A small community in Connecticut. Three couples of middle age all have their respective struggles: Margot has never gotten over the loss of her baby girl, their three sons can only make up so much for this; while she is grieving, her husband Richard is having extramarital affairs to forget about his homely negative mood. Gunter and Rachel are new to the small place, the Swede has serious problems of adaptation and can only wonder about the small town Americans, whereas his wife Rachel tries to be supermom and get her children into the prestigious Petra school. Virginia’s daughter already attends this institution but the mother is starting to wonder if the place is actually a good choice while her husband Trip has developed an end of time fear and wants his family to be prepared for the worst case which is sure to come soon. While the parents are occupied with themselves, their kids are educated in a quite unique institution with very special educational views.

Bethany Ball paints a rather gloomy picture of three middle-aged families. The love at first sight and life on cloud number nine is only a faint memory, if they are still interested in their partner, this is more out of convenience than out of love. Their children are strange creatures with which they have rather complicated relationships and whom they do not seem to understand at all. Life does not have much to offer outside the big city and so, consequently, the turn into “The Pessimists”.

It is upper class white suburbia life that the novel ridicules: the invite the “right” people to dibber parties even though they hate barbecuing and do not even like their guests. The women are reduced to being housewives even though they had successful careers in the city, yet, these are not compatible with life in a small town. They are not even aware of how privileged they are, they feel depressed and deceived by life, seemingly none of them got what they expected from life. Apart from being miserable, they pretend that all is best in their life to keep up the picture they want the others to see. Only brief glances behind the facade allow the truth to show.

This rather dark atmosphere is broken up repeatedly by episodes of Petra school. It is the absolutely exaggerated picture of an alternative institution which actually does not take education too seriously, but is highly occupied with spiritual well-being and a lifestyle nobody can ever stick too. The information mails they send out to the parents are simply hilarious and made me laugh out loud more than once – however, I don’t doubt that such places might actually exist.

A satire of small town America which is funny on the one hand but quite serious regarding the message behind the superficial storyline.

I flew through this one! A quiet read - dark and yet funny (satire) about an alternative school and the privileged couples/families within it. I was drawn to these characters and their hidden sadness and desires - and secrets - so many secrets. The writing is top notch. So grateful to Grove Books for the copy. - I really liked this one. Read it!

This smart satire looks at small community in Connecticut that seems to embody the ideal place to live. We are first introduced to the characters as couples and how they want to be seen, but their exterior begins to peel away to reveal extramarital affairs, mental health issues and even an end of days arsenal. This book explores the dark side of privilege, wealth, suburbia all with keen wit and carefully drawn characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the advanced review copy.

I absolutely love books like this. Multiple characters all intersecting, all with their own secrets, lies and half truths. "The Pessimists" did not disappoint, and actually exceeded my already high expectations.

Margot, Virginia, and Rachel (married to Richard, Tripp and Gunter) all live in a small town in CT right outside New York City, and send their kids to the ultra progressive Petra School, which is seemingly built on emotions and feelings rather than standardized testing and multiplication tables. Each couple struggles with finances, raising children, and their own obsessions (which include survivalist methods, cars and each other) as they attempt to navigate the pressures of growing old together.

I read this incredibly fast because I couldn't put it down, and I was very satisfied with the ending. I would highly recommend this to any and all readers, but honestly, especially mothers.

An absolutely wonderful book with fully developed characters and a story line that we can all relate to-you don't want to miss it.

Rich (and richish) white people problems can be really fun when done right, Think Big Little Lies or The Nest (which I loved), but this is dark satire rather than a mystery.

This is a character driven novel that’s witty, and, at times funny, but I couldn’t find myself feeling invested in any of the three couples. A story without likable characters is interesting conceptually, but the author has to give the reader something to care about, a reason to keep reading. I kept on going in search of it. For purposes of this review, I wanted to find it, but it just wasn’t there.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy in exchange for my review.

I'll be the outlier here. This is a familiar tale- a satirical look at privileged suburban families and the school their children attend. It's unique only in the three families but even they are, in their way, tropes. There are secrets, there are lies, there is competition, there is quiet desperation. This will please those who haven't read any of the avalanche of novels with these themes and to be fair, it is chuckleworthy in spots. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Ball has a great writing style; I enjoyed her first novel and look forward to the next one.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

1.5 stars

I'm not quite sure what the point of this book was.
I like to read about white rich families that look perfect on the outside but aren't.
But I felt that this book doesn't have a plot, we just follow the lives of these 3 families and what they have most in common is being friends and the weird school their kids go to.
I don't mind just following people's lives if they have interesting lives, but I felt that the author got lost at various points in this book.
The beginning of the book was boring, then it got interesting than boring again and I was waiting for something to happen, anything substantial other than the small details of everyday life.
What bothered me the most was that in the end almost nothing was resolved, several ends were loose, and without explanation.
The weird school had no role whatsoever in the story apart from being weird and wrong.
The author tried to give an end to the families but I didn't like it because it felt so shallow.
I don't recommend this book because I feel that there's nothing in it, besides being a quick read, I feel like I wasted a bit of my time reading it but it could have been worse!

I wish I would've enjoyed this novel more. It was very middle of the road for me. I know a lot of readers don't mind this, but I don't like dialogue that's not in quotation marks. It makes it confusing and difficult to keep track of who's saying what.

Also, there were too many characters. Too much switching back and forth between narratives. This book was all over the place. The only thing I really liked was the overall tone of this novel. The author did a good job setting up the premise and vibe she wanted to convey.

I feel like this book could've been something impactful and special. Ultimately, the writing style lacked consistency and depth.

Thank you, Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital ARC.

I could not wait to end this novel. It left me dissatisfied. The various couples storylines were very confusing. Many others raved about this novel, I am in the minority. Thanks for the ARC Net Galley.

Suburban America is an insane place. I have never been there, but it feels very familiar thanks to many great TV shows (Big Little Lies) and movies (American Beauty). This fun, smart and fast novel also seems made to be adapted for TV. It centres around three couples in Connecticut who all send their children to a wildly expensive private school where kids basically don’t have to learn anything but are allowed to just be children. All six parents have their issue, as couples and as individuals. And whilst there is not too much plot (in the sense of a red threat), it is clear that the status-quo is unsustainable and something has to give.

I was absorbed in the story from page 1 and finished it in three evenings. It’s mostly a lot of fun, but at times also serious and thought-provoking. The only small criticism I would have is that the ending felt a bit abrupt – with very little left the story could still go anywhere. I wouldn’t have minded an additional 100 pages in this case (or better: a second season!).

Very highly recommended, 4,5

“The Pessimists” is a biting satire about white affluent New England suburbanites who appear to have it all. Perfect houses, perfect children, perfect marriages – perfect lives. But barely scratch the surface, and you’ll see these facades are just for show. Infidelity, infertility, cancer, mental health, antisemitism, these folks are dealing with it all in spades. And at the center of it all, the exclusive Petra School, the supposed pinnacle of progressive education, which plays an outsized role in all their lives.

Bethany Ball’s sophomore novel follows three couples in this darkly satirical look at what happens when affluence and privilege go unchecked. None of these characters is particularly likeable, but I don’t think they’re supposed to be. Each of the characters is selfish and self-absorbed in some way. The culty private school and its domineering headmistress Agnes are an allegory about materialism, aspiration, and the fallout from making children the controlling focus in the family. Delivered in a spare, breezy writing style, this story of modern dysfunction is provocative, insightful, and a delight to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me an advance copy of this book.

The Pessimists is a great sophomore novel! Dark and satirical it shows the complex reality of parenting in a sort of Gilmore Girls setting. Really fun but also confrontational and I can definitely recommend!

I found this to be a difficult novel to read for many reasons. I almost gave up but did see it through. I am not a fan of the third person writing style and found this one to be very jumpy back and forth. This is a pre publication so things may change. I felt as though the author could not quite make up her mind what direction to take this in. There was the School story, the prepper story and the unhappy suburbanites story. It never really came together in a satisfying way.

This novel is about three white, wealthy families that live in Connecticut.
It is centered around a very expensive alternative and unconventional school that their children go to.
We see their every day life, their relationship with the other couples, their dissatisfaction with their life choices, the secrets they keep, and also their pain.
I really did not love a single character in this book, but it was a very addicting read for me, hard to put down!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC!

I liked the every bit of satire in this book: the people, their lifestyle, "hobbies", first world problems, weird schools, eating habits, tackling problems, and many more tiny yet cringe-worthy things about them.... Every page I flipped I muttered "seriously?!", but also I loved how Bethany Ball's story telling made me say that while probably she was laughing at these people too.

Petra School and Agnes... These are the two names you need to know. These two names are the root of all first world problems and CT suburbanite troubles. Sure, schools are important. They shape their immediate neighbours and our society, but sometimes people need to be careful about the type of impact. Not every person who can dictate something is a person to follow.

I laughed so much at these people's naiveté and/or superiority complex because they can live in good houses and afford college tuition for a not so educative daycare. It's a great reflection of our society and its members who do not know where to spend their money or pretend to spend their non-existent wealth. It might not be relatable at personal level, but I'm sure you know people like these

I guess miserable white suburbanites is one of my favorite genres or tropes because this was an unputdownable book for me. It was a breezy read while showing us people’s lives falling apart -how did Ball balance that? I could see these (sometimes moronic, sometimes insecure) characters and (antisemetic and anti-vax) school come to life and I wanted to know what absurd things were going to happen next. A great balance of humor, sadness, and satire. Why yes, everyone is going through the same ridiculousness. It's ok.

Three couples in suburbia each character comes alive .We follow their lives their marriages told in a satirical manner.At the core of this town a school with an allegedly wondrous progressive school program.a book that involved entertained from the beginning pages.#netgalley #groveatlantic,

In The Pessimists, we follow 3 white couples living in suburban USA and how their lives are affected by each other, by the secrets that they keep, and by the unconventional school which is at the center of the community and of the story. The book takes a satirical look at the everyday suburban life which coupled with the over descriptiveness took some time for me to really get into but by the end, I was really enjoying it. One thing that stood out to me was the way the Swedish character was depicted, as it sometimes felt as if the author couldn’t really decide what nationality to give to the character so said character ended up with some mix (or maybe that was the point, I couldn’t really tell).

actual rating: 3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for sending me an advanced copy.

A bunch of dissatisfied, dysfunctional suburbanite friends and the private school that ties them all together. Another book that is supposed to be humorous that I found no humor in. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, except maybe Virginia. I honestly don't even know what to say about it. I am in the minority here as it seems well liked by everyone but me, but it left me feeling somewhat drained.