3.5 I think if the story had stopped in the middle I would have given this a 4. The first part of the story follows wild Missy, the only girl in a punk band in the 90s, and her mother Carola who left her as a young girl. The book is bisected by a very brief story of Ruth's, Missy's grandmother's, journey coming to America, surviving an unhappy and almost abusive marriage, finding love at an older age, and taking control of her life. Then we are thrust back into the lives of Missy and Carola decades later where wild Missy's lifestyle and desires have changed and she is reunited and builds a new relationship with her mother. I found both character's transformations disappointing and the second half of the book seemed to drag and feel disconnected from the first half. Nevertheless, this is an interesting book as a commentary on sex, womanhood, and motherhood.

The Spectacular, by Zoe Whittal, is the story of three women who struggle with the demands placed on women as mothers. The story begins with Missy, a cellist and rock band musician who is desperately seeing a tubal ligation before heading out on her first tour when she is twenty-two. She wants to be sexually free and free of the fear of pregnancy. The second woman is Carola, living at an ashram as it’s collapsing into a public sex scandal. She sees the daughter she left behind when she fled her marriage and commune on the cover of a music magazine. Then there is Ruth, Carola’s mother-in-law and Missy’s grandmother who at the age of 83 discovers what all the fuss is about with sex. She is diagnosed with cancer and wants to fight it on her own terms by returning to Turkey to die. Like Missy, all the women face the question of whether to have a child or have an abortion, even when it was illegal in Canada.

The story progresses like a beaded necklace, alternating the narrative between Missy and Nicola, first in the late 90s with a centerpiece, a lavalier of chapters about Ruth, and then another string of alternating chapters about Nicola and Missy in the present. It follows their journey as they find themselves and each other.

I enjoyed The Spectacular. I cared about the women, even though at times they seemed determined to ruin their lives. The underlying theme of what it means to be a woman in a world with certain expectations is fertile ground. Missy, Nicola, and Ruth are not your typical women, in fiction or reality, but their dilemmas are all too common. Clearly, these three generations of women struggle to liberate themselves from expectations, each in their own way.

These are deeply realized and individual characters. Perhaps that is why I struggled a bit to keep reading at the beginning. Missy is just so determined to be as free as the men in the band, she is a jerk, reckless with other’s feelings, determined to reject intimacy, and heedless of the consequences. In a way, she acted like a stereotype. The Missy in the present is so much nicer. It might seem easy to judge Nicola at first, a mother leaving behind a six-year-old child, but Whittal deftly makes her decision understandable.

The Spectacular is the second book by Whittal I have read. She seems to be drawn to the deeply volatile issues of modern society and writes about them in ways that fill in the black and white political fault lines with all the shades of gray.

The Spectacular will be released on September 14th. I received an e-galley through NetGalley.

The Spectacular at Ballantine Books | Penguin Random House
Review of The Best Kind of People
Zoe Whittal author site

Interesting tale of three women related by blood but very different lives. Enjoyable journey through each of their stories. I mostly related to Carola. Not just age-wise but a lot of her quirks.

The Spectacular is my first book by this author and the synopsis had me really excited to read it!

I love the idea of alternating points of view from three generations of women defying tradition and going about things their own way. I enjoyed many things about this story, but I felt like the main point of the story was about motherhood and I felt very like connection between Missy and her mother.

I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free copy.
The Spectacular is a novel that follows the main character, Missy, through her life as a rock star as a young adult, and then jumps to her life as a much older woman living a life different than she thought she would have when she was younger. There are other perspectives shared through the eyes of her mother and grandmother. The writing is beautiful and whimsical, describing intergenerational trauma and what it is like to grow up in a cult, but it does not follow a traditional story line. I finished reading this story and was ready to give it four or even five stars, but the more I thought about it, the more I was duped by the magical writing.
There is nothing wrong with the book not having a cohesive message. It simply follows the lives of humans, and very few of our lives actually follow a traditional story plot. However, I wish it had addressed the opening and the closing scenes better. Basically, in the beginning of the book, Missy is turned down from a hysterectomy by a doctor who tells her that she will regret it. By the end of the book, it is uncertain whether she is grateful to the doctor for turning her down due to the series of events that unfold in the last half of the book.
It does have some good trans rep and questioning rep, although I am reluctant to recommend this book as an LGBTQIA+ book since they were minor elements of the story.
Overall, this was a beautifully written book, and I hope that you give it a try if it interests you!

