a short little book, jessica anthony's 'the most' opens with kathleen, a 1957 delaware housewife, getting into her building complex's pool on warm november morning, and refusing to get out. set over the course of 8 hours, we learn about kathleen, her failed tennis career, her relationship with her husband, and the infidelities committed on both sides of their marriage. this book is a consuming, addicting read, one that has the reader questioning where this relationship is hurtling, towards destruction or somewhere better?

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of The Most. This novella was a picture of a marriage that dug deep into their relationship. I wanted so much more character development as I read this book. The description on the back of the book was misleading and had I really known what this story would be about I likely would never have read the book.

I'm kind of disappointed ay myself for not enjoying this book as much as I thought I would.
This is a very character-driven story - which I tend to love, but I didn't connect or relate to the characters.
Personally, I didn't appreciate much the father/husband character. I'll admit I struggled with accepting his behaviour and actions many times.
This is also, in some way, historical fiction, so you have to remember that before getting to this book, so you can understand and "accept" some behaviours - the story is set in the late 50's.
Because this book is too short I felt like it lacked development. The author, for so many times, uses flahsbacks to tell us more about the background of the (adult) characters, and due to so many flashbacks I felt the present characters lacked depth.
Or it was just me that was more interested in the present storyline and didn't care for the past.
It didn't work that much to me, sadly. But I'm sure it will please other readers.

This was a fun and quick read. This is my second time reading a story that takes place in the span of one day. Two partners must decide whether or not to confront their unraveling secrets and continue forward in their marriage. It’s also a story about what could have been. I enjoyed how the author slowly introduces readers to more details about the characters and we begin to understand why Kathleen will not get out of the pool. I also liked the switch between the characters’ perspectives. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc.

Jessica Anthony’s The Most is a short story that gives off college literature class reading vibes. This time capsule of a novella opens up the world of November 1957, as well as a seemingly picturesque marriage, to the reader. However, as can be expected with any good story, nothing is quite as it seems.

Kathleen and Virgil are (almost) living the American Dream. He works in insurance, while she, a former collegiate tennis star, raises their two sons in New England. Virgil, who recently accepted a lesser-paying job in Delaware, has moved the family into an apartment complex filled with elderly residents who do not use the complex’s focal drawing point - a swimming pool.

Month after month, the pool sits unoccupied until an unseasonably warm fall day when Kathleen decides to go for a swim … and doesn’t get out. She sits in the pool from sun up to sun down, driving Virgil crazy as he tries to figure out what’s gone wrong with his wife this time. As Virgil leaves her to her aquatic mission, he takes off with his coworkers to play a round of golf, because how often do you get a 70 degree fall day in Delaware?

Meanwhile, both he and Kathleen ponder the state of their marriage, and some unseemly secrets start to come to the light.

The Most is a literary slice of life novella that shatters the illusion of the perfect 1950’s family. So often portrayed with gleaming smiles plastered across their faces, the quintessential nuclear family is brought into question in this short story. How quickly can stereotypes turn to myth with just a little insight into a person’s life? The Most is here to challenge the flawless facades we project outward, and encourage us to look in to people at the heart.

I didn't know what to expect with this story but I was immediately enthralled!

Yes, this is a story of Kathleen, a former college tennis champ, mother of two children living in an apartment complex with her husband. Instead of going to church this Sunday she decides to get in the pool and she will not come out!

But it is SO MUCH MORE. Somehow, Jessica Anthony seamlessly blends in the story of Kathleen, her husband Virgil, his father and all of their lives. It's fascinating and fast moving. It's a car wreck you can't look away from, it's a television show that you can't stop talking about...it's a work of art.

