Jamie Shin ’20 reviews a thought-provoking novel full of surprises.
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
To me, Modern Lovers by Emma Straub was about finding new love, looking to recover old love, what it means to be a family, and figuring out the messiest moments in life. From college bandmates, to lovers, to next-door neighbors, Andrew, Elizabeth, Zoe, and Jane have gone through it all together. But now they’re almost fifty, and are clinging on to the things that allow them to feel the last bit of youth they can.
Andrew Marx, though supported by his trust fund from his rich parents, is job-less, insecure, and is having with trouble in his marriage; he hits his mid-life crisis. Elizabeth Marx can do nothing but watch him figure things out for himself, even if that means standing by him as he accidentally almost joins a cult-like yoga-house… After all, she is busy enough on her own, dealing with her job as a real-estate agent, which gives her the pressure to let no one in her town see her anything but happy all the time. Even when the four find out their son and daughter are sleeping together in the most humiliating way— at the police station.
Similarly, Zoe and Jane are having a rough patch in their relationship as well. While their daughter, Ruby, is getting into all sorts of trouble, they feel like they have lost the spark in their relationship. But maybe all they needed was an emergency in the family business to bring them all back together and remind them of the passion they hold for each other and in life.
Simply put, Modern Lovers made me feel confused about how I should feel. Emma Straub’s humor is best put as realistic, rather than dark, but only because she puts things exactly how it is. Straub implies ideas, instead of stating them. By writing in a way in which she was slightly assuming the audience had some knowledge about the characters before getting to know them, she made me figure things out about the character using context. There were countless “ohhh” moments while reading the book, which means it was getting me to think harder.
I have to admit, the novel is quite a long read; it took me about two weeks worth of on and off reading to finish. Even if I had the time, I don’t think I could’ve finished it in one reading, because of the heavy material. I know the target audience isn’t my age, so I understood what I could and the rest, I didn’t try to force myself to.
Verdict: In general, I would recommend this book to an older audience, however it is a compelling read full of surprises.
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