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- Zoe Whittall's The Best Kind of People

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an advance copy of Zoe Whittall's novel, The Best Kind of People, in exchange for an honest review.

PLOT - Avalon Hills, an affluent suburb in Connecticut, is rocked when beloved high school teacher George Woodbury is accused of sexual misconduct with several students. While George is in prison awaiting trial, his family must deal with the fallout. They find themselves unsure of his innocence, yet in the position of defending him and themselves, against a very angry town. 

LIKE- The Best Kind of People isn't so much about George or his trial; it's about how his family experiences the trauma of having a loved one accused. It's about how they process whether or not to believe him and what that means for their family moving forward. This is not a crime or legal novel, this is a family drama.

When a tragedy or crime happens, I do always wonder about the families of the accused. Depending on the crime, it sometimes seems like they are automatically judged as guilty alongside the actual accused. Joan, George's wife, experiences this when people in town don't understand how she could have been unaware of her husband's transgressions. Joan works as a nurse and is highly regarded by her colleagues and patients, yet she feels that she has to take a leave of absence from her job and hide from the people in her town, as they harass her; throwing eggs at her car and leave threatening messages on her answering machine. When she does build up the courage to return to work, she has support from some of her colleagues, but gets the cold shoulder from others. She is guilty by association.

Also guilty by association are George's children. His daughter, Sadie, still attends the high school where her father taught and is forced to interact with the girls who have accused her father of misconduct. His son Andrew, is now a lawyer living in New York, but he finds that small town gossip from the past comes back to haunt him. As far as the town and the media are concerned, the entire Woodbury family is fair game. Adding to the drama is Kevin, who is dating the mom of Sadie's boyfriend. Kevin is a novelist who hasn't had a hit in over a decade and he decides to use his proximity to the Woodbury family to cash-in by using their story as the basis for his latest manuscript. 

Whittall has a talent for create fascinating characters who react in diverse ways to adversity. I like how she focused her story on the family members, rather than George or his legal problem. Her characters each react in surprising, yet organic ways that make for a compelling read. Although many readers have probably not been in this specific situation ( I hope not), I think most people will find areas to which they can relate. If not, I think this story will make readers more compassionate, especially when it's so easy to engage in gossip or judgement. 

I didn't know much about the story going in and I actually thought I was reading a true story for the first few chapters. It felt real, rather than fiction. I was engaged immediately.

DISLIKE- I'm still contemplating the ending. I don't want to give anything away, but I expect that I'm not the only reader that will have trouble with the ending. I think it's probably very realistic, but it's also incredibly frustrating. I actually gave a rather mournful "NO!" outloud when I read the last line.

In general, The Best Kind of People is a very heavy read. This isn't a negative, it is what it needs to be for the story, but I also felt that it affected me personally. I found myself feeling low energy and negative on the days I was reading The Best Kind of People. Whittall's writing and story had a noticeable affect on me.

RECOMMEND- Yes. The Best Kind of People is a shocking and affecting story. Whittall has crafted emotionally rich characters that are placed in a desperate situation. I will not soon forget this story.