Semple, Maria. Go Gentle. Putnam’s New York 2026. F; 4/26.
I’m not sure why I chose this story particularly since it was on Oprah’s Book Club list. And predictably it starts with clever talk and a freedom-oriented divorcee who has organized a coven of older ladies in an old New York apartment building. I was about to drop it as the Kindle sample ran out but protagonist Adora turned out to be a PhD philosopher with an interest in stoicism. I bit.
She has a teenage daughter Viv and of course a dog. She works tutoring pampered brat twin boys for an infinitely wealthy family who maintain a gallery (a la Frick) across the street in Manhattan. All is well.
She meets by chance however a handsome and engaging man who takes a romantic interest and turns Adora’s head and the rest of her after a night in bed. The plot thickens as it starts to look like her wealthy employers are involved in untoward activity that could just be art theft but may instead include international weaponry.
I won’t spoil interested readers’ enjoyment by unwinding the complex plot dénouement. Suffice that Adora whose stoical philosophy rested on faith in ancient virtues falls into a potentially catastrophic tangle of intrigue and romantic attraction, with secondary characters’ heads popping up like whack-a- moles. I doubt Dylan Thomas would notice let alone turn over in his grave at the epigraph. Adora’s rage at the dying of the light is pretty tame but she doesn’t Go Gentle either.
Bits and pieces of this story surpass Oproid chick lit although at times even I could see resolution of certain plot elements from a mile away. It’s probably a bit better read than most of the rest of this genre.
7.9/8.0
