Great story of a woman, Fanny Fabricant, struggling to follow the ideals set for women of the 40's/50's and the yearning to be what she wants to be. Fanny thought she was in the ideal situation, a loving husband returned from the war and a darling daughter. That is until tragedy took her husband away, leaving her to begin a new and different life for herself and Chloe. With the help of her women's designer and "colorful" Aunt Rose, she is able to find employment that helps her and Chloe to live independently from family assistance. This awakens in Fanny the need to become her own woman and she finds she enjoys her job, and the rouge scriptwriter Charlie. To complicate her feelings is a love-interest of Chloe's pediatrician, Ezra, who has his own ideas of what a woman's place is in a family dynamic. This era of McCarthyism and blacklisting lends a backdrop to the story that enhances the characters as they struggle with ideas and desires for their futures. A very interesting book with likeable as well as sometimes entertaining characters. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley #TheTroubleWithYou

Important things you need to know about The Trouble with You:

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (mainly Fannie, but the author occasionally switches to Chloe).

Trigger Warnings: The Trouble with You contains sexism, grief, death, PTSD, and antisemitism. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is mild swearing in The Trouble with You. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Setting: The Trouble with You is set in New York City.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

In post-World War II New York City, Fannie lives her best life. Her husband is home from the war. They had just bought a house on the outskirts of New York City and were blissfully happy. But that all ends the night when Max suffers an aneurysm and dies in Fannie’s arms. Now a widow with a small child to care for, Fannie needs to bring income in. She soon lands a job as a secretary for a woman who runs radio serials. There, she is introduced to a whole new world that fascinates her. But, with the blacklist ongoing and HUAC running rampant, she is also afraid that her life could be torn apart as quickly as she built it back up. When one of the writers, a handsome man named Charlie, gets blacklisted, Fannie takes that opportunity to move ahead in her job. But with HUAC breathing down her neck, can Fannie do it? Can Fannie make a life for her daughter and herself and find love? Or will McCarthyism and helping a blacklisted writer be her downfall?

My review:

I rarely read books set in the years between World War II and the Vietnam War. So, when Saint Martin’s Press emailed the widget to me, and I read the blurb, I was very intrigued. I have heard of HUAC and McCarthy mentioned in real life (through documentaries), but I have yet to read a book set in that era. So, I decided to download The Trouble with You. I was pleasantly surprised because this was a fascinating look into the early roots of feminism and going against what society (at that time) expected a woman to be.

The main storyline in The Trouble with You follows Fanny and Chloe throughout their lives. It was a well-written, often heartbreaking story that kept me glued to the book. I ran the gauntlet of emotions while reading, and yes, that is a good thing!!

I enjoy reading books where I can see a character grow from child to adult, and The Trouble with You is that type of book and I got to see that with Chloe. But I also liked seeing how Fanny changed. She went from a grief-stricken young widow who didn’t have any work experience to a woman who wasn’t afraid to take charge and get what she wanted. That was something that I enjoyed reading because the author made it so life-like. Things didn’t happen from Fanny overnight. No, she had to work to get where she was in the radio serial field.

There was romance and a love triangle in The Trouble with You. At one point, Fanny was engaged to one man but in love with another and still grieving her dead husband. It was a cluster. But Fanny sorted it all out and ended up with the right guy.

The angle that explored McCarthyism and HUAC was fascinating to me. As I mentioned above, this was something that I had seen in documentaries. Having a book that had several of the characters deal with the blacklisting and trials was pretty amazing. The author didn’t tone it down, either. I had chills when I read the scene when the HUAC agents interrogated Fanny at her job.

I also liked that there was a feminist angle to the book. I adored Aunt Rose. She was light years ahead of time with some of her views. What she said during the bra-burning scene (at the end of the book) summed her up perfectly.

The end of The Trouble with You was the only part of the book I didn’t like. It did feel a little rushed. While I thought Fanny ended up with the right person, it didn’t gel with me. But other than that, I enjoyed the book.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Ellen Feldman for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Trouble with You. All opinions expressed in this review are mine.

Unfortunately, this book did not do it for me. The storyline was not that captivating, and the entire time I kept trying to figure out the meaning of the title.

I won't be recommending this book.

