The Woman In The Window

Last week my book club discussed The Woman In the Window by A.J. Finn. The story is about a woman with agoraphobia. She was traumatized and now cannot leave her house in Harlem. She has groceries delivered. She has her medication delivered. Her psychiatrist and physical therapist come to her house to treat her. She has a handy man living in her basement to help with rent and to take care of the yard and take out the trash and recycling. Her name is Anna. Anna stays in the house all day with the windows closed and the shades drawn. She peers at her neighbors with a high powered camera and makes up explanations for their behavior. Her other hobby is watching black and white mystery movies. Most people in the club enjoyed the book. Only one person guessed the ending before coming to it. Anna witnesses a crime through her window but no one believes her. She comes across as an unreliable reporter. Even unreliable reporters are right some of the time. The author was paid for the rights to the movie before he was paid for the rights to the book. I don't think I will watch the movie even though I think Amy Adams will do a good job portraying Anna Fox. Much of our discussion was about the author, Daniel Mallory. He has come under fire for lying about his past to further his career. The stories he has told are almost too incredible to believe anyone would dare to make them up. He said he had cancer. He said he graduated from Oxford. He said he had a brain tumor. He said his mother died of breast cancer. He said his brother died from suicide. None of those were true. Then he says he lied because he has bipolar disorder. He might have bipolar disorder but he is also not to be trusted to tell the truth.