Such a great novella! Tightly plotted and elegantly written, I thoroughly enjoyed THE MOST and highly recommend it for fans of literary fiction. I especially appreciate how the author incorporates historically accurate details from the 1950s but never lets her research get in the way of the story.

I love the alternating chapter structure; each character has regrets and hopes. Their relationship is complicated but realistic and relatable.

Wonderfully satisfying - I look forward to more from this author.

A huge thank you to the publisher for being willing to publish a novella. Some stories need to be this length; they do not need extraneous padding. I really appreciate this length and hope more publishers will bring us novellas.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley; all opinions in this review are 100% my own.

The Most is a literary novella set in the course of a single day (November 3, 1957), where Kathleen, a former collegiate tennis star turned housewife, goes for a dip in the kidney shaped pool in her apartment complex and refuses to come out despite her husband’s protests. As the events of the day play out in alternating third person POV chapters from Kathleen and her husband Virgil, we catch glimpses into their individual and collective pasts and an exceedingly uncertain future.

I found The Most to be pretty much flawless. It’s a concise single-sitting read. It packs a punch in terms of strong characters, convincing relationships and complexity of emotions, and strong themes. I loved the setting and the mid-century vibes. The overall structure and language worked really well. I loved how it unraveled with information revealed earlier in the text becoming relevant later on. I thought the pacing was great.

I won’t lie, I was initially drawn to this novella by the cover. Then I read the description and had to give it a try, but I definitely didn’t think I would love it as much as I did. I would recommend it to anyone that likes relationship focused narratives, but at 144 pages it is worth a shot for just about anyone, really!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

Stand out writing and the length of the story is perfect for the narrative arc. The on.y slight issue for me was that having lived thru the era I don’t think
the majority of spouses dealing with the fallout of domestic malaise and the quotidian mind numbingness of the decade would have the inner resources to question or change the trajectory….it’s fiction after all so maybe the reality doesn’t matter. loved the image of the red swimsuit as well as the bluebird car…one of the best covers of the year. Not sure I “got” the bridge metaphors but they are mentioned in most reviews and probably add to the depth of the story.

The Most is a quick read that covers one day in the life of Virgil and Kathleen, a married couple with two young boys. The year is 1957, and it becomes clear quite soon that neither Virgil or Kathleen are happy with the roles they’re expected to play in a marriage.

Kathleen gets into the community pool at their apartment complex and just…refuses to comes out. It is a simple premise, but one that reveals more about her character than you realize at first. Throughout the book, in alternating POV chapters, we go back in time and learn a bit more about her and her husband.

My only critique of The Most is that I simply wanted it to be longer. It’s a beautiful story about the struggle one couple experiences with their marriage, and it has hints of depth, but ultimately would have benefitted from a bit more length. I feel like Kathleen’s character in particular suffers from the shortness of the book; I can make her actions make sense in my mind, but I would have preferred for the author to make the path a bit more defined.

I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys stories about complicated marriages. It’s short, well written, and definitely left me thinking.

Still mulling it over. Woman gets into a pool, and spends the day rehashing her life. Her husband’s life and what the future brings. Interesting premise, but what happens next. Isn’t it what many of us wish for, the time and space to think It through and decide how we want the outcome to be. Thank you netgalley it was a good read.

The Most is a portrait of a mid-century marriage, in which a Delaware housewife gets into the pool one unseasonably warm November morning and then refuses to come out. Unfolding in chapters from the alternating points-of-view of husband Virgil and wife Kathleen, this novella takes readers into the heart of their relationship and reveals the secrets and betrayals simmering beneath the surface of their seemingly ideal marriage.

Technically, The Most is nearly flawless in its execution. Jessica Anthony's writing is vivid and atmospheric, and the book feels firmly set in the 1950s, exploring the societal and domestic expectations of that time. Unfolding in the background of the story is the launch of Sputnik 2, and the paranoia and tension of the country during that time serves as an effective parallel to Virgil and Kathleen's personal struggles. Husband and wife are both complex characters, with richly-detailed histories and inner lives.

