[.ca] Househusband (ISBN 0345470621)

From Amazon.com:
The premise of Ad Hudler's first novel, Househusband, is as simple as the book's title: narrator Linc Menner tells us all about adjusting to life as the primary caregiver to his 3-year-old daughter Violet. The pleasures the book yields are, however, surprisingly complex. There's a weird thrill in reading the trials of domesticity described by, well, a man. In the opening comic set piece, Linc prepares for a dinner party he's throwing for his wife Jo's boss. "Jo had said the house was already clean, that it wouldn't take much to get it ready for guests, but she doesn't understand these things. It wasn't dinner party clean." Hudler has a real knack for observing the inner workings of what is traditionally considered woman's work--he's not shy about devoting page space to dusting and nutrition and plant care. He also gets off some good, quiet social commentary: "There's a reason women read more than men. They get stuck in undesirable locales and situations more often--soccer fields, hospital rooms, bedsides--and a book helps pass the time." In the end, Hudler's book amounts to both a celebration of the art of homemaking and a lovely, funny way to pass the time. --Claire Dederer

Not your typical Mr. Mom story, more sociological.:
The copy I bought had a different cover: pastels, cartoon picture, etc. I thought I was buying a beach-reading kind of book (which is what I wanted at the time). This book is not that. It is a quite serious book. I liked that the husband really seemed to understand the mental multitasking women do, and I was really impressed that he imposed some manners and discipline on his child. He really is part male and part female. My only problem was that I felt he saw his daughter as a kind of project to be done correctly. I never got the feeling that he loved her for who she was. For a completely different experience, read I Sleep At Red Lights. Another kooky guy, but one with intelligence, more humor, WAY more love for his kids, and less sanctimony.

Horrible depiction of parenting:
I thought this book may have potential to be witty and filled with great observations from the other half (dad being primary care giver). It was a disappointing, whining, boring, "soap box" that made not only working mothers look bad, but also stay-at-homers and everything in-between! I had a very hard time finishing it, and then considered it a complete waste of time. This guy does more whining and complaining then both of my children on an eight hour car trip! YUCK - - - AND - It's easy to raise one child - I would love to see the character when number two and three come along! Good Luck!

Had potential but couldn't live up to it:
The story line was an intriguing one and the writer has talent but the book got so bogged down with preachiness and whining that after a while it became a chore to read. It's nice that Mr. Hudler has gained some insight into women's lives but someone needs to tell him that he is not now nor ever will be a woman. And however well he (or the character in the book) might be at doing a "woman's job" of childcare and cleaning it still doesn't occur to him to do it the way women do, that is without constantly whining about how hard it is.

Deeper than I'd expected:
While this book is a laugh-out-loud read it says some very deep things about the relationship of a husband and wife, and also about gender roles in modern America. I'm intrigued that some of the reviewers seem to think this is an autobiography and not a novel. They seem to be reacting very strongly to Linc, the main character. But it IS a novel, and the fact that Mr. Hudler can paint such vivid, living characters with such pitch-perfect dialogue and thus evoke such strong emotions in his readers shows what a fine novelist he is. I'm out to buy his other novel right now.

A gentle look at gender and family:
"In almost every culture on the planet, Mom is the building that harbors the family. And people just don't value architecture like they should." In this novel (although perhaps somewhat autobiographical, as the author is a househusband himself) Ad Hudler examines the relations between men and women, between caregivers and care receivers, between work and home. He explains how a man who stays at home identifies with men, with women, and sometimes with no one at all. The narrator's journey toward identity resolution is funny, sweet, and poignant: "I thought of how we all fall into longstanding patterns of behavior, occasionally by choice, most often out of necessity, and we break free from those patterns only after a series of random phrases or acts that startle or frighten or anger us in some way. We then get diverted, pushed in a new direction, and we start walking and exploring all over again." Men and women in traditional and nontraditional gender roles can identify with this book. I recommend it as an astute, yet non-blaming and non-guilt-producing, examination of family life.