he 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

Three women, three generations, three looks at the same topic.....should every woman have children? The Spectacular opens with a young woman, Missy, struggling with this question. Her own mother deserted her when she was young and she doesnt want to make the same mistakes. Fate laughs. Missy is now pregnant and stranded in Vancouver where she finds, Carola, her mother's picture in the newspaper. As she tries to decide whether to contact her or not, her mother sees Missy's picture in a music magazine. Their reunion is not an especially joyous one so Missy heads to her grandmother's home. Ruth is Carola's mother in law and has never approved of her. How these three women interact is a darn good story.
Then we move forward 20 years to see how these women have fared. Ruth is dead, leaving Carola as the only motherhood model for Missy. It's almost comical to see how the mother/ daughter interact.
The first sections of the story moved quickly and were engrossing. The after 20 years sections almost seem forced. This is a good, not great book because of it. It is still well worth your reading time. I'm definitely sharing with my reading circle for their opinions too.

This book is really hard to describe. Part rock'n'roll, part social commentary on gender stereotypes but ultimately it is a well written novel with engaging characters that kept me reading late into the night. I finished it in one day. I didn't realize how invested I was in the characters until I finished reading it and wanted to know more about them. Highly recommended

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books/Random Penguin House for gifting me a copy of the latest novel by Zoe Whittall - 4 spectacular stars!

Told over multiple timelines and points of view, this book explores motherhood over three generations of women. In 1997, Missy is 22, on tour with her band, and convinced that she will never want to be a mother. She is not in contact with her own mother, Carola, since she left Missy and her father on a commune when Missy was very young. Carola is now living at a yoga center and dealing with a scandal concerning the leader. Missy's grandmother, Ruth, is 83 and planning a trip back to Turkey where she grew up.

We go on the life journeys with these three women, each struggling with alternative lifestyles and the thought of being a mother and all that entails. It was fascinating to see how each woman changed as she grew older, through their varied and similar life experiences. I enjoyed reading about each of these women, even if their choices wouldn't have been mine. These characters felt real and you could understand where each of them were coming from that guided their decisions. Another thought-provoking book from this author!

I know I'm going to be the odd one out but this tale of three generations of women left me cold. Missy, Carola, and Ruth are all conflicted about motherhood. At the start of the novel, Missy wants to get her tubes tied but in a turnabout, she's desperate for a child in the second half. Her mother Carola essentially ran away from being her mother. Then there's the matriarch Ruth. The writing is good and it's what kept me reading because I honestly didn't like this family. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

The Spectacular (Zoe Whittall) jumps from the mother Carola ("Juniper"), the daughter Melissa ("Missy"), and has a little bit of Missy's paternal grandmother thrown in for good measure. Commune living, yoga retreats, and an on tour rock band are the backgrounds for this story which contains quite a bit of sex. I want to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy to review.

This was a great book. It explores the stories of three women -- Missy, the member of an indie rock band; her mother, Carola, who left her family to live and work at a yoga retreat; and her grandmother, Ruth, who helped raise Missy after a complicated childhood and early adulthood of her own. Each are at a crossroads as we meet them and, through the story, we see the path that led them to that point and then what the future has in store for them. A terrific exploration of identity, relationships, and family.

Highly recommended!

An interesting exploration of gender and motherhood and the idea of motherhood and the duty of motherhood. Are we, as women, made to be mothers - regardless of sexuality? Are we as a gender just...supposed to naturally want to be mothers?

Split into two sections - we follow three women and their choices and how they further affect later generations. It's an interesting study into gender but is it "spectacular'? Not really. it's good.

Thanks NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I just couldn’t really get into this one. And to be honest, I kind of forgot why I requested it at all. It just wasn’t for me.

A story that will resonate with women everywhere. A multi-generational tale of 3 women and the choices they have made to navigate life.

This story follow 3 women, joined by blood. Missy, the daughter, a rock star with a sad background, trying to come to turns with her sexuality, fame and abandonment. Trying to find her voice and self thru it all. Carola, the mom, a free spirit who is running from the demands of her free thinking life and motherly duties. Ruth (my favorite) the grandmother, ahead of her time in her thinking and dealing with an all too familiar scenario for a women in her time. This story is beautifully written, tackling some tough issues that women face. Not necessarily an easy read due to its subject matter, but I was captivated by these women. Keep an open mind reading this book. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I look forward to reading this author again.

Thanks to Ms. Whittall, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. The characters did not seem real and the dialogue felt forced.

I often struggle to enjoy literary fiction, as the lack of a plot leaves me feeling directionless and the characters can tend to veer into whiny and unsympathetic territory. Even though this book didn’t have much “happening” plot-wise it was still a page-turner for me and I wanted to know where the characters were going. Both Missy and her mom Carola could have felt incredibly annoying, but to me they felt real. I enjoyed the perspectives on gender and how the author handled it in a really multi-faceted way. I was not surprised on reading the author’s note that she has a writing credit on Schitt’s Creek. The way lesbian and trans characters were included was very reminiscent of Schitt’s Creek - no big deal made, just part of everyday life. I loved this book and would recommend it widely to progressive-minded friends.