But what The Most was missing, for me, was the emotional resonance of a strong character study. The story is told almost clinically, from a remove, so that I struggled to connect with the characters. Because of this, a novella of less than 150 pages that I should've read in one sitting instead took me three days to finish. It's incredibly well-written, but unfortunately didn't pack much of an emotional punch. Thank you to Little, Brown and Company for the complimentary reading opportunity.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

4.25 stars

On it’s surface, Jessica Anthony’s slim novel is about a 1950s housewife (a former college tennis star) who gets into the pool at her apartment community in the middle of November and refuses to get out. (It’s a warm day for November.). What it’s really about is about a couple at a breaking point (although there are no outward signs of this, less the impromptu swim) and are about to reveal their true selves to each other.

I don’t want to say more because I don’t want to give too much away. This is a character study that is so well-written that you will fly through it. It also made me think about how we present ourselves to the world and how we can sometimes hide our true selves.

Barnes and Noble smartly picked THE MOST for their monthly fiction pick.

Thank you @littlebrown and @netgalley for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this little story dragged a bit especially considering the short length. I think it never really *went* there for me. By the end of the book I lost all real ability to relate to the characters. This wasn’t exactly a win for me. I think some will really like it though.

I loved this book. It is a short one, just a novella, but Jessica does a great job of packing the details into such a short text. It’s beautifully written, and I found myself pausing over some sentences that resonated with me. I was left with the feeling of observation, of being on the outside looking in on a family and their life.

Kathleen is an intriguing character. Once a college tennis champion, she could have had a promising career in sport, but chose instead to marry Virgil and become a housewife. Virgil for his part, is harder to love but equally as interesting. He’s one of those men that goes with the flow, rather directionless, taking the path of least resistance. 

Their story challenges us to think about the choices we make (or don’t make but let happen) and how they shape our lives. Although this book is set in the 50s, and you can see how the time period would have also shaped some of the decisions they made, the core message is timeless. 

This book is also about marriage and intimate relationships. What will we do to maintain them, and what will we think about and do when no one is watching? How well do we know our partners? Both Kathleen and Virgil harbor secrets from each other, and the reader gets an inside view of both sides. What’s so thought-provoking about this set-up is that the reader can sympathize with both sides and see how these decisions get made based on the time period and the characters. It made me think about how I might have acted in the same situations and wonder how they would possibly resolve their issues. 

Completely absorbing and intricately detailed, this story makes readers feel like they’re looking in the window on a slice of life in the 50s.

this was a quick little literary novella. Anthony’s writing is quite compelling, but I found the synopsis misleading. it’s about a ‘50s housewife who one day just refuses to leave her pool - i was expecting something a little more quirky and weird, but the story largely focuses on the WHY, so it is mostly told in flashbacks giving us backgrounds on her and her husband and their relationship. it was good just really not what I was expecting from this.

This beautifully written novella is set in Delaware on the day the Russians sent a dog into space, when a woman’s role resided firmly in the home and a man was expected to have a mind for business and the ability to provide. We meet Virgil and Kathleen, a married couple with two boys, who seem happy together, at first. Kathleen isn’t feeling well so Virgil takes their two boys to the Sunday service. When he comes home on that unusually warm November afternoon, Kathleen is in the swimming pool that no one ever uses and she won’t get out. Slowly it becomes evident that all is not well in Virgil and Kathleen’s marriage. Kathleen and Virgil are both keeping secrets that could destroy their marriage if they came out and it seems as if they’ve hit a breaking point.

This novella gave me Lessons in Chemistry vibes, because Kathleen was a talented Tennis player who probably would’ve gone pro if she hadn’t been stuck in this misogynistic period. I really liked seeing how she got to be so good and the relationship with her instructor that shaped the course of her life. It’s clear throughout the novella that she would’ve thrived if she’d been born just a little bit later and that’s one of the things that kills you about this novella and leaves you thinking about it later. Virgil has his own struggles, and although both characters are flawed, he’s not nearly as likable. It’s Kathleen’s POV and Jessica Anthony’s gorgeous writing that drives this novella home.

I’m giving it 4 stars because I’m still thinking about this book and I’m not sure how I feel about it. It reminded me a little bit of Virgina Woolf’s writing and Kate Chopin’s the Awakening toward the end with the stream of consciousness and Kathleen refusing to get out of the water, but maybe that’s a stretch.

This short story takes place in 1957 and is about a housewife who is fed up with her life and decides she isn’t going to get out of the pool. She spends probably 12 hours maybe more in it. During her time she reflects on her life and events in her past. Also during this time we hear from her husband as well as he thinks about the past. They come to a head at the end when they both have explosive secrets to divulge.

