Diary of a Mad Housewife Paperback - 2005

Tina Balser is a 36-year-old Manhattan housewife and mother of two who, believing that she is slowly going mad, starts a secret diary as a form of self-therapy. She has a lot to pour out in the pages: her husband, Jonathan, is an ambitious and sometimes insensitive corporate lawyer who almost constantly nags at Tina for things she does, or doesn't do; her daughters, Sylvie and Liz, are often annoying brats who call her "Mudther," and Tina has few, if any, friends, which doesn't seem to bother her all that much. Most of the time, she is agreeable to Jonathan's demands, such as a complete fall cleaning to get their apartment in shape; other times, she does not see the need, such as when Jonathan tells her to get a new dress for an important party, when she already has several good ones bought only last year. She encounters playwright George Prager at a couple of parties, and, drawn by what he calls "this Sex Wave Length thing," begins an affair with him. This does not have the desired result, though: George is , in Tina's words, "the classic Heel, the sadistic Rake whom certain kinds of women find attractive; and I, by virtue of my current condition, have become that type of woman." She eventually decides what she wants to have and be, and again in her words, "If Jonathan doesn't like it he can lump it." The key to Jonathan's behavior is also explained at the end, though, as a reader, I couldn't really feel sorry for him; felt instead that he got what he deserved.

IT IS NINE-FIFTEEN on this hot September morn, hotter than any summer day we had.