If you love literature, great stories and uncommon themes, the Most is a book for you!
#littlebrownandcompany #littlebrown #themost #jessicaanthony

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC. All opinions are my own. I was drawn to this short, 98 page novella by author Jessica Anthony based on the cover and synopsis. I liked the initial POV of both husband and wife. The novella focuses on a day in the life of The Becketts, a married for nine years couple who met at The University of Delaware in the 1940’s. Virgil is a pretty insurance salesman at Equitable in Wilmington, Delaware, and Kathleen is a former college tennis ace now Newark, Delaware housewife. The couple and their two sons have relocated from Rhode Island back to an apartment complex in Delaware where they went to college. The Most is set on an unseasonably warm Sunday in November 1957 at the same time the Sputnik and its canine passenger, Laika, are orbiting earth. On this particular Sunday, Kathleen decides she is not feeling up to joining her husband, Virgil, or their two young boys, at church per their weekly ritual. Instead, Kathleen sends the three of them off to their church fifteen miles away and gets into her old bathing suit to swim in the unused complex swimming pool. Readers soon learn both husband and wife are keeping secrets that could wreck their marriage. Virgil returns home from church with their boys, anxious to take advantage of the unseasonably warm Delaware weather and hit the Country Club’s golf course with his male co-workers, only to find Kathleen still in the swimming pool, refusing to get out. Virgil is anxious to meet the men at the golf course on time, so he does his best to coax her out. Kathy mentions to him she is fine, and brings up the fact that people are calling the orbiting Soviet dog “Muttnik,” and her disgust the dog may die up there, so Virgil thinks this is why she is refusing to get out of the pool. Virgil sets off to make his tee time at the Country Club six miles away, undeterred by Kathy's uncharacteristic behavior. The more we learn about these characters, the more we see this marriage in not idealistic. It is quite depressing to see how unfulfilled these partners are when you crack the veneers of their seemingly happy life. When Virgil returns from golfing, Kathy is still in the pool, and their thoughts are revealed (although not to each other) The Most wraps up remarkably quickly with Kathy still in the pool and no closure. I wish the ending wrapped up more neatly, as it left a lot to be desired in my opinion.

A story of domestic unhappiness being slowly uncovered , of buried secrets between a married couple coming to light, of an unfulfilled wife finally reaching a breaking point. Very short, takes place over the course of one day, hits all the right emotional tones and keeps up the tension throughout . Reminded me of Rachel Ingalls . Delightful

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!
Anthony's crafting of the novella packs a lot of history and nuance into the marriage at the center of the story--we really feel immersed in the historical context both regarding current events and women's "roles". In terms of tension, the premise is excellent but falls a little flat as the book goes on. Unfortunately, repetition in several spots is distracting from the otherwise solid pace. That said, the author does a great job with a realistic portrayal of marriage and its give-and-take. Readers will fall on different sides of realism versus dramatic tension, I think, and while I did enjoy this peek into a troubled marriage, I needed Kathleen or Virgil to take a directive step at the end.

Completed in the span of one day, set in the 1950s, this book documents the history behind our protagonist, Kathleen, and the slowly escalating reasons for her uncharacteristic entry into her family’s apartment complex pool, and for her refusal to come out. A quickly unraveled yet juicily complex backstory of a fizzling marriage, the conceiving of two sons, and a peek into the life of a woman tired of being full of secret resentments, The Most might not do the most, but it is an addicting read that provides interesting character developments and dynamics, interestingly set precisely in the time of the take off of Sputnik 2.

This was a short little nugget of a book but DANG was it packed with emotions.

I hate to compare books (false- I love comparing books) but this one reminded me so much of the short story “evidence of the affair” by TJR which I LOVED!

And I really loved this one too.

One warm November Delaware day, Kathleen gets into the pool at the apartment complex and doesn’t get out for the entire day. That doesn’t sound like much of a story ooooo but it is!


Kathleen’s 1950s housewife story is so far away from life now that it seems almost unimaginable. However, I felt deeply moved by her story and found commonalities with her.

I will think about this book for a while…

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Most tells the story of the Beckett family in '50s Newark, Delaware. The matriarch and patriarch of the family, Kathleen and Virgil Beckett each have their own secrets to keep from one another and each has a different perspective on past memories. One November Sunday, the weather is nice, Virgil and their two sons head to church, and Kathleen stays behind. She decides to take a dip in the apartment complex's pool, and she won't get out.

