This read like a bad script for a porn movie. I tried to find something interesting in it, but instead I put it down after a few chapters.

Tom Perrotta is an author whose books I either love or love, not so much. Mrs. Fletcher is a winner. Excellent story of a single mother who is now an empty-nester; a time to re-evalate and re-group, which is exactly what Mrs. Fletcher does in a very funny, very current fashion.

This novel is a tender portrait of characters that is touching and at the same time quite funny. Mother and Son are both entering new phases of their lives navigating sex, gender and love while making mistakes.

This book is timely and many people will be able to relate to mother and/or son. Do yourself a favor, read this Tom Perrotta novel for a good time.

Perrotta at his best. Impossible to put down--tantalizing and intelligent.

Tom Perrotta is not known for writing happy books with simple situations and likable characters. He digs deep into the human experience and brings back stories of the complexity of relationships, the ugliness of human nature, and the realistic entanglement of pleasure and pain that we all know as daily life. This is the man who brought us Election, Little Children, The Abstinence Teacher, and Joe College. His latest novel, Mrs. Fletcher, is no exception to the Perrotta Rules. 

Eve Fletcher is a 46-year-old divorcee who is faced with an empty nest. Her only son, Brendan, leaves for college, and she is left home alone to figure out the second half of her life. When a text comes to her from an unknown phone number, calling her a MILF and wanting to start something. An internet search of the word "MILF" causes her to discover a world she never knew about, and her adventures begin. 

Meanwhile at college, Brendan is struggling. All the things that made him a popular kid in high school are now working against him. His indifference towards his classes, his immaturity in his relationships, and the unusual and frequent absences of his roommate all help contribute to his misery. 

Although living separate lives, both mother and son are faced with the consequences of their respective actions and have to take stock of how their choices have created the present and what to do to create a better future for themselves. 

By looking at complex topics like sex, intimacy, pornography, and relationships, Perrotta once again takes us to that place we're not at all sure we want to go, but can't turn away from. Mrs. Fletcher is an honest look at the best and the worst of us all, with the humor and pathos that helps us laugh at ourselves, even when the truth cuts a little too close to the bone. 



Galleys for Mrs. Fletcher were provided by Scribner through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.

This book was not at all what I was expecting, I'll give it that, but it was definitely entertaining.

It present a very sex-positive attitude, which is refreshing to see. No, Mrs. Fletcher does not need any man to have a good time, and nor should she! I really loved that in contrast to a lot of stories about divorced women that are just out looking for another bang. I can't say I loved the explicitness at times, as sex scenes in general make me uncomfortable, but I appreciate that they were there and existed as they should.

I think the aspect I was most intrigued by was Mrs. Fletcher's son and the relationship he ends up having. Maybe that's because I relate more, both age-wise and personality-wise. Brendan is kind of a jerk, but ends up having a little bit of a thing with a super activist, who resents herself for being attracted to him despite the privilege he obviously comes from. This dynamic was something that I thought could have merited its own exploration.

This gave an interesting perspective and I really appreciate all of the sex-positivity that it presented, but it was rather strange, and I'm not really sure that I liked it terribly much. It just seemed to be running in circles at points with no necessary conclusion.

This is my first Tom Perrotta novel so I can’t compare this book with his previous works but what I can do is share my experience with Mrs. Fletcher. This isn’t a perfect book but it is ambitious and it fails in certain aspects.

Mrs. Fletcher follows Eve Fletcher a forty-six year old woman who is divorced and has just sent her only son to college. She works at a Senior Center and works with a lot of people but besides her degree in Social Work she decides to go back to school and take up a class at a community college called Gender and Society in order to change her views. It is here that she meets her classmates and becomes close to some of them as well as learning new things about gender and society. Having sent her son Brendan to college she is now all alone and tries to fill that void by watching some adult videos – specifically ones tagged with MILF – and soon becomes addicted to them. This addiction takes grasp into her reality and she begins questioning her own sexuality as well as her outlook on real-life relationships.

Our Mrs. Fletcher isn’t the only narrator to this story because the author includes her son as well. Brendan is a jock and he’s always had it easy with grades because of that reason but now he comes to a whole new world where things aren’t as simple as in high school. His expectations of college quickly change when he starts struggling with his classes and failing them but that’s not all because how he views sex also makes him an outcast in this academic community.

