For an independently published book from a debut author, "Emancipating Alice" isn't half bad. Editing errors are minimal (mostly of the "missing comma" variety), there are no glaring formatting flaws, and author Winder is a competent writer.

The story starts off with promise. Alice, a middle-aged housewife, is at the grocery store when she is overwhelmed by the sense that George,her husband of many years, has died. As Alice continues to shop, Winder makes it clear that Alice is somehow responsible for George's death. Intriguing.

The further I got into the book, though, the more my interest waned. Through flashbacks, we learn that Alice feels that George, in the guise of caring for her, has suffocated her spirit and independence through the years. George doesn't beat her or mistreat her in any way; he doesn't even bully her. He just overwhelms her. She's a passive character, and passive characters are rarely compelling.

As the plot moves forward, we're introduced to George and Alice's grown children and spend a lot of time on their backstories. Unfortunately these characters aren't particularly compelling either, and Winder's "telly" narrative style doesn't help. There are many long passages consisting of the characters remembering something or thinking about what's going on in their lives, rather than engaging with other characters to show us these things.

Winder's fatal error is when she moves to George's backstory. The more I learned about him, the more I liked him. Yes, George is kind of a self-centered jerk and yes, he makes a terrible choice one night that has grave consequences. But George also tries, and tries hard, to make up for what he's done. That he ends up getting mired further and yet still keeps trying to make things right makes you feel sorry for him. George is NOT a passive character, and that makes him much more interesting and sympathetic than Alice.

The theme of "Emancipating Alice" seems to be that George is such a bad guy that Alice is justified in killing him, but George's story makes that theme backfire. I no longer bought that Alice was a victim; in fact, I lost all sympathy for her. I don't think that's what author Winder intended. ( )