This was a short book, but it was full of stories and sordid secrets that I was entertained by. I'm not sure I would read it again, but I am happy I did, nonetheless. Kathleen's character was very intriguing, and I've never read a character I felt a bit indifferent about—good thing, bad thing, I don't know. I liked the '50s setting, with its references to music and historical events happening around the time (Little Rock & Sputnik 2). It wasn't too showy or too in-your-face. I liked how the author was graceful in her writing and didn't write full love scenes; they still felt fleshed out. I thought it was going to be a spooky psychological thriller, but I was mistaken. Whoops!

Would recommend to someone who likes a period piece and a quick read about marriage (lol).

This novella captures the stifling atmosphere of mid-century life that is often a staple in novels about this period and which I love to read about. It is sparse and beautifully written, and the structure of alternating perspectives in each chapter lends itself well to the narrative. It reminded me a lot of Revolutionary Road. Bonus points for keeping it short — the length is perfect and more effective than it would have been if it was a full-length novel.

This book was okay. Very short and a very interesting concept which I love to see. I just don’t think I truly felt anything good or bad towards the characters and it lacked some depth. I could see myself coming back to this at some point to see if I like it better in a couple months. If you like character driven stories and/or books about families and relationships you may like this

Pristine mid-century Americana vibes! 1950s housewife Kathleen stays home from church one day, saying she feels unwell. When her husband, Virgil, returns home, she is in their apartment complex’s pool and refuses to get out. The story takes place over the course of a single day, but as we unravel what led Kathleen to the pool, we’re treated to a rich backstory that reveals the secrets Kathleen and Virgil are each hiding.

I absolutely loved this book and the way it explored the yearning beneath the surface of a middle class, mid-century marriage. Both main characters are flawed and complex. The author’s attention to detail made me feel like I had travelled back in a time machine. Overall, this whole story was achingly beautiful, and I loved spending time in this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.. loved everything about this-- just wish it were longer! EXCELLENT writing!

For fans of Claire Keegan, for sure! I enjoyed the experience of reading this, and found it easy to immerse myself in the world. The repetition was surprising for such a short book, but I didn't mind it and I liked the style. The only thing I didn't like was the use of the phrase "smooching her clavicle" which I don't believe should ever have been written, lol. I guess it's mainly that the word smooching, which sounds like such a joke word, seems to have been used with seriousness, but it's also that it's extra weird paired with something so formal - clavicle. Perhaps that was the point, but I'm not sure I've ever been taken out of a scene so quickly!!

Smooching aside, an enjoyable read and I would definitely seek out Jessica Anthony again.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this, rolling back and forth between POVs and past and present. I like the idea of the story but for me, the ending just fell flat. I couldn’t help but feel “meh” about it by the end. I wish it were a slightly longer novel with a more interesting conclusion.
Thank you Netgalley & Little, Brown and Company for this arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

3.5 rounded down.

this book is a story of a marriage and how it unfolds and folds into itself and comes apart and together and then just is.
i enjoyed the different perspective between husband and wife, and the kind of underlying depressing tone of marriage. the length was pretty perfect for the story, but ultimately i felt like this book was going to put me in a reading slump

I requested this novella based on an early review I read and I am so glad I did. Jessica Anthony crafted an intense, detailed portrait of a marriage in the late 1950s.

While the story itself happens on one unusually warm day in November, the shifting perspectives provide insight into this marriage from the before the characters met through to present day. Going into this, I didn’t think I would feel for these characters so intensely with only 144 pages, but Jessica Anthony had a way of meandering (in a great way!) from one topic to another to provide perspective and detail from many stages of this couple’s marriage.

Highly recommend enjoying this one on a warm day near some water if you’re able to, and buckle in to get to know these incredibly flawed characters who are bound to each other in marriage.