Tale of two mothers favors one, shortchanges the other
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"My Hollywood" by Mona Simpson
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If we have learned anything from the countless episodes of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" or "Orange County" or "New Jersey" and so on, it's that the more money a woman has, the less capable she'll be as a mother, a housekeeper and a wife. Poverty, it seems, provides in these instances.
Mona Simpson's latest novel underscores this axiom in spades. Claire, a composer and mother to baby William, has recently moved to Los Angeles so her husband, Paul, can write comedy shows for television. Money is not their issue.
Claire and Paul discussed the division between child care and professional aspirations long before they had their son, but Paul's chance at a Hollywood career is the real deal, and he can't cut his hours to play Mr. Mom. He's too busy even to play Dad.
Besides, Claire can, ostensibly, compose music from home. The problem, of course, is that Claire feels undermined; this wasn't what they had talked about when they were planning their lives as parents.
Paul's solution to Claire's problems is to hire a full-time nanny, something every mother in America would kill for, but live-in help doesn't ease Claire's angst. She is simply overwhelmed by everything, and we get to hear all about it -- she's incontinent, her husband is gone 17 hours a day, she has an ambivalent crush on one of her friends, she worries about William's school, she's intimidated by the women of Hollywood, her mother isn't stable, her music studio is too sunny, she doesn't know how to play with her son, nothing seems to bring her any joy.
To add fuel to her irksomeness, Claire also has a house cleaner. We're lucky to have Lola, not only to help Claire around the house and with William but also to save the novel from a moody passivity that feels as if it will eventually implode. Lola, fortunately, gives the novel a story in which we can engage. It's her character with whom we empathize.
First Published August 1, 2010 12:00 am
