The Smash-Up is a modern retelling of the 1911 novel 'Ethan Frome' by Edith Wharton, not one that I've read before.

Ethan and Zo (Zenobia) live in Starkfield, Massachusetts after moving there from New York 16 years ago. Zo is a filmmaker and Ethan sold his shares in his company that he co-founded with friend Randy. Randy wanted to move the business to LA whilst Zo wanted to stay in New York so Ethan chose her.

In present day, they have an 11 year old daughter called Alex who has ADHD and have recently moved in a girl in her early twenties, Maddy, to help with babysitting.

Trump has just been elected President, Harvey Weinstein has been arrested and Zo is part of an activist group with the local women called All Them Witches. This gives Zo a purpose but it is affecting her and Ethan's relationship. It doesn't help when Randy has accusations made against him and asks for Ethan's help.

I'll be honest and say that I struggled with this book. The main plot of the story is very important but I just think the writing style wasn't for me, combined with the slow pace of the book and the fact that I didn't particularly like any of the characters, aside from Alex. I must say that the sensory issues were written extremely well with regards to her.

The last 20% really turned it around. The ending was very well done and did surprise me.

I’m so glad I read this book when I did. It was a satirical take on #MeToo and life under a Trump presidency, depicting the differing perspectives of those involved. I’m glad I read this as Trump has left the White House because, although all is now certainly not saved by the new Administration, I think this could have been pretty depressing staring down four more years of Trump and his Supreme Court nominees! This is one for people interested in American culture etc and I loved it.

Hyper=modern MeToo, Trumpist novel focussing on Brett Kavanagh's hearing and events surrounding it. Probably a bit too American-focussed for me, with lots of references that I didnt necessarily pick up on. A re-writing of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome, which Im not familiar with but had heard of. Not sure that its a book I would necessarily recommend but Im glad for the chance to read it.

The Smash-Up is an intoxicating satirical novel that is sharply perceptive and follows a family that are upended when their small-town life becomes the latest battlefield in the culture wars in this of-the-moment adult debut. Inspired by Edith Wharton’s novella Ethan Frome, it offers the shock of recognition as it deftly illuminates some of the biggest issues of our time. Life for Ethan and Zo (Zenobia) Frome used to be simple; Ethan co-founded a lucrative media marketing start-up, Bränd, and Zo was well on her way to becoming a successful independent filmmaker. Then sixteen years ago they decided to leave the fast-paced lifestyle in Brooklyn, New York and move to the rural community of Starkfield, Massachusetts for a little more tranquility, or so they thought. It's 2018, two years after Donald Trump’s presidential election and the Fromes are now middle-aged; they are more than aware that their family is splintering. The Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings are being aired on television and Zo is barely home as she appears to be increasingly more consumed by political activism. The feminist protest group, All Them Witches, is run from her living room and she is irate over the hearings. Their marriage becomes strained as Zo becomes more distant and enraged and their finances are depleting rapidly yet she insists on rage buying furniture they don't need. This newfound political activism transforms Zo into a barely recognisable ball of outrage.

It isn't long before Ethan unwittingly becomes embroiled in the #MeToo movement when co-founder of his firm, Randy, asks him to help him ensure a Hollywood actress does not disclose her accusations against him else the company may be in jeopardy, which would ensure the residual cheques that the Fromes have been living on cease. Meanwhile, their 11-year-old daughter, Alex, continues to suffer from severe ADHD and coping with her is tough so they hired a live-in babysitter - 20-something Maddy - who Ethan begins lusting after, as if they didn't have enough problems already. The Smash-Up captures the zeitgeist of modern America accurately and with panache and just when you think you know the direction Benjamin is taking the plot she quickly flips the script and shocks you. This a captivating and realistic tale of middle-aged liberal anxiety in small town USA set against the backdrop of the divisive political climate of the time and the disintegration of a family who have grown apart from one another. It's richly described, full of wit and humorous moments, and thought provoking, and I found it is surprisingly rather suspenseful. Woven through the narrative is the sadness, rage and disillusionment of many people in the Trump era. This is a novel that packs a powerful emotional punch as the characters slowly begin to fall apart and the family sadly begins to fracture in a way that ensures they'll never be the same again. An intelligently plotted and compelling debut. Highly recommended.

