Just finished "Rose Madder", and realized I had read it, a very long time ago, when I was apparently too young to realize the importance of what I was reading. This is a very serious and somber story, but enlightening to those of us who have no idea what it must be like to live with spousal abuse. A horrible subject, a horrible character, not an easy read. Nor should it be. The best stories are the ones we think we'll never be able to relate to, but find out in the end that they've made us think about them more than we ever imagined we would. And, the very best stories help us to understand a little better what that part of us that we call our humanity is all about. "Rose Madder" did that for me.