Fiction Review: The Editor

My neighborhood book group's selection for March was The Editor by Steven Rowley, an author whose other novels (Lily and the Octopus and The Guncle) I've heard good things about but haven't read yet. So, I was looking forward to reading this quirky, humorous novel, but its emotional depth was a pleasant surprise.

James Smale is excited and nervous. After plenty of rejections, his autobiographical novel about a mother and son has finally found a home with a major publisher in 1992. His agent sends him to the hallowed halls of the New York publisher to meet with his new editor. He's so nervous, he keeps making lame jokes and apologizing for silly things with the woman who guides him to the conference room for his meeting. Then his editor walks into the room, and it's none other than Jackie Kennedy Onassis (she really did work in publishing as an editor for a while in the 90's). From that first awkward meeting, he begins working with her (with her!) to edit his book and get it ready for publication. Ironically, his own relationship with his mother is precarious (they are barely speaking) because she is furious that he's written about their family and about her, even if it is veiled in novel form. Jackie--she prefers Mrs. Onassis at work--invites him to her vacation home on Martha's Vineyard, and the two of them gradually become friends as she guides his book to what she thinks it can be. She encourages him to go visit his mother and talk things through, saying it is necessary for his book because it lacks a strong ending. The result is one hilarious and horrible Thanksgiving weekend with his family, when a huge family secret is revealed. As James slowly, painstakingly, works through both his personal issues and editing his novel, Mrs. Onassis is by his side.

When I read the premise of this novel, I expected something light and fun, playing with the idea of a first-time novelist working with such a famous woman as his editor. And the novel is very funny, with plenty of laughs as James battles his neuroses and interacts with his siblings. But I was surprised by the emotional complexity of the novel, as James and his mother--both in real life and in his fictional world--work through their issues and get to know each other better as adults. The novel also hints at the parallels between Jackie's life as a mother and what she reads in James' novel, though she is a very private person who shares little of her personal life. Most of my book group enjoyed this novel (with an average rating of 7.1 out of 10), and we had a great discussion. It's fun to imagine the real life of a major celebrity like Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and I greatly enjoyed the author's sense of humor, but the real magic of this book is in its exploration of family dynamics and mother-son relationships.

308 pages, G.P. Putnam's Sons

Penguin Audio

This book fits in the following 2022 Reading Challenges:

March's Monthly Motif is Buzzed About Books and this one counts!

Alphabet Soup Challenge - E

Diversity Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - another New York!

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Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. The audio sounds good, but the sample is from the middle of the book and is quite spoilery, so be forewarned! Why would they do that?

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

     

 

Or you can order The Editor from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.