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A review by keysersuze
The Fixed Stars by Molly Wizenberg
4.0
I have followed Orangette’s blog for a while, on the recommendation of my excellent and dear friend, Liz. I knew that Molly had had some life changes which, from the outside, looked unexpected, and so I was really excited to see the ARC available on Netgalley, and much more excited when my request was granted from Abrams Press – thank you!
It zoomed to the top of my list and I read it in a couple of days – definitely a sign of a compelling story.
Molly’s writing style is like a voice in your head, informal and friendly, but somehow able to convey complex thoughts and ideas.
After being in a heterosexual marriage for 10 years, Molly has a chance encounter with someone who causes her to address the big questions; is she in the right place? Is she with the right people? Should she shake up her life in favour of pursuing this new one, which might destroy her and those around her?
As is often the case with memoir, it’s not the ending but the journey you’re interested in. Her discussions with her friends and family, the frank conversations with her husband around their options, provided a unique perspective. It’s evidently a really, really complicated situation, without clear ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and the story is told so well that you are able to appreciate the nuances and the time taken to understand what’s happening.
The other area I found interesting was the approach Molly took with examining sexuality – her own and the ideas and theories surrounding gender/sexuality and whether it changes over the course of your life(s). It fits with the ‘Molly’ you might be familiar with in the blog, and the other writing from her – she’s methodical, rational and keen to understand the facts as well as aligning that with how she feels.
Recommended, and I’d like to read her previous memoir now too, which I managed to miss - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18144099-delancey
It zoomed to the top of my list and I read it in a couple of days – definitely a sign of a compelling story.
Molly’s writing style is like a voice in your head, informal and friendly, but somehow able to convey complex thoughts and ideas.
After being in a heterosexual marriage for 10 years, Molly has a chance encounter with someone who causes her to address the big questions; is she in the right place? Is she with the right people? Should she shake up her life in favour of pursuing this new one, which might destroy her and those around her?
As is often the case with memoir, it’s not the ending but the journey you’re interested in. Her discussions with her friends and family, the frank conversations with her husband around their options, provided a unique perspective. It’s evidently a really, really complicated situation, without clear ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and the story is told so well that you are able to appreciate the nuances and the time taken to understand what’s happening.
The other area I found interesting was the approach Molly took with examining sexuality – her own and the ideas and theories surrounding gender/sexuality and whether it changes over the course of your life(s). It fits with the ‘Molly’ you might be familiar with in the blog, and the other writing from her – she’s methodical, rational and keen to understand the facts as well as aligning that with how she feels.
Recommended, and I’d like to read her previous memoir now too, which I managed to miss - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18144099-delancey