Book Review: Go Gentle by Maria Semple
Go Gentle by Maria Semple has shot straight to the top of my list. As a reformed feminist who is also recovering from years of hating herself, someone who has wrestled with weight and self-worth for most of my life, and someone who finds comfort in pop culture references, witty humor, and the kind of reflection that helps make sense of your past while still believing the best days of your life are ahead of you, this book felt written directly into my bloodstream. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me briefly wish I lived in a coven of women in a grand old New York building, rather than being in a perfectly lovely relationship. And then it gently reminded me that emotions are meant to be felt, not optimized or suppressed. My god, am I rambling?
[Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of Go Gentle contains some spoilers!]
A coven of women and a barrel of laughs in Go Gentle
This novel follows Adora Hazzard, a divorced philosopher living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan who has built a life around Stoic thinking and the belief that happiness comes from wanting only what you already have. She lives with her teenage daughter, works as a moral tutor for the twin sons of a wealthy New York family, and has formed a small “coven” of women in her building who support one another through the strange middle stretch of life. Adora’s carefully constructed world begins to unravel after she meets a charming stranger named Digby, which pulls her into a chaotic chain of events involving art world intrigue, international travel, buried trauma, and the emotional truths she has spent years trying to intellectualize away. What begins as a tidy life of philosophical discipline turns into something messier, funnier, and far more human.
The comedic bits here are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. I mean that literally. I was sitting on my couch laughing alone like a lunatic. Semple writes scenes that feel so visual that you almost start casting them in your head like a film. The moment with the red hat and the hair still attached? Dead. Absolutely dead. I could see the whole scene unfold like a perfectly timed episode of television, which makes sense considering Semple’s background in writing for TV comedy. Her humor lands because it is smart, observant, and a little bit unhinged in the best way.
But what surprised me most about this book is how deeply it understands the emotional gymnastics women perform as they age. Adora is brilliant and self-aware, but she has also built a philosophical fortress around herself. Stoicism becomes both a guide and a shield. Watching that shield crack is what gives the story its emotional gravity.
Maria Semple holds a mirror to the impact of aging without the chaos
There is something profoundly comforting about reading a book that acknowledges the chaos of being a thinking, feeling woman in midlife without reducing that chaos to a crisis. Adora is not spiraling because her life is over. She is spiraling because her life is still unfolding. The book plays with the tension between control and vulnerability, between intellectualizing your feelings and actually letting yourself experience them.
And that is where this novel hit me personally. By the end of this read, which I inhaled in about a day and a half, I closed the book and immediately thought, “I cannot wait to tell my sister about this.” Not because the plot twists are shocking or because the ending is some grand revelation, but because the emotional experience felt like someone had quietly lifted a heavy weight off my shoulders.
I felt like I could be both emotionally regulated and passionate. That I could reconcile the events in my life without carrying resentment like luggage. That the work I have done to grow older with intention, with gentleness toward myself, is actually the point.
Adora’s reckoning with the philosophical prison she built for herself reminded me that self-protection is useful until it isn’t. Eventually, you must step back into the mess of living. And yes, I did spend a good chunk of this book wishing I lived in a coven of brilliant women sharing celery sticks and life advice in a historic Manhattan building. But the deeper message landed harder than the fantasy. The point is not escaping into a different life. The point is realizing that the one you are already living can still expand.
If you love Socratic thinking. If you are someone who keeps discovering your best life, whether in your 30s, 50s, or 70s. If you want a book that makes you laugh and cry in the same chapter. If you enjoy pop culture references, art history, New York settings, and the occasional nod to the complicated legacy of #MeToo. If you have been learning French for six months and want the small thrill of recognizing a few words on the page.
Gosh dang it. Everyone should read this book.
Go Gentle by Maria Semple is available now for purchase! Have you read this novel yet? Are you excited to check it out? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider or @emreadsdetroit to continue the conversation!
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