The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs
Christina Hopkinson

Grand Central
April 2011 / ISBN 9780446573184
General fiction
Amazon

Reviewed by Bob Walch

Wife and mother Mary Gilmour has reached her snapping point. Although she has been able to cope with her two young boys and been able to make them behave in a responsible and helpful manner, she’s been far less successful with her husband.

Perhaps it is Joel’s inability to get his dirty clothing into the washing basket or his infuriating habit leaving balled-up, used tissues on the bedside night stand. The list of irritating things her husband unthinkingly does is quite long and unlike their children, Mary hasn’t had much success rectifying the situation.

Acknowledging there is a “deep inequality in their relationship”, Mary tells a friend she’s ready to consideration a divorce of there’s not some type of improvement on the home front.

“Every time he leaves the sodding milk out or his bloody socks on the floor, or drops his coat as he comes in, or a tea bag in the sink, it feels like a little blow to my head. A small well-aimed punch in my stomach.”

Something has to change and change quickly, so Mary has designed a program to help Joel clean up his act and if he doesn’t, well if he doesn’t, the pile of stuff at the bottom of the stairs could become am impassible mountain with no one around to sift through it!

Mary’s approach in trying to deal with this all-too-familiar household dilemma will appeal to any woman who feels that she is nothing more than an unappreciated maid in a domicile of slovenly males. There’s humor here but also a great deal of truth on the stress that accompanies being a mother, spouse and working member of the family.