Wellness
I’ve been trying to think of how to describe books like Wellness by Nathan Hill. The first thing that comes to mind is that novels like this are ones that I “gobble up.” They are “smart” and “literary” and often on the longer side. But they aren’t overly taxing. They are generally page-turners, and sometimes you can skim a tiny bit in parts. There are dramatic inflection points, but you know that the author spent a lot of time trying to figure out where best to place them because often these novels involve time shifting. In general, these “gobble up” books span a few generations of a family’s history even if “family dynamics” is not the main focus of the plot. (Wellness is essentially a look at the psychology of love using a middle-aged marriage as its foil.) The authors’ ability to create spot-on characters drawing from contemporary tropes, nuances, and cultural references without stooping to stereotyping is A+. They’re just really, really well-written stories.
Some examples of contemporary novels that I’ve gobbled up the last few years: The Dutch House (Ann Patchett), The Great Believers (Rebecca Makkai), Commonwealth (Ann Patchett), Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (Gabrielle Zevin), The Latecomer (Jean Hanff Korelitz), and maybe both The Nest and Good Company (Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney).
Here’s what I’ve concluded: These novels are the literary world’s version of “prestige television” à la Succession or The White Lotus. Smart and snappy; really pleasant to indulge in; no one’s bailing because of obscure references or overly esoteric symbolism; formulaic (i.e. each character probably needs a “secret”) but in a skilled and non-predictable way; a clever encapsulation of contemporary culture. Whereas I’d place something like Colleen Hoover in the Hallmark movie or daytime soap category and some of the Booker prizewinners more in the “art house film” camp, these novels fall squarely in the perfect intersection of “literary” and “zeitgeisty.” Book club perfection.
Just what I like over a holiday. (Gobble, gobble…hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving 🦃 [Although truth be told, I have literally never eaten turkey on Thanksgiving.])
originally published on instagram