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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780060080846
ISBN number: 0060080841
Label: Harper Paperbacks
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 144
Printing Date: August 01, 2002
Publishing house: Harper Paperbacks
Release Date: July 23, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 95868
Studio: Harper Paperbacks
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Product Description:
The internationally bestselling novel by the author of A Kiss Before Dying, The Boys from Brazil, and Rosemary's Baby
With an Introduction by Peter Straub
For Joanna, her husband, Walter, and their children, the move to beautiful Stepford seems almost too good to be true. It is. For behind the town's idyllic facade lies a terrible secret -- a secret so shattering that no one who encounters it will ever be the same.
At once a masterpiece of psychological suspense and a savage commentary on a media-driven society that values the pursuit of youth and beauty at all costs, The Stepford Wives is a novel so frightening in its final implications that the title itself has earned a place in the American lexicon.
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Rated by buyers 
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The term, "Stepford Wife" is so well-known today, it's hard to believe it all started with this little novella. In it, Joanna and her husband move out of the big city to the idyllic suburb of Stepford, Connecticut, where life seems perfect. Joanna hopes to be active in Women's Lib activities but soon finds all the wives in town want nothing more than to cook and clean. And all the husbands go to the Men's Association every night. Why?
Having loved the 1975 movie version of The Stepford Wives, I expected the book to be just as intense, but it was a big let-down. The book isn't the least bit scary - or interesting. The writing is spare and uninvolving, the characters sketchy and bland, and there's no action. The story is frozen in 1972 with all the references to Betty Friedan and NOW.
If you're looking for thrills and chills, watch the movie. Even the silly 2004 remake is more interesting than the book.
Rated by buyers 
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I can handle watching or reading just about any level of horror... so what was it about this tiny little novella that I read in an hour that truly chilled me? First, I have never seen the movies... so I had no real preconceived notions other than having seen the commercials. Something about being a girl, who was raised in a society where everything tells you that you have to be beautiful, you have to be talented, and above all you have to be perfect or you are nothing... this book really taps into that mantra. The feeling that every little girl has that "I'm not good enough" most of us (hopefully) follow that up with "but at least I'm ME" and that is where the terror of this book lies.
What if the ultimate deceiver, the true villain is the one person who should love you the most, your protector, your partner, your husband. What if he would change you... take away your identity for his own pleasure... and what if everyone was on his side. How would you hold on, how could you escape?
As you can tell this book really hit a nerve with me... true I was born in 1978, so this was a little before my time, but it hasn't changed all that much even though we want to think so. The book is really about men's desires, or Levin's interpretation of them. That they would be willing to sacrifice their wife's very identity, her being, to make her a mindless barbie that did what they pleased. The men in this book are truly horrifying beings... but even more frightening is that this is a doubt shared by all women, across the globe. From a young age we are taught to doubt ourselves, our physical appearance, our mind, our talent, the love of others. I know women with genius IQ's who act like idiots because that is what men want from them. Though there is no magical overnight drug that can do this to a woman... there is the lifelong barrage of the media and society which does a pretty good job in and of itself.
Off my soapbox now. This book freaked me out... it was very well written, very tight and compact, and rediculously short for the price. I would advise getting it from a library, a used book store, or a friend rather than spending the cover amount on it. Mainly because it is so short. Still, I think this book has a lot of meaning, this book should be read and discussed with others... and to the ladies out there... odds are you will end up a bit unsettled and a bit angry at the end of it all.
Rated by buyers -
After moving with her husband and two young children to the small, rural, picture perfect town of Stepford, thirty-two-year-old Joanna Eberhart soon realizes that something isn't right. Although able to befriend another newcomer, Bobbie Markowe, she is perplexed by the seemingly unfriendly behavior of the majority of the less recent inhabitants, especially the overwhelmingly buxom, beautiful women who complete their hausfrauian duties so contentedly. Their cheerful smiles and polite but distant greetings appear to hide something a bit more sinister. The actions of the men are equally suspicious. Upon taking up residence in Stepford, they immediately join the local men's organization and start acting strangely secretive. Both Joanna and Bobbie notice a transformation in appearance and behavior of the townswomen over time. As the women get closer to the truth, the men take action. The Stepford Wives is a short, spectacular sci fi look at conformity, ingenuity, and the quest for perfection. Also good: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
Rated by buyers -
I had only seen the film starring Nicole Kidman before reading this book and I knew the tone was going to be quite different and I also expected the novel to be much better. I was right on both accounts. After reading this short novel, I watched the original film adaptation of The Stepford Wives, which is much more faithful to the novel than the remake but is still not as interesting or clever as the book. This was also my very first time reading anything by Levin and I would definitely read more from him. The novel uses a clever balance of witty observations and subtly thrilling passages. Like most good suspenses, a lot of the action is left up to the imagination of the reader which makes it oddly more exciting than when everything is explained. I found it very interesting to read the novel and see both films, neither of which manage to match the power of this short read.
Rated by buyers 
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I will admit that I had no idea there was a book belonging to The Stepford Wives until I stumbled across a used copy for a bit of pocket change. I fell in love with the 1975 film version and left the theater with a bad taste in my mouth after the 2004 remake (an abomination!). The original book version falls somewhere in between.
Written during the height of the second wave of feminism, Levin has an independent and "liberated" Joanne move to suburban Stepford to escape the hustle, bustle, and crime of the city. The women all appear as actors from detergent ads and when her friend Bobbi turns into one of them - Joanne gets suspicious. It's a bit of a pseudo-feminist portrayal with name dropping of Millet, Friedan, and Steinem but without a lot of feminist discourse, antics, thought - anything - to back it up.
It's a very short read, only a bit over a hundred pages and if you get the opportunity it's a decent page turner. But if you find yourself with an afternoon to kill I more highly suggest renting the 1975 classic and getting yourself a bowl of popcorn.
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