The Spectacular

July 15, 2021
Three generations of women struggle to build their identities while shunning society's gender-based expectations. At 22, Missy Alamo is an indie rock star. She made it big despite her tumultuous upbringing. Ten years ago, when her mother deserted the commune where they were living, Missy was dropped on her grandmother's doorstep. The book opens in 1997 as Missy tries to find a doctor who will tie her tubes--none are willing to perform the procedure on such a young woman. Missy is about to leave on tour, and she would like to have all the sex she pleases without worrying about getting pregnant. All these years later, Missy still doesn't know where her mother is, and she's certain she never wants children of her own. Missy's mother, Carola, has been living at a yoga retreat since leaving the commune. She ended up falling in love with the yoga guru and staying for years. Finally, halfway through the book, we meet Carola's mother-in-law, Ruth, and we see that she shares many traits with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Ruth has just received devastating news, and she's determined to reunite Missy and Carola before it's too late. As the book toggles among the first-person perspectives of the three women, the narrative voice deftly changes to reflect each woman's distinct personality. In a narrative that is gritty, raw, and unapologetic, the author builds strong female protagonists who seem largely unconcerned with how others expect them to behave. There is a strong focus on sexuality, gender fluidity, and free love, but the book also explores themes of motherhood and family responsibility. The author plays with time, weaving past and present in a way that sometimes works beautifully but at other times creates confusion. Even so, the characters and their unabashed determination to live life on their own terms are sufficiently compelling to keep readers turning the page. An entertaining story that is equal parts family saga and cultural indictment.

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July 21, 2021
Missy Alamo's tour with her indie rock band, the Swearwolves, comes to an abrupt end when she's caught with a small amount of cocaine at the U.S.-Canadian border. While she's waiting for a flight home, she sees a newspaper story about a sex scandal at an ashram, accompanied by a photograph of her estranged mother, Carola. Sixteen years later, in 2013, Missy is trying to get pregnant before her fortieth birthday despite her misgivings about motherhood, but her marriage is ending. The divorce has Missy reconsidering her past and charting a course toward a future that will bring her happiness and comfort on her own terms. In this raw, thought-provoking study of the relationships between mothers and daughters, Whittall (The Best Kind of People, 2017) explores what it means to care for another person. The story is told in distinctive alternating voices, demonstrating how both Missy and Carola have chosen lives that defy what is expected of them. An interlude at the center of the novel tells the story of Missy's grandmother, Ruth. Readers will be immersed in the lives of all three women.

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