I wish Ward had not employed the tricks of lesser novelists, such as contrived cliffhangers and misdirection in order to engender suspense. If you’re going to reference Lear, give me some treachery — or at least a storm. I’ve never been on a cruise, so this was a view into a world I will never visit unless you hit me on the head with a two-by-four or give me tickets for free. The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward, published on March 3, 2020. I also enjoy how frequently the setting changes because it keeps the story eventful, and every new destination reveals a new secret about this family, which is a unique way to tie the connections of people and the places we visit together. Mention spoilers or the book's price; Recap the plot (0) 50 characters minimum. The review must be at least 50 characters long. Behavior is atrocious. The book is interesting and VERY eventful, but it isn’t ‘funny.’ I mean there are jokes, mostly sex jokes, and they are frequent, but the book doesn’t make me feel good like when I watch a good comedy. Perhaps this is because he rightly intuits that she doesn’t want to hear it. The Very Hairy Chest Contest, the towel-animal lessons, the marzipan piano: All the marvels are splendido. Like I mentioned before, all of these characters have their own inner-demons that sit on their shoulders and whisper in their ear throughout the trip, which causes them to lie and hate themselves almost as much as they hate each other. Family secrets are exposed. The memory of her father’s blue face. Interested in buying? Ward has centered earlier novels around such morally fraught issues as surrogacy and immigration, and at first this novel felt like a sunny departure. Charlotte yearns for the years when her children were young, when she was a single mother who meant everything to them. Change ). The trouble with four perspectives is that you long for at least one character who has an interesting mind. As lovers new and old join the adventure, long-buried secrets are revealed and old wounds are reopened, forcing the Perkins family to confront the forces that drove them apart and the defining choices of their lives.”. If it wasn’t for the gorgeous descriptions of the setting, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. Also, the story itself is very creative and ever-changing as each character is going through a life-changing Awakening on this seemingly innocent cruise. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Book Pick • … It’s honestly quite frustrating. I confess I was initially put off by the premise, which sails through the Hallmark Channel into Love Boatish waters. But that’s a lot of negatives. You just want to reach into the pages and shake them all by the shoulders and shout, “JUST TELL THE TRUTH DAMNIT!”. Amanda Eyre Ward’s “The Jetsetters” is one of those books, delivering a narrative of family dysfunction in which each member is a mess and everyone gets a say. A Widow Takes Her Grown Kids on a Cruise. Everything you need to know: book description, quotes from the book, about the author and much more. The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward has an overall rating of Positive based on 4 book reviews. Well, firstly, the setting is great and Ward describes everything so fluently I feel like I’m walking down the streets of Athens or Rome as I’m reading her words. Everyone keeps secrets, and those secrets weigh down on the characters so much that they can’t talk to each other. When you purchase an independently reviewed book through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Regan, described by her mother as the “overweight, thoughtful daughter,” fantasizes about killing her husband. And in the end, each character changes for the better and becomes a stronger person. As the Splendido Marveloso travels from Greece to Malta to Italy, the Perkins’ desperate attempts to both keep up appearances and tell their truths are interrupted by port-city excursions and mandatory cruise-ship fun. : If they like dark humor and need a book that’s more of a soap-opera than your typical fiction, then yes. Would I Recommend this Book to a Friend? Novelists have been especially adroit lately at upending conventional narratives, perhaps because they’re inspired by the truthy hellscape we’re living in. Barnes and Noble’s Overview: “When seventy-year-old Charlotte Perkins submits a sexy essay to the Become a Jetsetter contest, she dreams of reuniting her estranged children: Lee, an almost-famous actress; Cord, a handsome Manhattan venture capitalist who can’t seem to find a partner; and Regan, a harried mother … As a result, her children knock about in similar versions of dishonesty and distress, which can lead to reader fatigue. Charlotte’s husband was an alcoholic bully who alternately ignored and berated his children. END OF SPOILER. The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward. Despite the desire to be free. Each character’s dysfunctions run deep, and each plot twist threatens to sink their sanity, resulting in a funny, moving tale of the complications of familial love. Joan Drury, writer, publisher, and bookstore owner, photo essay on endangered mangrove forests in Brazil. This post contains spoilers.