Book Review

The Bridesmaid by Ruth Rendell

Hutchinson, 1989

304 pages



Philip Wardman loathes violence and everything that has to do with it. When he meets his sister’s bridesmaid, Senta, who is identical to Flora, a statue in his garden, they fall madly in love. But the problem is, she wants him to prove his love to her by murdering someone.
The book is very fast paced and the author jumps right into the main parts of the story. Although, I don’t think this fits into the ‘suspense’ category. The twists are predictable and it read more like a romance novel to me. It was more centred on Philips attraction to Senta than anything else. The unnecessary scenes and Philip’s cluelessness made the book very difficult to read.
Philip’s biggest flaw was his indecisiveness. He struggled with the responsibility of making the right choices for himself since he was transitioning into an independent adult. He only believed what he wanted to even when he knew he was wrong. He was more compelled to be with Senta than in love with her. Rendell shows this time and again when Philip decides he’ll leave her but ends up in bed with her the next day.
It goes deeper than crazy stupid love with these two. Philip was addicted to Senta. Cheryl’s (his sister) addiction was a representation of this. He completely ignored it until she started asking him for money and stealing from his mother. Even when he found out, he did nothing to help her; he only watched until she was caught by the police and had to go to court.
Philip was drawn to Senta because he’d never been with anyone as crazy as her. If their relationship was going to survive, Philip would have to be just as crazy as she was. She’d kill someone for him, but he wouldn’t for her. Philip was normal, in fact, too normal, which is why he turned her into the police in the end.
The story has a good start and makes you eager to move on. Rendell’s writing is simple and straight to the point so you can just 'be in the moment'. As I read on, I just wanted to get it over with and see if my predictions were right. It was more romance than mystery. There was nothing thrilling or significant about the book; if anything it was annoying. Most of her fans love this book so very few feel the same as I do. It is obvious that she’s a great writer since I kept reading in spite of these things. Though this was a bestseller, this is definitely not her best work.


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