This one was just ok. Nothing dramatic, maybe a couple small twists. It spans over a day, but includes memories of their younger years. It isn’t memorable, I will probably forget it by tomorrow.

Oh, how I love short novels or novellas that pack a punch. The Most by Jessica Anthony is a new entry in this category that I will definitely recommend to readers who want a short but highly meaningful reading experience. I thoroughly enjoyed Anthony's last novel (Enter the Aardvark) and the writing in The Most is incredibly strong, as well. The book tells the story of a marriage during a single day that the wife spends in a pool. The POVs of both husband (Virgil) and wife (Kathleen) are represented, and flashbacks to their lives separately and together provide beautiful portraits of both the individuals and the marriage. Set in the late 1950s on the day Sputnik 2 was launched into space, the book captures both the complacency and existential uncertainty of this historical era, and that atmosphere is echoed in Virgil and Kathy's relationship. This is a book in which very little "happens" (she gets into the pool, he goes to church and then golfs, she gets out of the pool) and yet the world is changing and their relationship is transforming. Just a wonderful gem of a book!

The Most is set in one day, November 3, 1957. As Sputnik 2 is launched into space, the Becketts reflect on their lives and their marriage. Virgil is an insurance salesman who tries to do what he must in order to fit in, but he never really manages to. Kathleen was a promising tennis player who gave it all up to be a wife and mother. On this day, Virgil takes their two sons to church and when he returns, Kathleen is swimming in the pool of their apartment complex, refusing to get out. The novella starts out feeling like they're an idyllic family, but as it progresses and Kathleen and Virgil reflect on who they are and what they've given up, the underlying tension builds. This will be a good one for those who enjoy character focused stories.

I had such high expectations for this short story and was thrilled when I was approved for the advanced electronic copy. Unfortunately, I found myself extremely bored by this story. There were so many insignificant details that were not needed, in my opinion. I understand there was a lot of background information from the two main characters pasts that the reader needed to know in order to understand what shaped them both into who they are today. However, this was so dull and depressing that I contemplated skipping to the end to see what was going to happen. The ending was really disappointing. The two main characters were also unlikeable people. I was actually trying to think of a single character in the story who WAS a good person- and I cannot seem to think of anyone, unless you count the two young sons in the book.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Strange, strange book. It takes place over the course of 8 hours. Kathleen, the wife spends the whole day in the swimming pool, refusing to get out. Virgil, the husband tries to persuade her to get out but she refuses so he goes golfing. During these eight hours, each one of them reflects individually on their life up until this point. Every other character worries about the dog that the Russians just sent up into space in Sputnik.

The book is only 144 pages long. Thank heavens, I don't think I could have finished it if it were any longer. I'm not sure if there was a plot. I think there was a lot of imagery happening but I also think that it went over my head. I didn't like either Kathleen or Virgil.

This was not a book for me. I do see varying reviews for it. I'm glad that other readers were able to get something out of it. I have to rate it 2 stars because I could not live with myself if I only gave it 1 star.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Literary fiction at its best a haunting story of a married couple Virgil &Kathleen.Sunday morning Kathleen refuses to go to church with the family and by the time they come home she will be in the pool refusing to come out.As the day progresses the secrets of this marriage start to reveal themselves.A novella that kept me turning the pages totally engaged.

A novella set in Delaware in the 1950's about a mother who gets into her apartment complex's swimming pool one unusually warm November day and refuses to get out. Although that event frames the story, this is really the story of her marriage. Both the husband and wife were somewhat boring and unlikable but perhaps that is the point.

I would give this novella (144 pages) 2.5 stars. This novella was a well crafted depiction of a couple living in suburban America during the 1950s. It was entirely symbolic; the protagonist who is a former tennis player and now a housewife, goes into the pool and refuses to come out. The metaphor works and the language is beautiful but the problem for me was that it did not go beyond this. I did not care about the characters and found it hard to connect to them and for me, that is necessary. I loved the slice of life from 1950s America and that is why I chose to read it. But I wanted more. I don't know whether a connection to the characters would have come best through more prose (it was very short) or first person narrative vs. third person, though I suspect we would have come closer to the characters via first person, even though I tend to prefer third person. In many books that are first person, I often feel like we are too close to the characters. Here, however, the entire story was about the characters' hopes and dreams that were unfulfilled such that we needed to be closer to them that the third person narrative would allow.
Thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown & Company for providing me with the opportunity to read this novella.