Today Will Be Different

I absolutely tore through this book, that's how much I enjoyed it. I loved Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and was concerned that I'd be disappointed by Today Will Be Different based on some of the reviews. But I'm so happy I gave this book a try. In my opinion, it felt very different from WYGB, and I enjoyed reading from Eleanor's perspective, even when things got really wild.

Let me start by saying that I devoured this book in one day. That is always a good sign.

The narrative shift partway through was a complete shock: we start with a not-too-serious story about a wealthy neurotic mother having a “rough” time, and then switch to a story of deeply bonded sisters whose relationship is destroyed over time in sharp acidic bursts. The emotions in this portion were so horribly sharp I had to stop reading and reach out to my own sister to tell her how much I love her (a sort of superstitious assurance that this story will never be us, never).

So then the book is moving back and forth between the plot of the sisters (the past) and the plot of the older-sister-turned-neurotic-mother (present). And here's where it gets complicated, since the former is so compelling and real and the latter is.... not. I mean, the older sister/mother just goes bonkers. It's been set up in the early pages that she gets away with acting like an asshole, but this is unbelievable. I think that it may have worked if things were slowed down, if she did these things over several weeks instead of in one day, and if more information was given to explain her behavior. As far as I can tell the only explanation for the present-day plot line is “My sister and I no longer have a relationship and the pain of it is making me selfish and a little nuts”. When I finished the book I had the strong feeling that the author had simply run out of time.

In summary, this starts as a good book, bursts into a great book, and then fizzles back into a book that is pretty good (but could have been great).

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
—
It is 100% completely unfair to compare this book with Semple's previous novel, Where'd You Go, Bernadette – but, man – it's hard not to. The protagonists, their lifestyles, their problems, their families, their children's schools, their problems, what got them to Seattle and the career's they left behind – they all beg comparison. But I'm going to try not to – and it'll be to Today's benefit if I can pull that off.

Here's the problem with the book – well, the main one – it's there in the title, Today. It takes place over a day, no real change, no real resolution, no real anything can happen in a day. You can resolve to make changes, you can take steps towards anything happening. But real lasting whatever takes time. Not that you can't have a good novel in that time frame, but not this kind of novel.

The pluses? The storyline about Eleanor's sister – there were so many ways this could've gone wrong, become cliché, or turned into a mere punchline. It's uncomfortable, it's troubling, and it's real. Eleanor's kid, Timby was interesting and I enjoyed his relationship with her ex-colleague. Most of all, it's the voice. Eleanor's voice is strong, it's developed, it's clear, and there's a confidence to her (while realizing she's a giant mess).

But that ending? I could write pages about how bad it was.

In the end, while reading Today Will be Different, I had a blast and was hooked throughout – it was funny, tragic, thoughtful, painful. But the instant that I closed the book, all I could think of was how many things I didn't like and problems I had with the story. It's not just because Eleanor's story was different from Bernadette's – I was relieved, by that – but that this one didn't deliver what it could have.