The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin Book Review

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Review Summary

Walter Eberhart decides to move his family to Steford, a small town, to escape the violence of New York City; his wife, Joanna, is not happy with the decision to move. Stepford seems like an ideal place to live, but the women in Stepford are extremely subsurvient to their families.There's a good reason why, as Joanna and her new friend Bobbi find out, and their lives are in danger from those who love them the most-their husbands.
Debra Kelley, Resident Scholar

Joanna moves to the small town of Stepford with her husband and two children. She is a city type woman with a great interest in women's lib. Soon it becomes obvious that something is not quite right with the women of
Stepford. Everywhere that Joanna turns, she is presented with the epitome of the perfect housewife and she has a feeling that the secretive Men's Assocation may be the cause. It appears to her that strong-willed women are
being replaced with a "June Cleaver type" after they return from weekend getaways with their spouse. With very few allies, Joanna strives to find out the truth before she loses her mind or becomes one of the Stepford Wives.

Alicia, Resident Scholar

Detailed literary breakdown of The Stepford Wives

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30%

Tone of book - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Repressive society story Yes
Repressive because: - controls your mind
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's a slave/repressed? - women are slaves

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - homemaker
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male - an organization
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - a lawyer creature
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some - a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - 20th century
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of touching personal anatomy
How much dialogue? - significantly more dialog than descript - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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