Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.
There are times as a reader when a book comes along which as a reader you enjoy for reasons that the author did not intend. Seven Wives and Seven Prisons, Or Experiences In The Life Of A Matrimonial Monomaniac is one such book.
The author, L A Abbott has claimed that her 1870 American novel is based on a true story. She seems to have taken it's subject matter seriously. Personally if you want my guess I'd be surprised. Certainly at the number involved at least. A man is married SEVEN times and is sent to jail SEVEN times in his life. Really? I mean is there actually a life where a man has time to do both those things SEVEN times?
And this story spans a good part of the man's life. Yet there are if we are to believed women who lust after him even in his older years? Yeah right.
After all his reasoning for marrying that many times is an addiction to the institution. And yet don't you think if it results in incarceration so many times that would be a cure?
Taken seriously this book doesn't work for reasons of believability. Taken as a deadpan comedy I loved it. It reminded me of Diary Of A Nobody where all of these misfortunes occur to the main character (it's in the first person) not realising the reader is laughing at him.
As for the scenes in jail suspect that's about as watered down from 18th century reality as you can get.
I don't though suspect Ms Abbott wrote it as a deadpan comedy. Entertaining as it unquestionably is when read as such. Good thing I'm an atheist or else I'd be afraid the ghost of an author past will haunt me this Christmas night....and I'm on the early shift at work.
Ben Stiller your next Hollywood project awaits.
Until the next time.
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