Essentially a story about a family living in small town America. Told through the main character Ethan, who made money with his college friend Randy,in New York during the the early days of influence marketing.. Ethan opted to be bought out from his partner rather than moving with the business to LA. He receives a small but regular dividend from the business which seems to be the main support for the family. His wife Zo, produces documentaries but from the beginning of this book is increasingly engaging in political activism. Their daughter Alex struggles with her ADHD within an offbeat private school. A nanny/helper Maddy has been engaged to help with Alex, but rarely seems to be productive. Ethan becomes fixated on Maddy as his relationship with his wife diminishes.Ethan, struggles to live his life when his former business partner Randy,faces MeToo allegations and his wife gets arrested for a traffic violation..Ethan and Zo are called in to see the principal who is being pressured by other parents to exclude Alex. life becomes a perfect storm and the family dynamics make a very interesting read. Many interesting issues raised. A very interesting,well written book.

The Smash-Up by Ali Benjamin kept appearing on my Twitter feed. It was lauded as the latest new voice and a must read book and so I bought into the hype and requested it from NetGalley. Once again - because when so many people are singing a books praise - the Tweeters were right. The Smash-Up by Ali Benjamin is not a comfortable read. The dichotomy of opposing forces - Masculinity verses Feminism (not the traditional opposite of femininity) is central to the development of the story and what Benjamin has managed to do so successfully is give both sides of the argument merit. Her take on feminism is brilliant, moving, intense, heartbreaking and, at times, all too real. This is especially powerful in the stream of conscious ramblings of Zen. Meanwhile, Ethan's helplessness and inability to have any control reflects the worries of modern man.
The Smash-Up really is a powerful story that generously lends equal importance to topics that invariably lack equality.
The Smash-Up by Ali Benjamin is available now.
For more information regarding Quercus (@QuercusBooks) please visit www.quercusbooks.co.uk.

This is a book you can love or hate, it's not an easy read but once you are hooked you don't put it down.
The story is a satire that talks about our times and it's really realistic.
You can love or hate the characters but I don't think you can feel nothing.
The background is political, a realistic and bitter description of USA that reminds life in other countries.
I liked the style of writing and was fascinated by the charachters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A great debut.
This book has it all and is something original if you want a read away from thrillers and the usual family sagas. The setting is a suburban American town (which is always a winner for me) and the novel focuses on life in modern America following on from the 2016 election targeting an array of issues such as the digital age, feminism, ADHD, relationships and the #MeToo movement. The characters are all believable and I was drawn in to their lives and the dramas surrounding them.
I cant wait to read more from this author in the future.
Thank you Netgalley and Quercus for this ARC

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The Smash Up @Ali Benjamin - #gifted @quercus
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Another light read with some laugh out loud moments making this book a good one to add to your ‘escapism’ pile.
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The #Metoo movement is in full swing. It’s September 2018 and in cities across America, women are coming out angry in their droves to protest a Supreme Court judge (Brett Kavanaugh) who has been accused of sexual misconduct charges.
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Ethan Frome’s wife Zo, is front and centre of this new resistance and has transformed their once tranquil home into the heart of this new political movement.
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Ethan’s business partner is also under the #MeToo glare, which doesn’t look good for either of them or their financial longeviety.
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Ethan and his wife Zo had moved to a smaller town - Starkfield - to get away from the big city life and post 9/11 hangover. It was also a move to see if a quieter life could help their autistic daughter Alex.
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It’s a lot y’all.
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Instead Ethan and Zoe’s marriage starts to fall apart. And in the midst of all of this, Ethan starts to fall for their much younger, carefree nanny. He’s also on the brink of financial collapse.
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I enjoyed the ‘The Smash Up’ because it touches on an issue we were all very much engrossed in. The avalanche of #Metoo accusations and truths in 2018, felt like this was a heavy wound, full of ugly puss that was waiting to explode. And explode it did....
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The only thing I didn't love about this book was the cover, which I just didn't feel matched the story.
Everything else was perfection.

This is a really fantastic, complex story about finding and understanding who we are, how we view things and how those same things can be viewed differently by the people and wider society around us. Timely and really amusing whilst being quite challenging and thought provoking in parts. I would have been interested to read more from Zo's viewpoint but I did also enjoy seeing particulalry the feminist activism through Ethan's eyes.

Yikes. I have never hate-read something so quickly. 

I think "The Smash-Up" is supposed to be some sort of satire of our modern political climate, but it lacks the necessary nuance and clever commentary. 

