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Jan 13, 2014JCLRachelSH rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The Woman Upstairs starts with one of the most intense opening paragraphs of all time: "It was supposed to say ‘Great Artist’ on my tombstone, but if I died right now it would say ‘such a good teacher/daughter/friend’ instead; and what I really want to shout, and want in big letters on that grave, too, is F**K YOU ALL.” Nora Eldridge is a middle-aged elementary school teacher who’s righteously angry about having to play the part of the “good girl" when she’s not a girl at all but a 42-year-old woman brimming with unfulfilled dreams, hunger, and ambition. When she meets an artsy international family that she becomes creepily close to, the story takes on the sharp edge of a twisty psychological thriller à la Sissy Spacek and Shelly Duvall in the creep-tastic masterpiece that is 3 Women. I loved where this book was going, but ultimately wished it would’ve ditched some of the fancy word play and dug a little deeper into the emotional heart of an otherwise searing story that tickles all my usual sweet spots. It’s one of those books that I wanted to LOVE, but ended up just liking instead.