My novel, HOW TO BE AN AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE, will be published by Putnam Books in August 2010.
HOW TO BE AN AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE is about the strong pull of tradition, and the lure and cost of breaking free of tradition. Set in California and Japan, it tells the story of Shoko, a Japanese woman who married an American GI as a way of improving her and her family’s fortunes, moved with him to the States, and tried to learn how to be a proper American housewife; and her grown daughter Sue, who finds her own life as an American housewife is not at all what her mother would have wanted for her, or even what Sue had hoped for herself. When Shoko’s illness prevents her from making a long-awaited trip to Japan to be reunited with her brother, she asks Sue to go in her place, and the trip changes both women’s lives in unexpected ways. With beautifully delineated characters and unique entertaining glimpses into Japanese and American family life and aspirations, this is also a moving mother and daughter story. Interspersed with quotations from Shoko’s guide to being an American housewife, this is a warm and engaging novel full of surprising insight.
Advance Praise for HOW TO BE AN AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE
“In How to Be an American Housewife Margaret Dilloway creates an irresistible heroine. Shoko is stubborn, contrary, proud, a wonderful housewife and full of deeply conflicted feelings. I wanted to shake her, even as I was cheering her on, and this cunningly structured novel allowed me to do both. It also took me on two intricate journeys, from post-war Japan and the shadow of Nagasaki to contemporary California, and from motherhood to daughterhood and back again. A profound and suspenseful debut.”
—Margot Livesey, author of THE HOUSE ON FORTUNE STREET
“How to Be an American Housewife is witty, rich, layered and so very satisfying. Dilloway’s talent shines through from the very first page and I was terribly sorry when it ended. This was by far one of the best books I’ve read in ages.”
—Jane Porter, author of EASY ON THE EYES
“How to Be an American Housewife is a charming, poignant and life affirming book. Dilloway reminds us of the triumph of love over geography, silence and misunderstanding. She makes us glad to be alive.”
—Ann Hood, author of THE KNITTING CIRCLE“
How to Be An American Housewife is a triumphant debut novel. Margaret Dilloway gives us the most original, endearing, courageous and enduring narrator I’ve read in a long time. Shoko’s voice is one of a kind, yet as familiar as advice from your own mother. I found myself cheering for her on every step of her epic journey from wartime Japan to modern-day America. Her unforgettable story of triumph, tragedy, disappointment and joy will stay with me long after the last page is turned.”
—Susan Wiggs, author of JUST BREATHE
“How to be An American Housewife is equal parts multilayered and beautifully nuanced — an enthralling debut told in an utterly original voice.”
— Holly Kennedy, author of THE PENNY TREE
“How to Be an American Housewife is filled with dreams and love–the kinds that come true and those that don’t. Margaret Dilloway is wise and ironic. She has created wonderful characters who never, in spite of hardships, stop finding ways to love each other.”
— Luanne Rice, author of THE DEEP BLUE SEA FOR BEGINNERS
“Moving, elegant in its simplicity, well told and heartwarming. How to Be an American Housewife will charm and uplift you.”
— Iris Rainer Dart, author of BEACHES
“A tender and captivating novel of family secrets and redemption, and a compelling look at the complex love languages spoken within three generations of a family.”
—Jamie Ford, author of HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET
“Margaret Dilloway has written a compulsively readable novel about the timeless, fraught, and ultimately powerful relationships between mothers and daughters, and brothers and sisters. Shoko, the Japanese bride of an American soldier who aspires to become the perfect American housewife, is such a wonderfully rendered character that I challenge any reader to forget her. Both tender and uplifting, HOW TO BE AN AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE confirms that redemption and happy endings are always possible.”
—Patricia Wood, author of LOTTERY
An Ingram Premier Pick for March 2010
