leaving behind an incendiary diary chronicling a journey of sexual awakening. To all who knew her, she was the Good Wife: happy, devoted, content. But the diary reveals a secret self - a woman who has desires her husband cannot fulfil. Inspired by a manuscript written by an anonymous Elizabethan woman who dared to speak of what women truly desire, she tastes for the first time the intoxicating power of knowing what she wants and how to get it. The question is: how long can she sustain a perilous double life?

In writing The Bride Stripped Bare, the author decided to remain anonymous so she would feel absolutely free to explore a woman's inner world. As she writes in her afterword, "That doesn't mean this book is a memoir; it's many things to me, fiction and nonfiction, fantasy and fact, a quilt pieced together not only from my stories but those of my friends."

Coolly impassioned, The Bride Stripped Bare tells startling truths about love and sex. It will make you question whether it is ever entirely possible to know another person.

***

This is the British edition, written by "anonymous". At the back of the book is Nikki Gemmell's explanation to why she decided to write anonymously. There's also a mini-biography of the author, a list of her 10 favorite books, Q & A with the author, and a behind the scenes explanation of how Nikki Gemmell was outed as the author of this book.

What do women really want in bed? by Nikki Gemmell.
A really good article to read after you've read the book!

At first I had trouble getting into this book. The author writes about the main character using "you". The first sentence in this book is: "Your husband doesn't know you're writing this." I was a bit put off by that, and it disturbed my reading experience. Especially when the author writes about something I disgree with, I wanted to shout "No, I don't".

The first part of the book is the main character's honeymoon. During it we learn a lot about her past too. I found this part boring and the main character hard to identify with. She seemed like the total opposite of me. But suddenly when we get to the second part of the book, she has lots of characteristics I can recognise in myself. It's here where the book gets interesting, as the main character realises she has the right to want things for herself. I really enjoyed reading about her thoughts, I just wish the realisation had come some other way than the traditional cheating husband route. But maybe that's the easiest to understand, so the author can get to her point and doesn't have to explaing why the wife suddenly realised there's more.

Despite of its flaws, I ended up loving this book. It just got better and better towards the end, and I even stopped noticing the use of "you". The Bride Stripped Bare was a very interesting and thought-provoking book.

Offered on the 2003 or Newer Chick Lit relay on

When I read this book I realised it isn't exactly chick lit, I was just fooled by the cover. Nevertheless, it's a very good book, and I think people who enjoy chick lit might like this too.

Sent to SandDanz.

Thanks for the relay book CandyDarling... I foresee many exchanges in our future! ;)