The Man Who Lost His Wife

by Julian Symons

Book Overview

Gilbert Welton's life changed one breakfast time - his wife, Virginia, announced she was leaving him. Perhaps not the expected beginning of a comedy, but Symons employs his customary skill and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140043489
• ISBN13: 9780140043488
• Release Date: June 1977
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 203 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Wild goose chase of a novel

I picked up Julian Symons's The Man Who Lost His Wife expecting to find another first-rate British parlor room mystery after the manner of Agatha Christie. What I found instead was a lighter version of the black comedies/social satires written by Waugh and Huxley. The title character, Gilbert Welton, is the head of a faltering publishing firm that needs an influx of capital and one or two bestselling authors as clients. Nonetheless, the middle-aged Gilbert believes that he is happy - after all, he has kept his good looks, he has a beautiful and much younger wife and a surprisingly well-adjusted adult son from a previous marriage. Then his wife announces offhand that she needs to take a break to figure out what she wants out of life. This annoucement causes Gilbert to pay attention, and he notices a number of disturbing things. His wife has changed her appearance and perfume, she is flushed and breathless in the presence of Gilbert's talented junior partner, Max, and, most disturbing of all, she has a red mark on her shoulder that was likely left there by some other man's mouth. Soon his wife takes off for a vacation in Dubrovnik, Yogoslavia. Then the already anxious and suspicious Gilbert receives a telegram from Max, who is supposed to be on business in Italy, advising that Max is on his way to Yugoslavia. Gilbert takes the next flight to Yugoslavia and goes chasing after his wild goose of a wife. Gilbert is so singularly inept at wife-finding that I found myself laughing out loud. The head of the Sarajevo police sums up Gilbert nicely, "you assume too many things, you feel too much and think too little." In this novel, Symons pokes fun at social stereotypes, cultural norms and the psychosexual confusion of middle-aged males. There is more than a passing nod at Evelyn Waugh in this novel. As usual, Symons delves deeply into the psychology of his characters. It was particularly fascinating to vicariously experience male mid-life crisis from the perspective of a middle-aged male (a strange and ironic experience, indeed, for this reviewer). Although Symons is best known for his mysteries and detective fiction, he was a remarkably versatile writer, producing historical studies, literary criticism, and true crime novels as well. With The Man Who Lost His Wife, satire is added to his list of genres. This is one of Symons's best books.

Stumbling toward murder

Gilbert Welton is a fairly bland middle age man living a comfortable if not exciting life. At breakfast one morning his wife announce her desire to go on a holiday to reevaluate their marriage. Gilbert thinks it is nonsense but his wife is adamant that she needs some time away from him. She decides to travel to Yugoslavia (the story was published in 1970). Gilbert begins to grow suspicious that she is having an affair when his business partner also goes to Yugoslavia on business. Symons weaves a deft tale showing how events conspire for a murder to occur, based on the character and psychology of the protaganist.