Will Eve and Brendan Fletcher be able to overcome their struggles and rise up to them or will life take them on a different path?

At the beginning of this review I said that Mrs. Fletcher is an ambitious novel and that’s true because the author tries to include many themes in today’s society but it just didn’t feel thoroughly executed. On the blurb we are promised two narratives but that changes as the story unfolds and introduces us to other narrators who I felt were unnecessary to the story even though there were some who I genuinely liked hearing from. I actually enjoyed reading this novel and definitely didn’t like most of the characters but the story wasn’t bad – I mean yes, it was weird and at times awkward reading about Eve [especially the part where she hears her son moaning] – I would call this book entertainment fiction. The themes of sexuality, autism, gender weren’t that much explored in this novel and this is the reason why I call it an ambitious novel. I’ll be looking out for Perrotta’s future works to see if he gets better at exploring these subjects.

Would I recommend reading this book? I mean if you are looking for a light and entertaining read then I would say yes but in case you prefer your fiction to be more thought-provoking then it’s a pass.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher (Scribner) for allowing me to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

I suppose it's not the author's fault that I absolutely could NOT identify with any of the characters but that made it hard for me to connect on any level. The writing is pretty good and there are some humorous parts in the book but for the most part, it seemed oversimplified. Eve could have been interesting but it seemed like just too many issues crammed into her life. Single mom, empty nester, suddenly has a porn addiction and lesbian tendencies as well as fantasies of sleeping with someone the age of her son. Ick. Brendan is obnoxious and unlikable. The other characters seemed to me to be stereotypes thrown in to cover all the political correctness bases. The transgender teacher who's suddenly romantically involved with a black ex-military guy with PTSD, the young guy who had been bullied by Brendan and his friends in high school (I kept waiting for retribution), an autistic child, and the old people from the senior center lumped together as smelly, incontinent bigots. Oh - and the college students - - the oh-so-serious Indian student, the overly earnest do-gooders and protesters, the partying frat boys, and even a formerly insensitive boy now dating a girl in a wheelchair. Was there ANY group that wasn't covered?!?!

I finished the book but felt like it was all tied up with a neat little unrealistic bow.

This book switches between the perspectives of Eve, a divorced mom whose only son has just left for college, and Brendan, her jock, frat-boy type personality son who is trying to adjust to college, along with the occasional perspective of other people in one of their orbits. There are funny parts, kinda sad parts, and surprisingly raunchy parts. Eve's story is pretty good but the parts with her son for me kinda never went anywhere. An entertaining read but not one that will stick with me for the ages. 3.5 stars.

Back to school is a busy time for moms who still have kids at home, but it's a life changing time for moms who are sending their youngest (or only) child off to school and returning home to their empty nest.

Eve is sending her son, Brendan, off to university. She's anxious and clinging, but to a kid who won't even look at her, much less speak to her.

Brendan meanwhile is finding his acclimation to college to be a little more difficult than he thought. His roommate is a party boy, almost too wild for Brendan. Then he meets a girl who thinks he is someone that he isn't - a sensitive guy.

Meanwhile, Eve has enrolled in a Gender studies class and is making new friends - but also watching a lot of porn. The problem is when she mistakes her online movies for real life situations, getting herself into weird and awkward situations.

It was an interesting read, but I didn't find Eve's story to feel very authentic. It felt like a bit of a reach that an ordinary, suburban mom would go so wild in such a short amount of time.

But what happens when Brendan gets himself in trouble and Eve's empty nest is full again?

Hmm, what is there to say about this one? I read it, all of it, and I wasn’t tempted to DNF it even though I found it a wee bit plotless and a little too over-stuffed with issues. I can’t say that I’ll remember much about it in a few days so I better spit this out now.

Eve is a divorcee who, when the book begins, is sending her only son off to college. She’s not dealing well with this turn of events even though her son is a selfish son-of-a-B (if you ask me). She loves him all the same. They say love is blind and they are not kidding. She overhears him say something dreadful to his booty call before he leaves but she doesn’t address it, not wanting to stir the hornets’ nest and all. Personally, were it me, I’d be glad to have his rude, lazy butt out of the house! But she’s sad and she misses her boy. She even blames many of his shortcomings on herself because of the divorce and all.