Spectacular is the perfect title for this book!
The story of a refugee grandmother, a hippie mother and a rock star daughter, each very different from the other. Abandoning, coming together and pushing each other away, living apart, yet each one was always on their minds.
I loved each character's story. Very believable narrative and so well written!
I felt totally engaged and fascinated the whole time.
The last section dragged a bit for me, but not enough to tear myself away and get on with my life, until I finished reading this book!

This was an interesting story about 3 generations of women and the shifting views of feminism throughout time. While it tried hard to be feminist, it felt lacking in a major way at the end (no spoilers here). I wish the ending was different.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes a novel just doesn’t connect with me as a reader, this was one. I started it and returned to it several times, but was unable to dig into to it.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

The idea behind this book was spectacular, but sadly the execution didn't live up to it's name. I love the idea of alternating points of view from three generations of women defying tradition and going about things their own way. From the beginning I connected with Missy, but I had a hard time getting into her mother's tale. The connection between the two felt disjointed (perhaps because the characters themselves weren't in contact) and it took me a little while to get into the story. It felt like just when I got into things, Ruth's voice kicked in and I was starting over.

I think this book could have been great, and could have made some powerful points about women's expectations. However, it felt like motherhood was the most important topic on all these women's minds and they all ultimately centered their lives around their children. A book aimed at defying tradition falls short when it shows women fulfilling the most traditional duty of their sex.

Three women.... They all tried to establish themselves and their needs in the different ways that were best for each. One decided to end things in her own terms, somewhere that was near and dear to her heart. The other made the hardest decision knowing that staying might be worst than leaving. And the last one thought she knew what to do after seeing two different examples. All these women had legitimate reasons to make the decisions they made, and it wasn't up to anyone to judge them for doing what's best for them.

Ruth wanted to go back to Turkey instead of going under chemotherapy. She wanted to see her childhood home before it was too late. Carola left Melissa with her husband and departed from the commune for good. Melissa, Missy, knew that she should be the indie rock star with no attachments (those attachments being family) and live a rockstar life. First one got her wish. Second one questioned her losses but still was okay with her decision. Third one... this was more of her story of going through same steps that her grandmother and mother did.

I liked the way the story and the chapters were structured: mother-daughter duo's stories were intertwined, while grandmother's story was a turning point in the middle without being interfered with anyone else's story. If you like multigenerational stories that were heavily influenced by historical events and/or eras, this is highly recommended.

The characters of this book are excellent. Missy is amazing. The only problem I had with this book was that sometimes it was hard to understand point of view. I definitely will not forget the ferocity of this novel though.

This story is a look back at the changing gender revolutions going on in the 1980s and 90s. It looks at three generations of women and how their lives have played out. Missy is 22, the lead singer in a band out on tour. She’s not managing her life particularly well - pregnant, doing drugs, having sex with all and sundry. Her mother, Carola, had walked out of her life on a commune when her daughter was just a child, leaving Missy behind. In 1997, she’s caught up in a sex scandal at an ashram. Ruth is 83, having been a real presence in Missy’s life and having introduced her to the cello.
I wasn’t sure what to make of any of these women. All are trying to find their “authentic lives”, to quote the book description. But what happens when seeking your best life means hurting others? All at various times are called on to make decisions about being a mother.
The book felt divided in half and I much preferred the first half. The second half moves to 2013. Ruth is dead, Carola is some sort of self awareness guru, Missy all of a sudden wants to be a mother. The first half of the book seemed much edgier. It tackled the idea that not everyone wants to or should be a mother. Now, we’re subjected to Missy’s ticking biological clock. It seemed to meander more in the second half.
The problem I had was that I never quite connected with any of the women for long periods of time. Having never wanted my own children, I expected to connect, given the way the book started. But the second half of the book was such an about face, it threw me.
This was just an ok story. Nothing special. Nothing to deserve the title. It didn’t live up to my expectations after what I thought was a really strong opening.
My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advance copy of this book.

