American Life in the Smart Era

Jenny sleepwalks through life, dancing around husband Hank’s fragile ego while nurturing sons, Jesse and Luke. Meanwhile, Hank flounders as the All-American Male. The skills of bushcraft and prospecting evade him, conspiracy theories bombard him, and foreign influences are just one step away from invading his home.

Desperate for change, Jenny starts a correspondence with a prison inmate, bringing about a transformation no one could have foreseen..

Love Orange sheds uncanny light on motherhood, the unequal division of labour between parents, and America’s self-view.

Randall’s writing is assured, sharply observant, and comes with a well-tuned sense of the absurd.

The first third of the novel sets the reader at a remove, as though we are experiencing the same flattening of emotion as Jenny. Thereon in, it picks up pace and comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Strong satirical debut.

My thanks to NetGalley and Riverrun/Quercus Books for the ARC.

A gently funny saga of a suburban American family. I admit I was seduced by the cover, which deserves special mention in and of itself as one of the best designs I have seen this year. The story wasn't my cup of tea but has lots of quirky touches and is well-written.

Love Orange is your everyday tale of average American folk: Hank, obsessed with his smart home and protecting his children – Luke and Jesse- against the powers that would take away their manhood; wife Jenny – unfulfilled by life, annoyed by their smart home, and writer of letters to prison inmates; Jesse a surfer of henti porn; and Luke a fascinated and organised child who may or may not be on a 'spectrum'. As the book progesses Hank gets more obsessed with acting manly with his kids, whilst Jenny gets more obsessed about acting as a go between for her inmate pen-pal, John, and his wife.

Whilst I polished this book off quite quickly, it didn't really deliver for me personally. On the plus side, it is funny: Hank stealing a lip stick, nylon tights and a unwrapped tampon from Luke's room "Oh god, was Luke , like, preparing to turn 'trans or something?" for example is marvellous, esp when it becomes clear that in Luke's mind what has been stole is his Cotton sample (tampon), nylon sample (a stocking) and whale blubber sample (lipstick). Also, when talking about he fears of the smart home, Jenny saying "It occurred to her that the house couldn't really read her expressions either, now that she'd had botox…", made me smile too, but laughs aside the story itself just failed to hold my attention, and without the couple of notes I made when reading it, I don't think I could have told you anything about it now. Instantly forgotten.