Natalia Ginzburg

Finally back in print, a frighteningly lucid feminist horror story about marriage

The Dry Heart

Shelby Doherty

Mu-An Chiou

I understand now why my friend thinks I’d like this book. It took me so long to finish it because I cannot bear the protagonist’s life decisions. I would not have been her friend, let alone reading her journal. Her thoughts were insufferable. Until the second half of the book, where she saw things perhaps finally for what they are. The sense of stoic of the second half matches my pace a lot more, and I finished the rest in one sitting. I did not enjoy the story, but I appreciate the writing. It effectively annoyed me through the depictions of the characters. Things don’t work out. What’s new?

Finally back in print, a frighteningly lucid feminist horror story about marriage The Dry Heart begins and ends with the matter-of-fact pronouncement, “I shot him between the eyes.” Everything in between is a plunge into the chilly waters of loneliness, desperation, and bitterness—and as the tale proceeds, the narrator’s murder of her flighty husband takes on a certain logical inevitability. In this powerful novella, Natalia Ginzburg’s writing is white-hot, fueled by rage, stripped of any preciousness or sentimentality; she transforms an ordinary dull marriage into a rich psychological thriller that might pose the question: why don’t more wives kill their husbands?

isabelle

I found it a really intriguing book but because we are told what was going to happen at the end at the start I found the ending to be quite anticlimactic.

lexie

Likes:
- Really enjoyed the writing, simple to read but it communicates a lot.
- I was really drawn into the story and wanted to know what would happen next.
- While you know exactly what is going to happen from the start, I found myself getting wrapped up in the story and forgetting/not believing that she was going to kill him.
- I got a bit emotional/teary at the end when she discusses writing the note.
- Really enjoyed the different women portrayed in this book. From the mother sad that her daughter is engaged to be married, the woman who feels trapped and isolated in a failed and unloving marriage and who finds some solace in becoming a mother, to the woman who vows to never marry despite her family's wishes and sleeps around on her own accord.
- Really enjoyed the length of this, a really quick read without sacrificing details or compromising the story.
- I am happy that the protagonist and Giovanna were civil and that Giovanna was not made into the "villain" of the story.
- Some really great quotes in here!

Dislikes:
- Didn't like that there were no chapters breaking up the story. If the book would have been longer this would have been a big deal for me. I finished this in one day though so it turned out to not be such a big deal this time.

 Bruna Acioly Leão

I don't know why this is described as a feminist horror story because:

 1. I did not think it was particularly feminist. The protagonist does not shoot her husband to liberate herself in any way. Their marriage was one of convenience, and one she felt she had to walk into because of society's expectations, she even believed she loved him. But he wasn't abusive, he was just uninterested.
 
2. it had no horror in it. It is quite mundane and someone being murdered is not enough to classify something as horror.

I think the writer is very talented and the picture of an unhappy marriage is something she was trying to convey, but ultimately, starting with the wife shooting the husband felt like a gimmick, and most of the book was boring to get through, with no worthy pay off at the end.

The Dry Heart

Reviews

Highlights