This was such an engaging, thought-provoking book about an incredibly prickly father/daughter relationship. Such quick, smart writing - I couldn't put this down.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Well developed and engaging, although difficult to read at times, this story develops with a number of family drama surprises.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A very richly written story that provides poignant commentary on the differences between generations. I enjoyed Jo Hamya’s previous novel, and was excited to read her latest effort. I think Hamya has a gift when it comes to the way she writes- equal parts lyrical and thought-provoking, forcing you to reconsider your own line of thinking while also falling under the spell of the gorgeously written prose. I enjoyed how the lines were blurred between the action in the characters’ real lives and the action in the play within the story. At times I felt the lines were a bit too blurry, but at the same time I see it working as a stylistic choice, and it just may not have been to my specific taste. Overall, a very quick and enjoyable read, and I liked being taken along for the ride.

To say this is a novel about daddy issues is to undersell its scope. The "daddy issues" at hand are only a specific manifestation of the larger cultural divide that is most evident in gender discourse.  

Sophia is frustrated with her father's misogyny, which he associates with simpler, happier times. He's frustrated with her inability to see the vast ways in which the world changed between their generations. All of this plays out as he goes in blind to her play which is, ultimately, about his huge ego and piss poor parenting. 

The author gives the two protagonists equal complexity, allowing the reader to empathize with both rather than feeling forced to pick a side. In an interview with The Guardian, Hamya describes asking herself, "Could I just write one massive gray area?" To that end, she has absolutely succeeded. The characters represent changing norms which harm all participants in cross-generational communication. 

There are many inconsistencies throughout the characters' opinions that wonderfully reflect human behavior. For example, early in the story Sophia's mother criticizes the father for watching a Louis CK-esque figure in light of the sexual harassment allegations, but later criticizes her daughter for being unable to judge the father's parenting outside the sexist context of his novels. Our feelings and our politics are not always logically consistent, and this story captures those moments in each of its characters.

I would recommend The Hypocrite for those interested in discourse around the "culture wars" and/or who like unique forms of storytelling. The Italian summer setting also make this a great beach read for those who prefer heavy content.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the e-arc.

The Hypocrite is a literary work revolving around Sophia and her wish to confront her father via a play that she has written. Her father is quite famous but his works are now somewhat questionable. Her play is popular, but her father is unaware of the topic until he arrives in the theater. When the lights dim, he realizes that he is the subject. What will he think?
It was a hard read. A very interesting topic!
A#knopf #Pantheon #vintage #anchor #knopfpantheonvintageanchor #thehypocrite #johamya

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion. This is a HIGHLY literate novel that is not an easy read. That being said, I enjoyed every second of it. The content played with a lot of my "daddy issues" but overall was a very interesting and satisfying read.

This was such a captivating novel! I really enjoyed how Jo Hamya portrayed a complex and complicated father/daughter relationship. The memories weaved throughout was interesting to read, and overall I did enjoy reading this book. The end did feel rushed and a bit out of place for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this title!

"The Hypocrite" by Jo Hamya is a quick read that I found really engaging. It tackles important themes like the #metoo movement and the impact of traumatic father-daughter relationships. The narrative weaves in the complexities of these issues alongside the backdrop of the pandemic, adding a timely layer to the story. While some parts were a bit challenging to grasp, the overall experience was both enlightening and enjoyable. Highly recommended for those looking for a novel that delves into relevant social issues with depth and nuance.

In The Hypocrite, a young playwright adapts her memories of a European beach vacation with her novelist father into a comedy of manners. This play may upset her father. That fact the play exists is upsetting the playwright's mother. Her father is seeing it for the first time. It's also Covid. People are tense!

I thought the setup had strong potential, but the differences in perspective and memories and 'sexual mores' was more ambiently thematic than consequential. The characters seemed more like representatives of generations than people.

I thought there was going to be something—an interpersonal moment, a reveal in the play, a flashback to their vacation—that was truly explosive. The disagreements and misunderstandings seemed suburban and bourgeois, mild fare for a therapy session, much less for a whole novel.

I DID love the ending, where a secondary character summarily dismisses and disposes of the main characters. I agreed with her! If the author does, too, why did we just spend so much time with these guys in the first place?

There are some lightly experimental formal choices, with lines broken poetically with m-dashes, and a few lines from the "play" within the novel that are quoted epigraphically at the beginning of some chapters. I liked it, but wished it was more continued or central.

Also, The Hypocrite was also replete with sentences that were difficult to understand: "The woman to his right is still grasping her phone and the glove of flour sloping bones that make up her knuckles look ready to come out of their skin," and "They have started to grow tired of the ordinary screams chair legs around them give when pushed out for old guests to exit."

Brilliant, taut, and astonishing. A kaleidoscopic feat of shifting point-of-views and memories. I couldn't stop reading.