Today Will Be Different

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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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.