I have some thoughts about genre. I’ve refined these thoughts over the past year because my debut novel resists easy classification—“upmarket book club fiction” is the sweet spot between romcom and literary fiction where my marketing team tells me that Hot Desk lands—thereby disappointing and occasionally enraging some readers. (Shout out to Brenda on Goodreads: “HOT DESK? More like HOT MESS! One Star”). To be fair, there are many readers who have engaged with it in good faith, and it’s just not for them—I get it! If they met me in person, they probably wouldn’t like me much either. How do I know? Because my book is my voice. And more than plot, character, or atmosphere, voice is how I enter a book, both as a writer and reader. So when the voice intrigues me, amuses me, challenges me, (I include the voice of the author, the narrator, and/or the characters, and let me be clear that I don’t have to like any of the above, I just have to want to hear more), then I am IN, genre be damned. Look, I understand that if you expect the comfort of a cozy British mystery, you’ll be shocked by spanking, and if you need a sexed-up fairy, god forbid she waste a chapter sipping tea with a 70-year-old detective from Cornwall. No surprise, though, I believe writers shouldn’t face readers’ wrath for a little mash-up. Roll with it! In fact, more genre blending is on the way. So if a book wants Jane Austen and zombies, historical fiction and ghosts, or literary sci-fi, and the voice is compelling, let it live!
Which brings me, finally, to one of my favorite writers, Maria Semple, author of the brilliant and hilarious Where’d You Go, Bernadette, which the NY Times calls “multi-faceted,” and which I call an inspiration, a master (mistress?) class in how to blend laugh-out-loud humor, satire, emotional conflict, and a tour de force of voice. After a long wait (it’s fine, Maria! Never let them rush you!) Semple’s new novel, Go Gentle, has arrived, and it’s delightful. Is it a social satire or a philosophical treatise or a sexy romance or a madcap international art theft mystery or a harrowing depiction of sexism or a feminist fantasy or a mother-daughter tale or a bemused love letter to NYC? The answer is YES.
Aptly and archly named Stoic philosopher Adora Hazzard abides with her perfectly-rendered teenage daughter in the storied Ansonia, where she presides over a self-described coven of middle-aged single women. Stop right there. I would read about this all day. Semple imbues Adora with a witty, rueful, at times zany voice, one that punctures a discussion of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave with a quip and is equally adept at describing hot sex or the painful, relatable insecurity of a young woman trying to impress established men. I also have some thoughts about how negative gendered experiences, ranging from intellectual dismissiveness to sexual assault, can derail women. Adora’s past stint as a novice writer on a late-night comedy show (Semple worked at SNL) forms the emotional center of the otherwise jaunty book, and her deftly-drawn downfall is both enraging and poignant. As Adora turns to Stoicism to heal, her dedication to virtue and moderation leads to success: her motto, Amor Fati (“love fate” tattooed on her scarred wrist), encourages her not only to tolerate but also to embrace events. Her principles will be challenged when events become extremely eventful, desire complicates order, and mayhem upends intellectual superiority. The philosophy lessons, the romp through Paris, the frenetic plot, the swoony middle-aged sex, and the jumble of genres give Go Gentle its juice, but it’s the voice that keeps me turning the pages. Perhaps Maria Semple’s next novel will focus on the coven? I can only hope.
