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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This book took its time to grow on me but when it was all said and done it left a lot for me to reflect on.
Rarely have I had such mixed emotions about a book.
The good: the beginning and end, and the way it all ties in together. Everything I loved about this book was at the end. I cried actual tears at the witches' friendships, when we found out their backstory. I also was glad for the ambiguous ending because I feel like otherwise it would have been a hard no (for Ethan and Zo.)
The bad: I felt like EVERY SINGLE BAD THING from the past five years was shoehorned into this - #MeToo, the 2016 election, misogyny in particular. Like just crammed down my throat.
The worst: pages and pages of someone tripping on mushrooms? Absolutely not. This was almost enough to make me stop reading.
But I'm still thinking about it, which is always a good thing.
The good: the beginning and end, and the way it all ties in together. Everything I loved about this book was at the end. I cried actual tears at the witches' friendships, when we found out their backstory. I also was glad for the ambiguous ending because I feel like otherwise it would have been a hard no (for Ethan and Zo.)
The bad: I felt like EVERY SINGLE BAD THING from the past five years was shoehorned into this - #MeToo, the 2016 election, misogyny in particular. Like just crammed down my throat.
The worst: pages and pages of someone tripping on mushrooms? Absolutely not. This was almost enough to make me stop reading.
But I'm still thinking about it, which is always a good thing.
I picked this one purely off the cover (yes, I really do judge a book off its cover) and was pleasantly surprised. In many ways, it was very engaging and relevant, but I agree with a lot of the other reviews in that the character of ‘Zo’ was very unlikeable and I found it difficult to root for her. I wouldn’t NOT recommend this book, but it would definitely be low on the list.
This is a VERY modern story, centered around the #metoo movement and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. I'd say make sure you are up to reading about those topics and immersing yourself with what it feels like to be on the internet before picking this one up. I don't mind reading about these topics, but it definitely requires a certain headspace.
Overall, I liked this book, especially the way things came together in the ending which made the story for me. I thought it was an interesting choice that Benjamin chose to tell a story about #metoo through the perspective of a male main character. I liked it at times and at other times didn't like it. I also found it hard to be so immersed in the idea of cancel culture for the entire book.
I know this story is based on Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome and I think I may have gotten more out of the story if I had read that or been more familiar with that plotline. Overall, an interesting read!
Overall, I liked this book, especially the way things came together in the ending which made the story for me. I thought it was an interesting choice that Benjamin chose to tell a story about #metoo through the perspective of a male main character. I liked it at times and at other times didn't like it. I also found it hard to be so immersed in the idea of cancel culture for the entire book.
I know this story is based on Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome and I think I may have gotten more out of the story if I had read that or been more familiar with that plotline. Overall, an interesting read!
The Smash-Up introduces us to Ethan, his wife, Zo, their daughter, Alex, and their houseguest, Maddy. Ethan and Zo are former NYC residents living in the Berkshires. They moved there after 9/11. This story takes place in 2018. It deals a lot with current issues - the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, the 2016 election, protests, social media outrage, and all the things I read books to escape from right now. I gave this four stars because I enjoyed the writing. The story itself was too much for my brain right now. The news is still full of the things this book is about. I think a few years from now this would be a great read. Right now it's just too much of what we're dealing with in real life.
I do not want to give the plot away. If you like satire, stories about current events, marriages, and parenting issues then you will find things to enjoy in this story. If you need a break from reality then this is not the book to pick up when it comes out on February 23rd.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of The Smash-Up. I post my reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
I do not want to give the plot away. If you like satire, stories about current events, marriages, and parenting issues then you will find things to enjoy in this story. If you need a break from reality then this is not the book to pick up when it comes out on February 23rd.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of The Smash-Up. I post my reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
The Smash Up is a novel about relationships, growth, marriage and politics. Mid-life couple, Ethan and Zo, are raising their daughter Alex in the Berkshires in rural Massachusetts. The 2016 election has rattled them, and changed Zo's outlook on life and daily activities. During the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh, their world spirals as her protests and anger conflict with growing tension for Alex at school. Meanwhile, Ethan feels the distance growing in their marriage as he faces his former business partner's "Me Too" moment and how it might affect their financial position. WIthout too many spoilers, I can't say much more, but I found this an engaging work that I read in almost one sitting. Well developed and plotted, highly recommend.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to @NetGalley and Quercus for a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Yikes. I have never hate-read something so quickly. I think "The Smash-Up" is supposed to be some sort of satire of our modern political climate, but it lacks the necessary nuance and clever commentary.
Instead, it's page after page of desperately unlikeable characters and stereotypes: The husband is a "good guy" because he didn't *actively* harass anyone while founding a successful company; and his activist wife is the modern-day "Feminazi" in all but name. Oh, and there's the seductive but entitled Millennial nanny thrown in for good measure.
If you're going to make readers relive the Kavanaugh hearings and #MeToo headlines, there'd better be a good reason. I didn't find one here.
With that out of my system... the few positives that warrant 2 stars instead of 1: genuinely enjoyed the writing and narration style, and found it very easy to read. I was also genuinely moved by the ending, though unlike many Goodreads reviewers, I don't think it redeemed the rest of the book.
Middle-class student Ethan falls in with exuberant rich-kid Randy at college and joins him to found an innovative media company. Twenty years later and Ethan is living in the New England countryside with his family. Daughter Alex is hyper and struggling with school, she has few boundaries. Wife Zo is avoiding her work as a filmmaker and is becoming more involved with her activist group. Also living with them is Maddy, the daughter of an acquaintance. When Randy is accused of sexual harassment, he asks Ethan to help him out and Ethan feels obliged as his only source of income is the company that he founded. Against the background of #metoo and the increasingly splintered social media, Ethan tries to remain true to himself.
Whilst this is a very pointed book, it is also very entertaining. the scene of Ethan taking mushrooms if particularly funny. However also at times I felt the author tried just that little bit too hard. It's a fun read but almost feels a little too conscious of itself at times.
Whilst this is a very pointed book, it is also very entertaining. the scene of Ethan taking mushrooms if particularly funny. However also at times I felt the author tried just that little bit too hard. It's a fun read but almost feels a little too conscious of itself at times.