The Trouble with You by Ellen Feldman is an interesting piece of historical fiction set post WWII New York. It was a little slow in parts, but the growth of Fanny kept me glued to the story. Fanny had the perfect life until one day it tragically fell apart. She is college educated and set out to use her knowledge in the aftermath of losing her husband. She collected her inner strength when she landed a job and forged out into the workforce, even with the titter and gossip of other women. The struggles that Fanny overcame especially the stigma of being a single woman made her a strong female lead. Rosie, her aunt is a great support and quite the character herself.

If post WWII is of interest to you this is good book to add to your list.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman is an engaging and intelligent look back at American 1950s culture. WWII is over and the country is in a progressive economic period, but the prewar rules about women’s roles in the home and society are still in effect. It’s the story of Fanny, a twenty something widow and mother, who is caught between these expectations and the need to support herself and her child. It’s also, to a lesser extent, the story of Rose, Fanny’s aunt and surrogate mother, who was a woman way ahead of her time.
I absolutely loved Ms. Feldman’s portrayal of this period. That may be strongly due to the fact that this was the era of my childhood. But it was far more than nostalgia. I recalled everything with the view I had as a child and at the same time, the perspective I have as a mature adult. The refreshed and expanded experience was personally meaningful. It was a good thing to look at the past with appreciation for the culture of my childhood and for how far we have come since its barriers have been diminished.
This was a first book for me for this author. Her writing is cinematic, fast paced and full of snappy dialogue. It was easy to be immersed in the period and the story. I would definitely read anything Ms. Feldman writes.
Thank you to the author, the publisher St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the chance to read The trouble with you by Ellen Feldman. The premise is what drew me to request this book. Set in New York after the WWII it tells the story of Fanny, who loses her husband shortly after he comes home from the war. I found the beginning of the book really slow, and while it picked up in the middle, I thought the characters were shallow. As Fanny starts to work to support her daughter and herself, she ends up dealing with the HUAC (The House Committee on Un-American Activities) when she goes to work for a writer of radio soap operas. Overall this book was just an ok read, and I wasn't a fan of the ending. If you are interested in historicals dealing with the aftermath of WWII, the McCarthy era, and the beginning of Women's lib, you may enjoy this.

This is an engrossing read about life in NYC after WWII. Following Fanny whose life is turned upside down in an instant, the reader learns how women were treated in the post-war time period along with the palpable feel of McCarthyism. Fanny comes into her own as a modern, independent woman as she grapples with loss, motherhood, and finding love again. It’s a fast-paced read with great historical detail and complexity.

Interesting 50's novel

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Trouble with You". As a lady of a certain age, I was alive in the '50's but was too young to understand some of the issues of the era, the post-war return to the kitchen, the anti-communist era, the limited choices for women especially considering the number of war widows and other widows (as was our heroine). Makes one think!

Thank you to the publisher who lent me an e-arc via Netgalley. This review is optional and my own opinion.

In post-WWII New York we meet Fanny Fabricant, one of the lucky wives whose husband comes back from Europe and starts his career as a surgeon. Their daughter Chloe is a great character who get to see grow up through the years.

But Fanny isn't lucky for long when her husband dies suddenly after returning from a family wedding. Fanny has to move out of their home and into the job market. After a rough start she lands a job as a secretary for a producer of radio serials (not soaps!). She flourishes there and also makes friends with writers and actors, two in particular.

But in 1950's media, beware of Joe McCarthy and the "Red Scare". Fanny's friends are blacklisted and she is caught between doing nothing and trying to help without putting herself and daughter in danger. Fanny has also started dating and it is apparent that Ezra doesn't want a wife of his to work and yet Fanny has found much to enjoy in working.

It is a sign of the times the struggles that women had in the 1950's but so much of what occurred politically seems to be returning here, you must kiss the ring and tow the company line or you're a dissident and run out of town. I enjoyed the refences to HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) and how that affected people's lives than the romance in the novel. It was apparent early on how that would be resolved.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

During WWII, women had to find a new role in our world. Afterwards, many were caught between what they had created, and returning to the life they had prior to the war. Many were changed from having left the home and working. Fanny feels caught between two worlds, as many women did.

