Book Review- Zoe Whittall's The Spectacular

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of Zoe Whittall’s novel, The Spectacular.

Told in a non-linear fashion, The Spectacular, follows three generations of women in the same family who each make difficult decisions regarding motherhood, relationships, and careers. Ruth is in her eighties and she recounts her journey from Turkey to America, a difficult migration made worse by her husband bringing along his mistress to their new country. While Ruth has conservative leanings, her daughter, Carola, forges a different path, including setting up a commune. Carola struggles with her own aspirations versus being a wife and mother, ultimately distancing herself from her family. Her daughter, Missy, becomes a famous rock star who struggles with boundaries and relationships, harboring a deep resentment towards Carola.

The novel starts with Missy’s perspective and her dynamic, intense personality immediately grabbed my attention. I cannot think of a recent read where a character had such a strong personality as Missy. It is so strong that when the chapters shift to Carola or Ruth’s perspectives, it is hard to let go of Missy. She dominates, commanding a readers full attention. I was quite struck by her voice.

Whittall does not shy away from controversial topics. In the first chapter, Missy, in her early 20’s, is seeking a doctor who will perform a tubal ligation surgery. Missy is certain that she will never desire to be a mother, yet no doctor is willing to give her the procedure. Worse than the denial of the operation, is the way Missy is treated, her voice silenced. As a middle-aged reader, I can appreciate the perspective that people can change a lot throughout their lives. I’m certainly not the same person that I was in my early 20’s. We see Missy in middle-age and we can see how she has changed through time and experience. Missy changes and so do her thoughts on becoming a mother, however, I don’t believe that the reader is supposed to conclude that the doctor’s were right to deny Missy her wishes when she was younger. It’s more complex than that; Whittall is writing about societal expectations of women and how these might conflict with individual desires.

I’m forty-five and from my teen years, I knew that I never wanted to be a parent. However, life takes unexpected twists and I married a man with two children and have been a part-time stepmom ( they live in Europe most of the year), and it has been a great joy. I was also raised by a single-mom, having lost my father when I was four. The Spectacular is a story about the unexpected, the seasons of life, and learning to accept your life, including the impact of your decisions and those beyond your control. I related to the over-arching themes and to aspects of each character’s life choices.

I recommend The Spectacular and it would be a great book club pick for lively discussions.

Book Review- Emily Henry's Beach Read

I work as a bookseller and for months, I’ve been watching Emily Henry’s novels fly off the shelves and I’ve been given enthusiastic recommendations from customers. I don’t often read in the romance genre, which is Henry’s wheelhouse, but I was curious to see why so many people love her books. I took my recent vacation to Hawaii, as an opportunity to theme my reading with a copy of Henry’s Beach Read. Her novel is not set in the islands, it is set in a small lake town in Michigan, nevertheless, it is full of summer vibes.

January is a struggling romance writer who has just received shocking news about her recently deceased father. Her father had been having a long-time affair, spending large chunks of his time in a secret lakeside cabin. After the funeral, January has been handed both the news and keys to the cabin, which she is reluctantly visiting to clean out in preparation to sell. She is equally annoyed and charmed by her mysterious next-door neighbor, whom she doesn’t physically see until a run-in at a local book store. She realizes it’s Gus, January’s arch-nemesis from her MFA program. Gus was January’s rival for best student and although they were academically competitive, they also were flirtatious, and had one drunk party fling.

January is mortified and tries to hide from Gus, but he keeps popping up as she navigates the small town. They end up making a bet: they will each write a novel in the other person’s chosen genre and the first person to sell their book, will get bragging rights and a cover blurb from the loser. The cynical Gus must write a romance and the optimistic January, must attempt literary fiction. As they write, they spy on each other through neighboring windows and decks, fueling both their creative energy and their romantic chemistry.

