Today Will Be Different

July 11, 2016
On the fateful day she decides to be her “best self,” Eleanor Flood—cult-famous cartoonist, mother, wife, cynic—spirals from one catastrophe to the next. Her day quickly turns hectic when her son, Timby, comes home sick from school. Hoping his father might help, Eleanor instead begins to suspect her surgeon husband is having an affair when his receptionist acts cagey. Eleanor’s ego is bruised when she realizes an underling she fired years ago is now a famous artist, she dodges calls from her publisher about a long-passed deadline for her graphic memoir, and, finally, she suffers what may be a concussion after crashing headfirst into a sculpture. The latest from Semple (Where’d You Go, Bernadette?) is a sharp, funny read, and the author injects quirky elements—drawings, a comic book, photocopies of poems—to add another layer of enjoyment. Though Eleanor is snarky, her troubles and growing calamities are engaging. Some of her encounters are a bit too convenient, and the trope of a “day from hell” makes for shallow interactions between characters, but Semple augments these first-person antics with third-person sections that dig deep into Eleanor’s past, finding particular resonance when telling the story of Ivy, the sister Eleanor feels she has lost to a wealthy husband in New Orleans. In the end, the novel wraps up too neatly, but the ride is consistently entertaining. Agent: Anna Stein, ICM Partners.

Listeners are dropped into Eleanor Flood's complicated life just as she's about to have a meltdown. Her son is faking illness, her husband is lying to her, and she's upset by news of her estranged sister. Narrator Kathleen Wilhoite gives Eleanor a voice that's as quirky and unpredictable as her personality while offering clues as to why things have gone so wrong in her life. Not only does Wilhoite perfectly convey a character who is both frustrating and charming, she also maintains the cohesiveness of the story as it shifts between first- and third-person perspectives. It's the kind of narration that draws listeners into the story, wanting to know what happens next. The icing on the cake is a rendition of "Morning Has Broken," complete with guitar accompaniment. M.M.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine