Eight of us gathered to discuss “one of the most talked-about books of the year.”
The opening remark set the tone:
"It’s not what it says on the cover, is it?!”
Seven nodded in agreement. Ouch.
That could have been the end of our conversation. But, feeling some duty to justify this near-unanimous verdict and with one dissenting voice (me!) - we pressed on. Here’s a summary of our lively discussion.
The Book in Brief
The story follows Maggie, a young woman under 30, who is navigating divorce proceedings 608 days into her marriage. Once deeply in love with Jon, her best friend from university, Maggie finds herself reeling from heartbreak and trauma. Her story is told with humour, self-deprecation, and moments of emotional rawness.
While Maggie is fictional, one group member (not me!) couldn’t resist Googling Monica Heisey and discovered parallels with the author's personal life. This led to an interesting debate about how much personal experience shapes fiction.
The book was amusing in parts - one of us found it consistently funny, and another admitted to a few quiet LOLs. But overall, it didn’t deliver on its bold cover promises: “Wildly funny, almost alarmingly relatable” (Marian Keyes), “Hilarious and profound” (Dolly Alderton), or “The funniest book I’ve read in a long time” (Raven Leilani).
Why Didn’t We Love It?
Generational Divide
Maggie is a millennial, and her experiences, especially the heavy presence of social media, felt disconnected from our lives. Though we could recall moments of technological upheaval (like the shift from face-to-face chats to everyone listening in on hallway phone calls!).Lack of Connection
We struggled to care about Maggie or to warm to her. Was she too self-absorbed, too cynical, too navel-gazing?Cringeworthy Humour
Some found the humour more awkward than funny - though we acknowledged this might have been intentional.Overhyped Relatability
For those of us beyond our late 20s, the book simply wasn’t “alarmingly relatable.”Distracting Breaks in the writing - such as Google Search Lists
Maggie’s random, oddball Google searches were a recurring feature, but instead of adding depth or humour, they felt strange and unnecessary. (Curiosity piqued, one of us even checked our own search histories. Thankfully, results like “The Cooper 12-Minute Run Test” and “Naturally Radiant – Superdrug” were a tad more sensible, but just as mundane!)
Broader Reflections
The discussion then veered toward broader questions about the book and its themes:
- Why did the author choose this tone? We speculated it was to avoid making Maggie seem pitiable.
- Is it a critique of GenZ's openness? Does being so open about feelings automatically breed anxiety? Possibly, since openness invites judgment.
- Did the Canadian setting matter? Not really. Toronto is like any other big city.
Ultimately, while we appreciated Maggie’s candour and moments of humour, the book didn’t resonate with most of us.
Final Thoughts
Even at 370 pages (or a daunting 870 if read on a phone), the book is a quick read.
Would we recommend it? Not enthusiastically—but we are curious to see how younger readers respond. We’re passing it along to our children/younger contacts and eagerly awaiting their verdicts.
Our next read is Take Nothing With You by Patrick Gale. We’ll meet at 8pm on Thursday, January 30th, and, after two long years, we’re thrilled to say we will meet at the pub. Cheers to that!
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