Beach Read was not the book I thought it would be, it is much better. Half of the story is a sweet, light-hearted comedy that follows conventions of the romance genre. Gus and January have an awkward and comical “meet cute” via a chance run-in at the bookstore. The setting is an impossible perfect small town with quirky locals. They have a series of storybook dates based on the premise that January needs to teach Gus how to experience romance to help inform his writing. Naturally, these dates have implications beyond writing research. These sweet elements attracted me to Henry’s novel, in the same way that I love shows like Gilmore Girls. Sometimes you just need a little happy fluff.

However, Beach Read is not simply fluff. It deals with heavy themes, such as January’s fractured ideas of her father and her inability to confront him. Complicating these emotions are January’s memories of her mother’s cancer treatment. Her mother survived, but January now realizes that her father was having the affair during this time. Gus is also very complex and Henry explores the reasons that Gus is drawn to heavier subjects in his writing. Beach Read has depth.

I really enjoyed Beach Read and may have even developed a crush on Gus. January is a lovable protagonist and I hope that Henry considers continuing with these characters in a future novel. I wasn’t done with them at the end of Beach Read. I’d love to see a film adaptation.

Book Review- Lucy Clarke's One of the Girls

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for a copy of Lucy Clarke’s One of the Girls.

During a hen weekend ( bachelorette party for American readers) at a dramatic cliffside mansion in Greece, copious amounts of alcohol will be consumed, secrets will be spilled, and one person will end up dead.

One of the Girls is told through flashbacks and chapters that alternate between all of the party attendees- Lexi: the newly pregnant bachelorette with a wild girl past, Bella: Lexi’s childhood friend who is still wild, Fen: Bella’s girlfriend, Robyn: Single mother and childhood friend to both Bella and Lexi, Ana: Lexi’s newest friend from yoga class, and Eleanor: socially awkward, soon-to-be sister-in-law.

Clarke begins the story with the reveal that a person will die during the course of the trip, but cleverly teases out the reveal, not sharing the victim or cause until very end of the book. There are many, many near-misses, where it seems clear that a certain person is the victim and then it is revealed that they escaped death. This aspect kept me turning the pages, but it also wore on me. There were a handful too many close-calls that bogged down the pacing in the final chapters. Ultimately, the victim and situation provided a satisfying conclusion and each character had their own story resolved in a way that was honest and satisfactory.

I found the dynamics among the women to be more intriguing than the murder-mystery element. It was relatable. Bella knows that time has changed her friendships with both Robyn and Lexi. Bella clings to the past and struggles to accept that she is growing older as well. When Robyn has a child and gets divorced, Bella doesn’t know how to relate to her and simply removes herself from their friendship. This has gone on for years and makes it uncomfortable when the women are reunited on this trip. Additionally, Bella is envious of the friendship that Lexi has developed with newcomer, Ana. Lexi and Ana’s friendship is forged out of a shared love for quiet, reflective activities, such as yoga and coffee, rather than the nightclubs and teenage antics that Bella and Lexi shared. To add to the frustration, Bella organized the weekend with the intention of heavy drinking and crazy parties, but none of the other women are interested, including the bachelorette, who is newly pregnant, a reveal made in Greece. To further complicate Bella’s life, she is on the verge of breaking up with Fen. Bella feels the most isolated and alone on a party weekend that she planned.

Bella might be the most complex character, but all of the women face their own challenges when relating to the other women. If I had read this story in my late-teens/early-20’s, I’m not sure that I would have related to the shifting of friendships, as at that age, it seems like things will stay the same forever. However, having middle-age hindsight, the shuffling of friendships that occur in late 20’s/30’s is a real thing. Careers and family situations change so much during this time, that often friendships struggle to weather the storm and new friendships develop. Bella’s resistance to change and the fact that she has not experienced motherhood, both put her on the outside.

I enjoyed One of the Girls, primarily for the strong character development. I also appreciated Clarke’s well-crafted mystery that kept me guessing until the very end. I look forward to reading her other novels.