Instead, it's page after page of desperately unlikeable characters and stereotypes: The husband is a "good guy" because he didn't *actively* harass anyone while founding a successful company; and his activist wife is the modern-day "Feminazi" in all but name. Oh, and there's the seductive but entitled Millennial nanny thrown in for good measure.

If you're going to make readers relive the Kavanaugh hearings and #MeToo headlines, there'd better be a good reason. I didn't find one here.

With that out of my system... the few positives that warrant 2 stars instead of 1: genuinely enjoyed the writing and narration style, and found it very easy to read. I was also genuinely moved by the ending, though unlike many Goodreads reviewers, I don't think it redeemed the rest of the book. 

Thank you to @NetGalley and Quercus for a free download in exchange for an honest review.

With comparisons to Fleishman is in Trouble and Meg Wolitzer, this was always going to be “my kind of thing”.

And it was! There was a lot I liked about it - complicated characters, marriage, family drama, relationships.

But there were a few things about it which made me cringe a little bit. The cultural references were, for me, a bit too on-the-nose, and I just was not convinced that in 1996 (admittedly, I was 6 then) that Ethan’s company would have predicted so much about the internet and guerilla marketing. I also found the ending to be way too unrealistic and sentimental for me, and there were a number of tangents that were again, a little bit too convenient and didn’t go anywhere.

However, this was very much my kind of thing and I can see it being very successful. I read it in 2 days, one day reading for close to 3 hours, so I was definitely very into it.

4 stars

THE SMASH-UP by Ali Benjamin is one the most zeitgeist-y books I have read. Against the backdrop of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, the Fromes are falling apart. Zo is more interested in her feminist group, Ethan is more interested in the family babysitter, and their child Alex is more interested in the musical Wicked.

Benjamin writes fluidly and this was an easy and engaging read. Despite the well-worn path of family malaise and small-town ennui, I was invested in the characters and wanted to find out what happened to them. The incredibly relevant backdrop of, well, the explicit misogyny that has risen to the surface in the US recently, only adds to the realism of the milieu. I will definitely be reading Benjamin's next book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Ali Benjamin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a superb, original story which satirises modern America and the life of western society. Admittedly, it’s a slow start - or it certainly was for me - but once you get past the slightly clumsy opening pages, Benjamin’s first novel for adults shows what it can be like to live in a small American town in our modern times.

‘The Smash-Up’ is loosely based on Edith Wharton’s ‘Ethan Frome’. Ethan, the protagonist, is living in western Massachusetts with Zo, his wife, and Alex, their hyperactive, challenging pre-teen. They are dealing with Zo’s involvement in protests, the bitchy nature of Alex’s private school (Rainbow Seed - a great name, indicative of so much about our lives today) and Ethan’s partnership with Randy, an old university friend and colleague. Throw Maddy onto the mix, a lodger-cum-babysitter-cum-love interest, and you have a funny, thought-provoking tale.

I was less keen on the change of perspective at the end but I think it is necessary. I won’t say more about the build-up to this but it’s pretty monumental - you’ll have to read it to find out.

I’ll miss this book - it’s one of those reads that you keep coming back to, wanting to travel the next stage of the journey with the characters, and that’s no bad thing. In fact, it’s very much the mark of a great read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the complimentary advance review copy of this book.
I loved this book. It tells the story of Ethan and Zo, a married couple who moved from New York into the suburbs, and are navigating life with a young daughter. The story weaves in the #MeToo movement, protesting, the digital age, the outcome of the 2016 Presidential Election and the effect it had (and continues to have) on society, societal divides, parenthood, and the fall out from the past catching up with Zo and Ethan. It’s brilliantly written and really engrossing.

A sucker punch from the first page and impossible to put down, "The Smash-Up" is truly something special. It's a commentary for our times; the zeitgeist in book form. It's about the world and marriage, family and friendships, the state of politics. It's about activism and anger - a literary feminist firecracker. Brilliant, brave and current, Benjamin's book beautifully articulates what most of us are thinking. She also presents an unflinchingly honest depiction of living with a child with ADHD and the terror of watching them navigate the world. "The ones who" sections are extremely powerful. Every woman needs an All Them Witches group - a diverse bunch of women coming together for a common goal. I did not expect to end this book in tears yet here we are. And Zo's two book proposals? We need those too. "The Smash-Up" is a phenomenal debut. I read most of it without knowing anything of Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome" which inspired this novel but it didn't diminish the experience. Read it and pass it on.