Three generations of women, searching for their own version of happiness and fulfillment. The story opens with Missy in her 20’s in a punk rock band, her mother Carola in her 40’s tucked away working in an Ashram and Ruth, Carola’s mother-in-law and Missy’s grandmother in her 60’s. Told in multiple POV’s, this book showcases each character, their childhood, their views on marriage and motherhood and the way that their past experiences have shaped their future.

This is a story of motherhood and feminism. Each character struggles with being a mom and the responsibility that comes with it. Carola, along with Ruth’s son, Bryce, start a commune called Sunflower after they marry young. All the dreams for shared work and shared lives ended up being more than Carola could handle as she became the only “responsible” one in the commune and was tasked with handling basically everything. Unfortunately for Missy, Carola decided her only solution was to walk away from the commune, and her family. Although she is a somewhat unlikeable character, the author really gives insight into how her decisions were based on her own childhood and relationship with her distant mother and alcoholic father.

Missy is fully intent on never being a mother based on her own experience. She embraces the freedom of being on the road and is quite promiscuous. Another result of her abandonment during childhood I thought. Always needing for someone to want her. She questions her sexuality and it was interesting to learn that it was something her mother also wrestled with. Missy struggles with relationships outside of her band and runs from commitment. The middle of the book jumps about 15 years, and I felt that jump was too jarring. She jumps from being a touring punk rock band member to being married and is thinking that now she would like to be a mother. She flip flops back and forth on that throughout the last half of the book. She is known for her hard exterior, but the author shows that as her defense mechanism. Yet another result of being left by her mother so young – it’s easier to act like you don’t care.

Last but not least is Ruth. Her backstory was very interesting, growing up in Turkey, getting married and having to escape Turkey with her son and husband (and his mistress!). Her marriage falls apart and her relationship with Bryce was consuming. She doted on him as her only child, and that is part of what led to the demise of Carola and Bryce’s relationship. Ruth steps in when Carola walks away from her family. She was an integral party of Missy’s life as she was growing up and their relationship was strong. She is instrumental in trying to repair the fractured relationship between Carola and Missy.

All three women were strong female protagonists. The conversations about expectations of what a woman should be and/or want were insightful. The generational differences were interesting and showed how each woman tried to escape current society norms. Abortion and mothering were large themes that weaved throughout. I really enjoyed this gritty female drama – but I did feel that the story was little more riveting during the first half - the second half had a different and almost contradictory vibe. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House- Ballentine for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 9.14.21

It took a bit for me to really engage with this book and its characters. However, after the first few chapters, it was easier to connect and I was intrigued by these three generations of women and the way they engaged (or not) with motherhood. Each character was distinct and the author tied their stories together with excellent details, such as Missy's mom revealing she hadn't seen her daughter for many years--that is, until she sees Missy on a magazine cover.

This novel follows three generations of women, each related and each searching for ways to navigate a world that is not always supportive of women. There’s Missy, busy touring with her rock and roll band who wants control over her body. There’s Carola who has sought out solace in an ashram only to be there when the community she’s a part of falls apart. And finally, there’s Ruth, who in her seniority has a sexual awakening. The book explores women’s sexuality, autonomy and feminism. At times, there was a lot happening, a lot of threads to follow, but the lyrical writing was beautiful and the themes prescient. Thank you to Random House and Ballantine Books for the advanced review copy.

Zoe Whittall is one of my favourite Canadian authors. I have read, and given five stars, to both [book:The Best Kind of People|29220492] and [book:The Middle Ground|7284112]. This is a story of three generations of women from the same family. I loved the writing in this book, all three characters were so real and flawed but all three women were strong, had dreams and hopes for the future and just wanted to live their best lives. This is a book with many themes but motherhood and feminism is at the forefront and Zoe Whittall manages to get her point across without hitting you over the head with it.

The story is also very inclusive, there are many different types of people represented in the book, especially from the LGBTQ community. I appreciated that the author did this. The many characters in this book were eye opening to me and I will remember them for a long time. The pilot itself is well developed and multilayered, it was very literary and written with such lyrical prose. If you enjoy intelligent, witty writing with a message this is the book for you.

Thanks for giving me the chance to review this book.

Honestly, at first, I almost through in the towel with the first chapter, but I kept going. I found it hard to get my attention, but continued.
The book is about 2 women, coming from different generations, and the struggles they faced as women.
First, we have Missy, a young woman who badly wants to have her tubes tied and struggling to find a doctor who will perform the surgery due to her young age. But she is determined. She is a band, and wants her freedom.
Her Mother, Carola, left Missy at a young age, and her Grandma, (Ruth). They all have parts in this plot.

In closing, I did end up liking the book

There was A LOT going on in this book. Including three generations of women made comparisons between the decades noticeable but I was just not interested in Ruth's storyline. I loved this book for the portraying the messiness around opinions (personal and others') on motherhood and identity and the "in your face" style of writing, but I just can't get behind the idea that at the end of the novel Missy is thankful to have not had her tubes tied. That just lines up with the "you'll regret it later" societal responses rather than the "women can choose what happens to their bodies" narrative for the rest of the book.

This book has an intriguing premise, exploring changing attitudes about women toward family, romance, and love. The story revolves around the loves of three generations of women as they fight against the expectations of society as they search for their own identity. I wish I’d felt more of a connection to the women, as that would have made the story more enjoyable for me.