The author did a good job of allowing the reader to feel the pull to both sides, the life expected to a life of unknown adventures. I enjoyed the writing, but felt the book moved along slower than I prefer. I think for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, this is a great book that showcases the period of time immediately following WWII.

From the blurb:
Set in New York City in the heady aftermath of World War II, when the men were coming home, the women were exhaling in relief, and everyone was having babies, The Trouble with You is the story of Fanny Fabricant, whose rosy future is upended in a single instant. Educated for a career as a wife and mother, she is torn between her cousin Mimi, who is determined to keep her a “nice girl,” and her aunt Rose, who has a rebellious past of her own.

Forging a new life, she gets a job in radio serials. Then through her friendship with an actress who stars in and a man who writes the series, she comes face-to-face with the blacklist, which is wrecking lives.

Ultimately, Fanny must decide between playing it safe or doing what is right in this vivid evocation of a world that seems at once light-years away and strangely immediate.

It was interesting to me to read about this time period after WWII, the blacklist in the media, and the HUAC or House Un-American Activities Committee. Fanny was just like any other American housewife of the time until she's forced to go out and find a job during a time when women are expected to step aside and let the returning men fill the available jobs. She's looked down on by other women in her community, but with the support of an actress friend she becomes string and confident. The ending was a bit predictable but overall I really enjoyed this book.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for the advance copy of this book. The opinions in this review are my own and given voluntarily.

Ellen Feldman’s The Trouble with You brings post-WWII women’s roles and McCarthy Era blacklists to life. Educated in one of the famed Seven Sisters colleges, Florence “Fanny” Fabricant has been taught that a good education prepares young women to marry a successful man and raise intelligent children. Fanny has a good start in that direction when tragedy strikes, and she must support herself and her bright young daughter Chloe. With no job skills other than the ability to type, Fanny lands a secretarial job working for an editor overseeing radio series, THE popular entertainment of the day. Quickly learning that the series are never to be called “soaps,” Fanny meets others in the business, most notably a script writer and a voice actress. Through these two people, and her rebellious Aunt Rose, Fanny is introduced to McCarthyism and the blacklists that destroyed so many writers’ and performers’ careers.

Add to the House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) two attractive, but opposite men attracted to Fanny, who has been taught to follow the rules and make the safe choices. Ellen Feldman has devised a plot guaranteed to hold many a reader’s attention.

As a child in the 1950s and early 1960s, I was blissfully ignorant of McCarthyism until later history classes, but I well knew the expectations placed on young women. For example, I recall being told that one can attract more young men with cookies than with education. Fortunately, I didn’t listen, but I certainly understood the pressure on somewhat older young women to find a good husband and raise children as one’s life’s goal. Although I found The Trouble with You a bit slow at the start, it picked up, and I enjoyed Feldman’s chosen setting and the research that made it come alive. Equipped with an elite education, Fanny finds herself grappling with life experiences—with conflicting ideas and moral and personal choices.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advance reader copy of Ellen Feldman’s latest historical novel.

Shared on Goodreads and Barnes & Noble.

Fanny's husband passes away after coming home from the War. In her grief she is left to take care of her daughter, Chloe, and needs a job. Even though a college graduate she really only knows how to be a housewife. She has an amazing Aunt Rose who has lived a rather unconventional life and everyone needs an Aunt Rose to dole out the tough love. She finds Fanny a job working for a writer of radio serials typing up scripts. Parts of this were predictable but the characters at the studio were so lovely it just worked. In my mind I kept picturing the movie The Way We Were, the actors and all the hustle and bustle to produce a daily show. I felt the ending was interesting.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman is a fascinating novel about a young widow facing life alone in the early 1950’s. Fanny Fabricant is a senior at Barnard College when she meets her future husband, Max, a medical student at Columbia University. They marry in 1941 and about two years later he leaves Fanny and their eight-month-old daughter Chloe to join the military. Max survives the war but tragically dies at home in 1947. Fanny is left with a six-year-old daughter and a house she can’t afford. She turns to her stalworth Aunt Rose for guidance. Rose is a successful single woman with her own thriving alterations/design business. Although Rose has never been married, she enjoys life fully. She gives Fanny sound advice and models how to live a self-sufficient life. Fanny sells her house in the suburbs and moves to a small apartment in New York City. Rose helps Fanny get a job as the assistant to a woman who writes three successful daytime radio serials. Fanny’s new life begins to take shape. She enjoys her work and befriends the actors and writers. Unfortunately, some of her cronies are under attack by Senator McCarthy and the HUAC. Fanny witnesses McCarthy’s persecution destroying the lives of colleagues she cares about. How can she help them without putting herself and her daughter at risk? Fanny has other concerns about her future. She enjoys dating a man that would be a great provider and stepfather for Chloe. However, she is also attracted to the “bad boy” writer she knows through her job. Fanny is constantly confronted with troubling choices that she faces with aplomb. Feldman has written an entertaining and thought-provoking novel. The Trouble With You has only one problem- it is difficult to put down.

