The Spectacular: not so spectacular

The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall is the story of three generations of women who strive for real freedom in sexuality, gender identity and their ambivalence toward motherhood. It’s 1997 and Melissa “Missy” Wood is a cellist in an indie rock band on tour across America. At 22 years old, she gets on stage and plays the song about her absent mother that made the band famous. As the only girl in the band, she is determined to party just as hard, maybe even harder, as everyone else. She loves the idea of leaving a guy in every town. Meanwhile, her mother, Carola Neligan aka Juniper, has resurfaced after a sex scandal at the yoga center when she has been living. She sees Missy, for the first time in years,  on the cover of a magazine cover. Missy decides to crash at her grandmother Ruth’s house and Ruth decides enough is enough. Mother and daughter need to find a way to understand one another. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms Whittall’s The Best Kind of People (2016) and looked forward to reading The Spectacular. Advertised as a “sharply observed novel” that “captures three very different women who each struggle to build an authentic life,” The Spectacular sets out to explore what it means to be a woman. Does it include the desire to be a mother? It is assumed that women naturally want to be moms. What happens when a woman feels she doesn’t want kids...ever? Should others dictate to women to keep the motherhood option open? As a woman who has always known I wanted children and have faced the challenges of motherhood head on, I was curious about the premise. Right off the bat, I was put off by Missy’s vulgarity and childishness. It was hard to sympathize with Carola. Ruth’s story was interesting but far too short. It wasn’t the story I was expecting and I am certainly not the audience for this story. I do not recommend The Spectacular. 

The Spectacular is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook