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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Post Trump rage - middle age, middle class white women’s rage. If that describes you this is not a comfortable book to read. If that doesn’t describe you I’m not sure this book will resonate.
*Thank you to the publisher and to Goodreads for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
Sam is a 53 year old woman who, in the midst of mid-life turmoil, impulse-buys a charming Craftsman fixer-upper home in Syracuse. This will be the antidote to her unfulfilling relationship with her husband, her unwanted distance from her teen daughter, her anxiety over her aging mother's health, and her worries about the political and economic climate of our times. The house symbolizes a new start, but one that cannot escape the ties to the past.
I could relate easily to Sam, as someone of about the same age going through some of the same things. I also found Ally, the daughter, and Lily, Sam's mother, very believable (although I do wish more of the book was devoted to Lily). And much of the book is a love letter to Syracuse, a city that doesn't get much love. The history & architecture is lovingly detailed.
There was a lot of unnecessary musing, and some classist and borderline misogynistic portrayals of interactions with other women. I guess readers are supposed to give this a pass because Sam's character recognizes her own privilege and harsh judgements of other women, but it's difficult to read. Issues of privilege (like Sam's being financially supported by her husband after they separate, while she buys a house and works part-time at a nonprofit) are raised but not resolved. In fact, little is resolved by the end.
I rate this four stars for the examination of midlife, the Syracuse details, and some beautiful passages, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
Sam is a 53 year old woman who, in the midst of mid-life turmoil, impulse-buys a charming Craftsman fixer-upper home in Syracuse. This will be the antidote to her unfulfilling relationship with her husband, her unwanted distance from her teen daughter, her anxiety over her aging mother's health, and her worries about the political and economic climate of our times. The house symbolizes a new start, but one that cannot escape the ties to the past.
I could relate easily to Sam, as someone of about the same age going through some of the same things. I also found Ally, the daughter, and Lily, Sam's mother, very believable (although I do wish more of the book was devoted to Lily). And much of the book is a love letter to Syracuse, a city that doesn't get much love. The history & architecture is lovingly detailed.
There was a lot of unnecessary musing, and some classist and borderline misogynistic portrayals of interactions with other women. I guess readers are supposed to give this a pass because Sam's character recognizes her own privilege and harsh judgements of other women, but it's difficult to read. Issues of privilege (like Sam's being financially supported by her husband after they separate, while she buys a house and works part-time at a nonprofit) are raised but not resolved. In fact, little is resolved by the end.
I rate this four stars for the examination of midlife, the Syracuse details, and some beautiful passages, but it may not be everyone's cup of tea.
A well written book that hits on many of the problems facing this age. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars because the book might have been better served if it did not try to cover so many issues of the day and concentrated on a just few in more depth. It would be a great book club pick that would start many conversations- ageism, menopause, gentrification, women's anger, the place of social media in society, to name a few .
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So many mixed feelings about this book. It was an easy, quick read, but what was it about?
Is it about finding yourself in mid-life? Is it about being wary about the friends you make on the internet? I found it hard to relate to a person who pays cash for a house they don't need. I found it hard to connect with a woman who seems unconcerned that her teen daughter is dating an adult man. And then there's a bit where she temporarily discovers racial justice but it still is really all about her and I guess I just didn't like her.
Is it about finding yourself in mid-life? Is it about being wary about the friends you make on the internet? I found it hard to relate to a person who pays cash for a house they don't need. I found it hard to connect with a woman who seems unconcerned that her teen daughter is dating an adult man. And then there's a bit where she temporarily discovers racial justice but it still is really all about her and I guess I just didn't like her.
This proved to be a real page-turner, and offered a lot of food for thought, even if the thoughts were uncomfortable sometimes. Given that the subject matter touched on climate change, menopause, privileged people's guilt, police-involved shootings, death, *and* parenting teens, discomfort was par for the course. I especially appreciated the way the author handled the ending of the book--resolving all the significant story lines just enough but not too much.
A rather low Goodreads rating for a rather fine little book that must have rubbed some people the wrong way, examining the life of Samantha Raymond, a woman who finds her life falling apart, her body aging, and her circumstances changing in the same way that the nation's politics, policing, social order, and climate are unraveling. Well written, interesting characters fill the pages, each grappling with a personal challenge that expands into a meditation on life. "Wayward" is a novel about women and the patriarchal weight they bear at every age, as well as an honest and engaging reflection on America, perhaps too honest and raw a representation of the troubled times for some readers to bear... or reward with the praise it deserves.
Dana Spiotta writes culture incredibly well in all her books that I've read, and this one is no exception, inventing spot-on hyper-niche Facebook groups and a controversial historical figure. This novel is both introspective and ambitious in its reach, chronicling the self-upheaval by one menopausal white woman in the middle of Trump's presidency. I scanned a few of the Goodreads comments that were basically like "Blech, privileged white lady story." It is that. Sam abruptly leaves a stable marriage to go live in a fixer-upper in the "rough" part of Syracuse, NY, which she can apparently pay for in cash. Her problems are real, but mostly internal. Yet I would argue that this is the story of a privileged white woman de-centering herself in the deepest ways possible. As the witness to a racially motivated crime, she initially finds a sense of purpose, only to realize how little she can do to bring about justice. As a mother, she realizes most of her work is done in raising her teenage daughter. As a mortal, she realizes she's mortal.