Excellent story about remarkable people in a difficult time period in history (as if any period is easy). I want to highlight the incredible women of the story, but I cannot not also mention the wise-cracking male lead. He is a huge part of the story also.

I was immediately drawn into this book and read at very opportunity. It was informative and enjoyable. I have read two other books by this author and am in awe of her talent to bring characters to life and make me care so much about them.

This is definitely a book that I will be recommending to others.

A huge thank you to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for giving me the immense pleasure of reading the advance reader copy, with no obligation to write a review. My review is written freely as a hobby, and is totally my own opinion, not influenced by receiving the ARC.

The story of Fanny Fabricant, a woman ahead of her times navigating her way through New York City of the post war 1940s. Fanny is widowed and raising her daughter Chloe with the support of her single and independent minded aunt Rosie. 1940's America is not single woman friendly and Fanny faces a lot of challenges as a widowed single woman. She manages to get a job as secretary in a radio station broadcasting soap serials. Her life changes when she meet Charlie a maverick script writer and a secret supporter of the Left. We get glimpses of early days of women's lib and single life in the 1940/50s. There is also the issue of blacklisting by the HUAC and ACE. Be warned however that the plot takes off well after you are midway into the book.
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC

As WWII ends, Fanny thinks all of her troubles are behind her as her husband, Max, returns from the war. He made it through and now they are settling in as a family with their young daughter, buying a home, Max, as a doctor, finding a practice. Little does she know that her life is about to be upended, leaving her struggling to start a new life. Finding a job as a secretary for radio serials, Fanny finds herself in a whole new world. In the era where those in the entertainment field were blacklisted, Fanny straddles a thin line. Does she dare cross it or does she play it safe? Ultimately Fanny must choose, but will she make the right choice? While a bit predictable, this book was an enjoyable read, with a unique storyline. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for and ARC of this book.

The Trouble With You by Ellen Feldman

It’s the 1940s in New York City and now Fanny needs to earn a living. Charlie keeps interrupting her at work. His nose is in everyone’s business. Charlie Berlin is a problem. Everyone says so.

This solid story tells of working women after WWII trying to get a leg up. It also has a long lean on the House Un-American Activities Committee’s role in post war America. Actors, radio personalities,musicians and anyone in the arts were targeted. The Red Scare was in full force.

Feldman’s characters are delightful-fun even, and so perfect for their roles here. The dialog is smooth and spot on. It’s just like talking with friends.

My only disappointment would be that I could see what was coming long before it happened, though it still somewhat surprised me. Thank you St Martin’s Press via NetGalley for providing this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed The Trouble With You. I thought story was compelling and the pace was great. If you love historical fiction pick this one up!

When Fanny's husband arrives home after WWII, Fanny is relieved that he is home safe. Two years later, he dies unexpectedly. Now grieving, Fanny has to set a new path with her daughter. Fanny gets a job working on radio serials (soap operas). Her cousin Mimi wants Fanny to get married so she will have security, but Fanny enjoys the work that she is doing. Through the people that she meets at work, Fanny sees the harm that the blacklist does to people's lives. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. This is an unexpected treasure because I like seeing the evolution of Fanny through her experiences of life. The 50's were a different time for women. Even though she had a liberal education degree, it was expected that education was to help her husband's career and her children rather than herself. The expectations for women at that time as well as the blacklist's effects were eye opening. I love how her Aunt Rose helped her find the right path in life.