The Pessimists
by Bethany Ball
Bethany Ball’s The Pessimists gives us a
cutting, satirical look at American suburbia through the interlacing stories of
three Connecticut couples. We first meet
the protagonists during a New Year’s Eve party thrown by Virginia and her
husband Tripp, who is obsessed with surviving the end times and keeps an arsenal
of guns hidden in the basement. Virginia’s
old friend Margot, an obsessive-compulsive “perfect” mother/housewife is there
with her husband Richard, who has a not-so-secret crush on Virginia. Joining the circle of friends are Swedish architect
Gunter and his much younger wife Rachel, who have recently moved from New York to
provide their children with a quieter life. In the background there is the constant
presence of the Petra School, a much-coveted local private educations institution
which is looked up to as the epitome of progressive learning, but which might
hide a darker history and methodology than is immediately apparent.
While in the first part of the book the characters
are primarily presented as “couples”, the second partfocusses on the
individuals. Like a magician shuffling a deck of cards and surprising the
audience with sleight of hand, Ball has several twists up her sleeve. The result is an acerbic novel which is also unexpectedly
gripping. I found it less of a
laugh-out-load comedy than some other reviewers, but it is certainly a witty and
thought-provoking satire.
Kindle Edition, 304 pages,
Grove Atlantic
Expected publication: October 12th 2021
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