I enjoyed Anna Halabi’s first book, “Syrian Brides”, so was thrilled to learn she had written another book. The stories in her books flow smoothly due to her excellent style of writing.

I hope readers do not believe that these stories are representative of Syrian marriages in general. Instead, they are a farce, exaggerating some small element of the culture.

I loved the first story, “Blackmailing the Wife”. I always enjoy seeing the greedy get their comeuppance.

Did not care for “The Wife in the Newspaper” – the hypocrisy of the male when rejection turned upon him

There seems to be a theme throughout the stories of wives obsessed with material things. While disgusted with that, I did like the outcome of “The Wife’s Wishes”.

I did not care for “The Wife’s Job”. Based on the tone of the previous stories, I knew what was coming.

I loved “A Wife and A Mother”. In it, the husband finds out that caring for the children is hard work. I think all women can relate to this story.

In “The Prenup”, a group of women decide their husbands should increase the amount of money the wives should receive in case of a divorce. Their requests do not go as expected.

The book is a quick read and sure to make you chuckle. ( )