by: Maria Semple
Goodreads synopsis:
Adora Hazzard has it all figured out. A Stoic philosopher and divorcée, she lives a contented life on New York City’s Upper West Side. Having discovered that the secret to happiness is to desire only what you have, she’s applied this insight to blissful effect: relishing her teenage daughter, the freedom of being solo, and her job as a moral tutor for the twin boys of an old-money family. She’s even assembled a “coven”—like-minded women who live on the same floor in the legendary Ansonia—and is making active efforts to grow its membership. Adora’s carefully curated life is humming along brilliantly until a chance meeting with a handsome stranger.
Soon, her ordered world is upended by black-market art deals, secret rendezvous, and international intrigue . . . and her past—which she has worked so hard to bury—lands like a bomb in her present. Inflamed by unquenchable desire, Adora finds herself a woman wanting more: and she’ll risk everything to get it.
Adora Hazzard’s journey of self-discovery will grip you from the start. Romantic, hilarious, intelligent, and bursting with the stuff of life, Go Gentle is a thrilling story of one woman’s mid-life transformation, cementing Maria Semple in the pantheon of our most exciting and important contemporary writers.
Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓
I wish I hadn’t read this on the tail end of reading Yesteryear. It pales in comparison, which is saying a lot because Maria Semple is one of my favorite writers. This book really isn’t funny or light like her other novels. It was a more serious, semi-autobiographical account of her experiences as a TV writer in the male dominated world of comedy. It was strangely disjointed and hard to follow. I won’t give up on Maria Semple though…I look forward to her next book with bated breath.
Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓1/4
It’s okay. This one is mainly light-hearted and fun, but just a little too simple and silly for me. The characters are somewhat irritating, especially the one I was pretty sure I was supposed to like, Adora Hazzard 🙄. Kind of funny in some parts.
Helen and Holly Hit the Books 