Diandra Reviews It All

Life can be defined by crisis or rather the moments where we know we are never going to be the “same” again. There are a few instance that lead you to be new, but whether new means better is up to you. Tom Perrotta has made a career of writing characters, such as in Little Children or The Leftovers, that pass through emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical crisis to decide if their rebirth is empowering or heartbreaking. Thus, Mrs. Fletcher, his newest book venture, is not different in delivering characters that have no idea how to take in a fresh idea of their self.

Mrs. Fletcher is divided between two characters, mother and child Eve and Brendan, with both entering new phases in their life. Eve is recently divorced, and contemplating what her life will entail without her ex, and, now, her son Brendan, whom is going off to make a new life in college. Brendan, to place it simply, is a teen entering university life: enough said. He tussles between ego and heart as college life is part dream and part diabolical. Sure, parties, sex, and drugs sound like a wonderful to a young, testosterone filled man, but as the initial glamor fades and the idea of “now I am a man” becomes more nuanced, Brendan’s heart/ thoughts struggle between feeling bigger than life and feeling crushed by it. The same can be said for his mother Eve, whom is going through her own sexual revolution through dating apps and college courses that expand her definitions of gender and even erotica. Although Eve’s self-discovery is charming and heart-warming, ironically, for the boy she raised, his spiritual growth comes with hard hits that are mostly coming from his bad attitude/ cruelty. A great mom can raise a great son, but greatness is a journey that, at times, involves instances of personal villainy. Juxtaposing a mother and child’s path of self-discovery was brilliant on Perrotta’s end because it amps up a story that, in essence, is not new. A mid-life divorcee “re-sexing” her life? A frat-boy who acts like a fool in public but cries in private? These are stereotypical notions and characters that Perrotta revolutionizes with his signature penchant for emotional details, and the fascinating characters that cross protagonists’ path to teach them that growing up should mean growing better. From Margot, a witty Transgender professor that opens Eve’s mind to the rich world of sex and identity, to Amber, a college student with a wiser heart than Brendan’s narrow mind, it is who these characters meet that make them more intriguing. Yet, is that not the point of life?

Reading Mrs. Fletcher left me with a strange epiphany; it is the people that cross our path that define it more than our situations. Eve and Brendan would not have been such pulling characters if they had not crossed people that pushed out their vulnerability. I make this point, especially, with Brendan. While most people will gravitate to Eve’s sweetness and universal struggle for body and spiritual positivity, Brendan intrigues me as a character because he is, technically, a “horrible” guy. Yet, when you are young and broken-hearted over your parent’s divorce and the general feeling that life/ college can be a soul’s vacuum, I can understand that you are not a beacon of healing. Still, Brendan can be a beacon of hurt, and as his mom tries to heal and empower herself, it is intriguing to to see a young man/ her son do the opposite. It made me wonder whether age inspires people to bounce back and forward from pain with kindness because, like Eve, you reach a point where you simply want to let go of all the fear/ anger you have over your life. When you are young, all you have is time to hold a grudge, but as you see Eve approach life more openly than her son and his “youth”, readers begin to see that age is nothing but a number when it comes to enjoying life more fully. Frankly, Mrs. Fletcher shines as Mr. Perrotta literary “comeback” after eleven years because it is not about happy endings as much as happiness. How do you get happy again after feeling so sad? Maybe, you try something new like, Mrs. Fletcher. For More Information on Tom Perrotta And To Buy Mrs. Fletcher Click Here.