I see where this was going and talking about motherhood & babies and family. But I just didn't love it. The language was vulgar and there was just so much talk of sex that it rubbed me the wrong way. Don't get me wrong the characters are interesting and they draw you in. This just wasn't my favorite.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

This novel could've been something well, spectacular, if weren't for the annoying characters. I can't even say that I enjoyed the writing. Very vulgar and childish prose. The estranged mother and daughter made me want to tear my eyes out. Ugh. Only the grandma is the sensible one. I love writing reading about dysfunctional families, but this one is just insufferable.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for the digital ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was a very good book, centering around three generations of women. Missy, the main character, grows up in a commune ( although it is called an intentional community) in the book. Her mother, Carola, leaves when Missy is thirteen. Her paternal grandmother plays an important role in the story as Missy navigates life with her mother’s leaving always being an issue. The book follows Missy through adulthood as she rockets to stardom in a band along with the accompanying stereotypes of sex, drugs and rock and roll (or “punk” rock as the author is quick to remind us throughout the book). For those who don’t like a lot of sex scenes in their books, not to worry. While the book refers to sex, the acts are not depicted. Well written, the book held my interest even though I almost put it aside at the beginning. Hang in there. I recommend it.

Special thanks to Random House Publishing, Ball and one Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really liked this book! Maybe because I just lost my mother. Told from 3 points of view, Missy, her mother Carola, and her grandmother Ruth.. This book covers a lot of things, mostly just stories of the three women. I felt like it was mostly told by Missy, who became famous due to a song she wrote about her mom. Missy has a lot of men, one in every town, til she falls for tomboy in her band. This book covers abortion, sex scandal, gender, and starts out spectacularly. But then it fast forwards 16 yrs forward and I felt the writing became all aboutmenopause, diapers and all the spectacular parts of this book stopped.it had a glorious beginning though. I loved it because I just lost my mother but I don't see how everyone will love it. From the middle to the end. It felt like another author sat in and wrote the rest of the book. Yes it got more modern, more queerish, but also more like a tick rocking biological clock for me!. Its perfect for a mother or a mother who you do t know what gift to give.

Give her this book! 4 stars!

A generational novel featuring a young musician, a strong grandmother with a diagnosis and a mother extricating herself from a cult.

I really enjoyed the first third of the book and was quite taken with the band scenes and stories. Personally though, I do not think life revolves around pregnancy and babies and I was quite tired of the back and forth on the topic by the end. Missy was well drawn and interesting but I did sometimes confuses mom and grandma's chapters as they did not seem to have distinct voices.

I think this book would be a great read for those in their early thirties considering motherhood - those that enjoy multigenerational stories and contemporary flavor. For me, the initial setting and ideas behind the novel were quite engaging but it really distilled down to motherhood and that's just not for me.

THE SPECTACULAR is perhaps my favorite book so far in 2021. It tells the story of Missy, a cellist in a rock band and her mother, Carola (aka Juniper). Missy grew up in a commune and Juniper abandoned her when she was just thirteen. Much of Missy's self-identity is shaped by these events. The story is told in alternating chapters between Carola and Missy and spans multiple decades. These characters are so well developed that they feel like people you know. It is also a beautiful exploration of what is means to be both a mother and a daughter. I loved every page. I should mention that Whitall's other recent novel THE BEST KIND OF PEOPLE was also a great read.

As Missy, a young, daring, wild child cello player, embarks on a US tour with her band, her relationship with her mother and her grandmother weigh heavily on her day in and day out. Abandoned by her mother, raised on a commune and by her strict grandmother, Missy had difficulty finding her way. But as time unfolds, and the multi-generational story takes us through the 90s, the 20s, and the 2010s, Missy, Carola and Ruth all come together to find out they have more in common than they ever realized. A journey of self discovery and love, Missy and her family take years to find themselves, but they do it together.

this novel has some really cool explorations of motherhood. it was a pretty good read but i don't think it was exactly meant for me. 3/5. would recommend it to someone else.