Member Review

Finding Too Many Paths

“Go Gentle” follows Adora Hazzard, a divorcée and Stoic philosopher whose carefully ordered life in New York is upended by a handsome stranger, romance, and international intrigue.

While Maria Semple's novel is bursting with her trademark wit and funny lines, its greatest flaw is a wildly scattered plot that incorporates too many disparate ideas. The book is a blend of a philosophical treatise on Stoicism, a goofy mid-life romantic comedy, a story about a "coven" of middle-aged women in Manhattan, and an international art heist thriller.

The narrative is marred by frustratingly erratic shifts between its various plotlines, suggesting the author pursued too many competing directions. Early on, the story of Adora forming a "coven" is quite compelling, yet it eventually fades away, overshadowed by a screwball mystery that clashes awkwardly with a dense, 80-page flashback about a serious past trauma. This lack of focus often left me bewildered, questioning if I was even reading the same book I had begun.

In the end, the book feels like a chaotic three-ring circus. Although I thoroughly enjoyed large portions of the narrative—often laughing out loud at Semple’s biting, eccentric wit—the dizzying journey makes it difficult for the story to truly come together, despite a clever resolution to the main plot.

Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. #GoGentle #NetGalley