The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

I read The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, a 427-page novel, in one day.

It was that good.

I will say it again, with conviction this time.

Women who mix alcohol with lots of pills needs to become a separate genre.

Women who mix alcohol with lots of pills–that should be a literary genre all unto itself. At least in the 2010s.

But in this case, it works. It REALLY works.  And A.J. Finn’s writing, not once in the whole book did I stop to question a grammatical or literary anything. The book is solidly written.

Before the end, I will confess I had figured out who did it and how they were going to be taken out.

But that’s okay. It was so late in the game, and the reveals were there, hopefully, a blind man could have seen them as well.

Books like these are not normally the kind I read, but this one, which has spent a long time on the New York Times Bestseller list, really drew me in and held me. There were definitely some surprises I did NOT see coming. And in all fairness to anyone who has not read the book, I won’t reveal or spoil them.

Sleeping After Reading This Book

I finished the book at about midnight and went to bed. Throughout the night the narrator kept talking to me as I slept. The night’s rest was definitely filled with a new voice. There were things this character and I had in common–IKEA desks and an hourglass that I use when I write. Many times I also write in front of my window. So I connected.

Conclusions

The genre thing about the alcohol and the pills though. It is truly depressing to think that there must be so many women out there who can relate to this kind of thing.

So many books are written about women like this.

In the past few months, I’ve read a couple of books that fall into this category.

Ottessa Moshfegh’s characters definitely.

I do recommend you pick up this book and give it a read.

Regardless, I highly recommend this book.

It will hold you from the second you pick it up until you put it down.

Though I must confess, the idea that an inciting incident must happen within the first 50 pages or the book doesn’t work, as an agent recently announced at a seminar, doesn’t hold for this book.

There is considerable setup. But the thrust of the story doesn’t begin until about page 100. That’s not to say those first 100 pages are lacking. They definitely are intriguing.