Book Review: "Very Nice" by Marcy Dermansky
“Very Nice” by Marcy Dermansky
Publisher Synopsis: Rachel Klein never meant to kiss her creative writing professor, but with his long eyelashes, his silky hair, and the sad, beautiful life he laid bare on Twitter, she does, and the kiss is very nice. Zahid Azzam never planned to become a houseguest in his student's sprawling Connecticut home, but with the sparkling swimming pool, the endless supply of Whole Foods strawberries, and Rachel's beautiful mother, he does, and the home is very nice. Becca Klein never thought she'd have a love affair so soon after her divorce, but when her daughter's professor walks into her home, bringing with him an apricot standard poodle named Princess, she does, and the affair is...a very bad idea.
Zigzagging between the rarefied circles of Manhattan investment banking, the achingly self-serious MFA programs of the Midwest, and the private bedrooms of Connecticut, Very Nice is an audacious, addictive, and wickedly smart take on the way we live now.
Rating (out of 5): 3.25
Review: This novel has gotten quite a few rave reviews and praise, and, while I didn’t not like this book (I read it in one evening), it also felt…incomplete, somehow? I think it was trying to say too much about too many things, and ultimately fell a little flat for me. I thought I was the target audience for this book (a little social commentary, a little romance, a little New York?), but it just…wasn’t my favorite.
In its short 304 pages, the novel touches on race, male privilege, Trump Republicans, rich well-meaning liberal white people, rich white investment bankers, queer identity, school shootings (and guns), sexual harassment; it’s…a lot for such a quick little novel. I will say, it was nice to read a book that wasn’t solely about white people, but the commentary didn’t feel focused enough. Sure, we’re supposed to hate the uber-wealthy Republicans who voted for Trump and whose kid brought a gun to school, but I was also frustrated by the biracial LGBTQ woman who works in investment banking. (Mostly because I felt like she had some unresolved childhood trauma that the novel never really got into, which I suppose isn’t the character’s fault…) I’m certainly not of the mind that I have to like every character in every book I read, but honestly they were all insufferable in different ways.
The novel also has too many narrators for such a short book. The narrators are, alternately, the daughter, the mother, the professor, the dad, the professor’s subletter, and their voices are all too similar. (I suppose that’s a good thing considering how many narrators there are…)
Anyway, I didn’t totally hate this book, but not sure it would be highest on my recommended list. I also respect the craft of writing so I don’t love being super negative in reviews, as I’m sure others would like this book. It just wasn’t for me.
Trigger Warnings: sexual harassment
TL;DR: A good concept for a commentary on our post-2016 presidential election world, but the multiple narrators and clipped writing style made this fall a bit flat for me. Also felt somehow incomplete? Please comment you read this and loved it; I want to know what I’m missing!
If you liked this, try:
“Fleishman is in Trouble” by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (I liked this book better) (Read Moira’s review here)
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