I can’t remember the kids name but he has his own point of view, along with Eve and it’s almost always obnoxious. I didn’t like him and though he had a few brief moments of almost decency, I didn’t want to spend any time in his head. He also didn’t do a lot of growing up over the course of the novel but I suppose that may have been the point?

Now about Eve. She starts to fill her time watching MILF porn after she receives a text saying she’s a MILF. Apparently, she was living under a rock and had to look up the term on the internets and instead of immediately seeing the definition she finds MILF porn instead and she is hooked. In between porn viewings, she signs up for a class, makes some new friends and has a wee little moment of sexual experimentation. I will not lie, those bits were interesting BUT inserted into this story were issues heaped upon issues about struggles with aging, transgender, bisexuality, younger lovers, autism, wannabe frat-life and so many more that I felt like I was reading a lesson in what it feels like to be all these types of people and the lack of focus started to hurt my head. Sadly, none of it was particularly amusing but yet I kept reading . . .

I’ll give it a three because I guess it could’ve contained even more issues. There were no foot fetishes, cannibalism or bestiality struggles at least.

Thanks, Netgalley, for sharing this with me.

2.5 stars

Tom Perrotta has written some great, thought provoking novels but this one landed flat for me.

The author tried to incorporate too many themes in the this novel: autism, transgender, porn addiction, divorce, children failing at school, death, senior citizens, etc...

I like to think who I can recommend books to after reading them, knowing many readers across diverse reading preferences (and book clubs). I sadly can't think of anyone to recommend this book too. Have you read it? Did you enjoy it?

For one thing, you could have this book up for false advertising. Yes, Mrs Fletcher is in it, but so is the son whose departure for college is the springboard for all her empty-nester woes, and a host of other characters. I didn't mind that, but it does detract from what could have been an interesting narrative – she gets addicted to Internet porn when someone says she's a MILF, she has a crush on a (female) colleague, and so on. But here's the lad's own first-person narrative spoiling it, and of course it has to have hang-ups about his autistic half-brother. Then Mrs Fletcher has to sign up for a college course herself, and of course it's a namby-pamby one about modern gender, so of course the tutor has to be a trans, and of course everyone has to become bisexual, or miscenegate, or anything to let the author wilfully ignore the fact Mrs Fletcher was who we came on board for.

Thankfully the second half drops the ultra-left-wing bollux, and we actually do get what we wanted – but the questions remain as to why the first half had to be spoiled so badly. I suppose it's all a comment on the horrors of straight, white people actually daring to have sex – but if you have a problem with that, then jog on.

I thought this book was well written...I just didn't identify with the main character. I never had an empty nest feeling and my kids adjusted well in college.

I didn't enjoy reading this book but not through any fault of the author just more a depressing feeling that I got wondering if this really was the world we live in now ... perhaps I'm too innocent!

Tom Perrotta’s Mrs. Fletcher is wildly addicting for a suburban tale

Having never read Tom Perrotta’s previous novels yet seen the film versions of the hilarious Election and thought-provoking Little Children, I knew he was good but I had no idea just what an amazingly joyful writer he was and what an compulsive read his latest, Mrs. Fletcher, would turn out to be.

Mrs. Fletcher is a MILF with a slightly bro-man son going to his first year of college, a happily remarried ex-husband, a satisfying yet occasionally sad and gross job running an elderly center, and way too much time on her hands. Internet porn, a community college class on gender studies full of unusual new friends and taught by a trans-gender woman, a younger co-worker, and a previous school-mate of her son’s fill up the first fall of her empty nest. It’s a wild ride into the unknown and one that’s hard to get off until it’s over. Perfect June read and I can’t wait to see who’s cast as Mrs. Fletcher should this Perrotta turn into a film.

Wendy Ward
http://wendyrward.tumblr.com/

Funny. Timely. Provocative.

Tom Perrotta is a master at exposing the secrets of suburbia. In his latest novel, Perrotta creates memorable characters -- all ripe for a juicy book club discussion. There's Eve Fletcher, the not young, but not old mom who just sent her only son off to college. Brendan, the entitled, POS son. Amber, the struggling feminist. Amanda, the millenial stuck in and dead-end job. And a whole other cast of multi-dimensional characters.

