The Spectacular
The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall, published by Hodder & Stoughton on August 26, 2021, is a novel that explores the intricate dynamics of family and personal identity. Set in 1997, it follows Missy, a rebellious young musician whose band is gaining fame as they tour across America. As she grapples with her absent mother and the challenges of being the only woman in her band, Missy’s journey intertwines with those of her mother, Carola, and her grandmother, Ruth, each navigating their own struggles for freedom and understanding.
Readers will find a rich narrative that delves into themes of family life, sexuality, and feminism through the experiences of three generations of women. As Missy confronts her past and her relationships, Carola emerges from a personal crisis, and Ruth reflects on her childhood, the novel captures their attempts to reconnect and redefine their lives. This edition spans 368 pages and is presented in English, offering a thoughtful examination of how definitions of family and love evolve across generations.
Official synopsis Publisher
‘A total joy to read’ Torrey Peters, author of Detransition Baby
A rebellious young musician reconnects with the matriarchs in her family as three generations of women strive for real freedom in this brilliant novel of family, sexuality, and feminism from the acclaimed author of The Best Kind of People.
It’s 1997 and Missy’s band has finally hit the big time as they tour across America. At twenty-two years old, Missy gets on stage every night and plays the song about her absent mother that made the band famous. Missy is the only girl in the band and she’s determined to party just as hard as everyone else, loving and leaving someone in every town. But then a forgotten party favor strands her at the border.
Fortysomething Carola is just surfacing from a sex scandal at the yoga center where she has been living when she sees her daughter, Missy, for the first time in ten years–on the cover of a music magazine.
Ruth is eighty-three and planning her return to the Turkish seaside village where she spent her childhood. But when her granddaughter Missy winds up crashing at her house, she decides it’s time that the strong and stubborn women in her family find a way to understand each other again.
In this sharply observed novel, Zoe Whittall captures three very different women who struggle to build an authentic life. Definitions of family, romance, gender, and love will radically change as they seek out lives that are nothing less than spectacular.
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