I have fond memories of reading Carol Anshaw’s Carry the One way back in 2012 when it was published here in the UK so was keen to get my hands on her new novel, Right After the Weather. Set in Anshaw’s home town of Chicago in the months before and after the 2016 election, it explores both the state of the nation and the nature of friendship through Cate, a 42-year-old theatrical set designer determined to anchor her precarious way of life in a more secure future.
Cate is designing the set for a play she knows will bomb but she’s doing her best to rescue it. Her own life is in need of attention: her income made up of meagre fees, part time teaching and handouts from her divorced parents; her affair with Dana at an end, although not in either of their hearts; her new girlfriend somewhat over keen and her conspiracy-theory obsessed ex-husband holed up in her spare room with his dog. The one sure thing is her friendship with Neale who lives close by with 12-year-old Joe. Cate potters along, trying her best to overlook Maureen’s over-zealous communications, visiting Neale and Joe regularly, taking the closure of At Ease in her stride and thrilled when the two doyennes of New York theatre commission her to design the set for their new play. It seems at least one part of her plan has come to fruition. Then, one day, keen to hear a favourite track promised by her car radio’s DJ after the weather forecast, Cate interrupts an appalling act of violence which will throw all the cards of her life up into the air, affecting both herself and her relationships with others in surprising and deeply unsettling ways.
They’re like two people who years ago had rooms in the same boardinghouse, a time neither looks back on fondly.
Anshaw unfolds this wonderfully perceptive novel from Cate’s perspective, drawing you in to her boho liberal life, the state of the nation a constant background hum. She’s an engaging character, troubled by Maureen’s revelations, material excesses and determined attention. Anshaw’s exploration of the fallout from violence is well done, its effects on her characters sharply observed, and her wit is often pithy, a pleasing thread of wry humour running through her narrative.
Frances is what Cate would describe as recently pretty.
Even the dog is a triumph. I try to avoid spoilers but if, like me, the appearance of dogs in fiction makes you anxious about their fate, you need have no worries about the lovely Sailor. If anything, he’s the note of hope on which this intelligent absorbing piece of fiction ends. At one point, it emerges that Neale loves Elizabeth Strout’s writing and although I’m sure Anshaw was paying Strout a compliment rather than fishing for comparisons I’m more than happy to draw one. A quietly brilliant novel, so good, I included it on my Women’s Prize for Fiction wishlist. Fingers crossed…
Fig Tree: London 2020 9780241392805 269 pages Hardback
Now on my TBR — a book that would have completely passed me by if not for your review. I see that Claire Fuller loved it as well. Thanks for the reassurance about the dog — I was so relieved recently when nothing happened to the animals (dog, mice) in Our Souls at Night. Speaking of Strout, I recently got an e-mail saying “since you read and liked something by Elizabeth Strout, you might like…” this Pride & Prejudice spin-off about Charlotte Collins, nee Lucas. Which I might, yes, but I wouldn’t think to connect it to Strout!
Oh, I do love those outlandish comparisons but you can trust mine, and I’m pleased to hear you’re adding this one to your TBR. I suspect it might be one of those titles that slips through the net. As for animals in fiction, I imagine you’ve seen Marina Sofia’s warning in her The Cat and the City review but thought I’d mention it just in case.
Oh dear, I requested that one from NetGalley and have it on my Kindle. I’ll have to have a rethink.
It was on my radar as one to read, too.
I do like a theatrical setting so making a note of this one though I suspect it will be next year before I get around to reading it ….
It’ll keep!
Like BookerTalk I enjoy a theatrical setting, and the comparison to Strout has me wholly convinced! Thank you for letting us know about Sailor – the minute a dog appears in fiction my heart sinks…
Mine, too. They so often meet a miserable fate.
Any comparison to Elizabeth Strout is bound to get a lot of us to sit up, though I still have only read two Strout I have others tbr. I like a theatrical setting too.
I thought very carefully before making that comparison, as you can imagine. I hope enjoy this one if you pick it up.
You had me at ‘if you like ES…’! On to the TBR it goes
Not a comparison to be tossed about lightly, Liz, at least not for me. I hope you love it as much as I did.
I really loved an earlier novel by Anshaw (it had a blue cover – that’s an old bookseller joke, right?) and I think I would love this one as well. Also, isn’t it delightful to find a reference to another author/book that you enjoy inside another book? Love that.
The old jokes are the good ones! Perhaps it was Carry the One? It’s the only other of hers I’ve read although I think she’s written two more, not available here. The Strout reference was a lovely compliment, I thought.