What makes Perotta's books so enjoyable is not just the wit and good storytelling, but the interwoven social commentary. In this novel he broaches the subjects of porn, transgender rights, texting/sexting, and relationships between young men and women on college campus. Perotta covers these in a "no holds barred" fashion. I was wishing I had read this as part of a group because there was so much I wanted to discuss!

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think I should get something out there right from the very beginning, Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta is not a book for everyone. It covers a wealth of issues surrounding sexual orientation and has lots of language to go along with it. It didn’t bother me at all, but if that sounds like something you don’t like, you probably wouldn’t like the book.

There are a hosts of characters, but the main character is Eve. She is a divorced mother, whom we meet as she is sending her obnoxious son, Brendan off to college. When she returns to her empty home, she starts to face the reality of her life. An anonymous text to her phone, calling her a MILF, sends her off to Google what a MILF is. From there she finds a MILF porn site and finds herself returning to it over and over again.

The porn starts her thinking about her sexuality, or lack of it as a divorced mom. To try and add some interest in her life, she signs up for a Gender Studies class at a local community college that is taught by a transgender woman.

Meanwhile, her son, Brendon (the only character to occasionally have a first person voice) is off making a total mess of college. He is an arrogant jock, just looking for a good time. His treatment of women is appalling.

I enjoyed the book. It was my first Tom Perrotta and it definitely won’t be my last. I like his style of writing, I like the way the characters are developed.

I received an ARC of the book.

This was a hoot of a book. Oh what fun I had reading this book. Eve's son is leaving for college and Eve is having a hard time with this. This book is for the mature reader as it deal with mature subject(s). We learn about Eve and her son's Brendan sex life. Eve has to find a way to fill her loneliness and what begins this is a text that she receives. This one text leads Eve to the internet and a website. She becomes hooked on porn. We also get glimpses into Brendan's college life which isn't going the way he exactly thought it would. Circumstances are brought into their lives and some not good choices are made. Will they learn from this mistakes? Will they come to realization about themselves? Read this wonderful book and find out. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Mini-Review
Genre: Adult General Fiction
Publisher: Scribner
Pub. Date: August 1, 2017

Mini-Review
If there is such a thing as naïve pornography this is such a book. The author, Tom Perrotta is a comedic writer. I have enjoyed his previous work but this one fell flat. Mrs. Fletcher is a divorced single mom. The book does open with a bang. The day her spoiled white privileged son is leaving for college (you know he is going to make a great frat boy). His mom hears his girlfriend giving him a goodbye gift, fellatio. She over hears his offences words against women coming from his mouth, in the midst of their sexual activity. Now his mother thought she was doing a great job when she went way out of her comfort zone to ask her son in a drug store if he needed condoms for college. But she is shocked to realize her kid has boorish manners towards his girlfriend. Immediately after this incident they get in the car to drive to his campus, of course she packed everything and brought it all in the car by herself while he was receiving his gift. I did laugh at loud while her reading her contradictory thoughts on what to say to her son on what she overheard. She felt she needed to tell him disrespecting women is not the type of man he should want to be. But then again, she didn’t want to ruin the ride which she was hoping would be a bonding time for them, But then again, he fell asleep, should she wake him or not? Around and around again her thoughts went as if on the washing machine’s spin cycle.

After a few days of “empty nest syndrome,” she accidentally found on-line porn. It started innocently enough. When she met her son’s roommate, she is very disappointed because he his is a carbon copy of her son and not a boy who would help her own kid grow. It seems the roommate sent her a text with only initials, “MILF.” Well since she had no idea what this meant of course she looked it up on line. It is here where she finds endless MILF porn theme websites. And her addiction begins. This is when she decides to become a 2017 “Mrs. Robinson,” not only by watching porn but by also living it. Unfortunately, for me this is when the book went from a bang to a whimper. Perrotta’s spot-on suburban satire stays throughout the book, but the plot became overkill after awhile. How many times did I really want to read about her branching out sexually? All while having the same contradicting type of thoughts she experienced while driving her son to college. It became tiresome. This is a funny book about sex and morality that is way too predictable for my taste. Not Perrotta’s best.



This is an Advanced Review Copy (ARC) book. I received this novel from the publisher at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

Here is a review by Jennifer: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2090980386