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Mutual Interest
A classic in the making: a mesmerizing novel about marriage and ambition, sexuality and secrecy, and the true costs of building an empire.
At the turn of the 20th century, Vivian Lesperance is determined to flee her origins in Utica, New York, and avoid repeating her parents' dull, limited life. When she meets Oscar Schmidt, a middle manager at a soap company, Vivian finds a partner she can guide to build the life she wants-not least because, more interested in men himself, Oscar will leave Vivian to tend to her own romances with women.
But Vivian's plans require capital, so the two pair up with Squire Clancey, scion of an old American fortune. Together they found Clancey & Schmidt, a preeminent manufacturer of soap, perfume, and candles. When Oscar and Squire fall in love, the trio form a new kind of partnership.
Vivian reaches the pinnacle of her power building Clancey & Schmidt into an empire of personal care products while operating behind the image of both men. But exposure threatens, and all three partners are made aware of how much they have to lose.
For readers of Hernan Diaz's Trust and Colm Tóibín's The Magician, with echoes of Gustave Flaubert and E.M. Forster, Mutual Interest is a beguiling story of queer romance, empire, and power.
At the turn of the 20th century, Vivian Lesperance is determined to flee her origins in Utica, New York, and avoid repeating her parents' dull, limited life. When she meets Oscar Schmidt, a middle manager at a soap company, Vivian finds a partner she can guide to build the life she wants-not least because, more interested in men himself, Oscar will leave Vivian to tend to her own romances with women.
But Vivian's plans require capital, so the two pair up with Squire Clancey, scion of an old American fortune. Together they found Clancey & Schmidt, a preeminent manufacturer of soap, perfume, and candles. When Oscar and Squire fall in love, the trio form a new kind of partnership.
Vivian reaches the pinnacle of her power building Clancey & Schmidt into an empire of personal care products while operating behind the image of both men. But exposure threatens, and all three partners are made aware of how much they have to lose.
For readers of Hernan Diaz's Trust and Colm Tóibín's The Magician, with echoes of Gustave Flaubert and E.M. Forster, Mutual Interest is a beguiling story of queer romance, empire, and power.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published February 4, 2025
186 people are currently reading
16289 people want to read
About the author
Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
2 books113 followersOlivia Wolfgang-Smith is the author of Mutual Interest (forthcoming from Bloomsbury in February 2025) and Glassworks, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. She is a 2024 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Fiction from The New York Foundation for the Arts and lives in Brooklyn with her partner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews
February 26, 2025
2.5 sorry i just saw that the blurb compares this to em forster and i got so mad i blacked out in the iris room
my long, sort of mean netgalley review:
I understand and admire the core ambition here, but ultimately I think this novel doesn't work. In terms of taste it's definitely too cute for me, but I think the problem goes beyond that -- because the actual emotional material here is shallow and flat, the conceit of the narrator and turn-of-the-century style is never going to feel like anything other than a kind of sophisticated literary roleplay. Why does it work for Forster and Flaubert and whoever else is mentioned in the publisher's (frankly ridiculous, sorry) blurb to write like that? Because underneath the formal neatness of their prose, they are bursting with sensitivity and emotional precision. The characters in this book are held at arm's length for 330 pages -- I never felt that either Wolfgang-Smith or I had gained access to their actual hearts.
One reason for this is that the novel is really short on scenes. I realized, reading through the final 50 pages or so, that I was witnessing the three primary characters speak to each other on the page for possibly the first time in the entire book. There's all this language about Vivian's husbands and the beauty of this tripartite marriage/business arrangement, and clearly Wolfgang-Smith delighted in her creation, but there's very little dialogue, chemistry, or character work to back that up. Part of the problem is that the conceit of the narrator gets in the way there -- telling us that Vivian and Squire like to play cards together and therefore love each other isn't going to make me feel it.
I won't say much more because it's not really helpful or nice -- and I like Wolfgang-Smith! I want people to write historical novels! -- but the other huge issue here is obviously the plot/lack thereof. I support the plotless novel and I think the biographical scope can be effective and compelling -- the real problem in this case, I think, is that the book has been put together sloppily. The climactic scene in the novel, which is interesting but not convincing, takes place because of a sort of sexual tradition that the three primary characters engage in, and which we are first told about only a few chapters before it becomes pivotal. Sorry! I can see your revision notes!
I'm sorry this book wasn't better, and I'm sorry to be writing critically and at such length. Three stars because I massively prefer being somewhat disappointed by a clumsy and over-stylized queer historical drama to whatever deep soul damage I take when reading the vast majority of contemporary novels.
arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review
my long, sort of mean netgalley review:
I understand and admire the core ambition here, but ultimately I think this novel doesn't work. In terms of taste it's definitely too cute for me, but I think the problem goes beyond that -- because the actual emotional material here is shallow and flat, the conceit of the narrator and turn-of-the-century style is never going to feel like anything other than a kind of sophisticated literary roleplay. Why does it work for Forster and Flaubert and whoever else is mentioned in the publisher's (frankly ridiculous, sorry) blurb to write like that? Because underneath the formal neatness of their prose, they are bursting with sensitivity and emotional precision. The characters in this book are held at arm's length for 330 pages -- I never felt that either Wolfgang-Smith or I had gained access to their actual hearts.
One reason for this is that the novel is really short on scenes. I realized, reading through the final 50 pages or so, that I was witnessing the three primary characters speak to each other on the page for possibly the first time in the entire book. There's all this language about Vivian's husbands and the beauty of this tripartite marriage/business arrangement, and clearly Wolfgang-Smith delighted in her creation, but there's very little dialogue, chemistry, or character work to back that up. Part of the problem is that the conceit of the narrator gets in the way there -- telling us that Vivian and Squire like to play cards together and therefore love each other isn't going to make me feel it.
I won't say much more because it's not really helpful or nice -- and I like Wolfgang-Smith! I want people to write historical novels! -- but the other huge issue here is obviously the plot/lack thereof. I support the plotless novel and I think the biographical scope can be effective and compelling -- the real problem in this case, I think, is that the book has been put together sloppily. The climactic scene in the novel, which is interesting but not convincing, takes place because of a sort of sexual tradition that the three primary characters engage in, and which we are first told about only a few chapters before it becomes pivotal. Sorry! I can see your revision notes!
I'm sorry this book wasn't better, and I'm sorry to be writing critically and at such length. Three stars because I massively prefer being somewhat disappointed by a clumsy and over-stylized queer historical drama to whatever deep soul damage I take when reading the vast majority of contemporary novels.
arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review
January 14, 2025
It is SO GOOD!! Three society queers in 1900s NYC, two of whom are each other's beards, form a personal care empire.
The writing style is so unique, idk how to describe it... it has a cheeky cadence, a conversationally tangential omniscience that makes it feel like it was pulled from the shelves of a turn-of-the-century library.
Read this book if you loved TV's Succession, but kiiiinda wished that show had been both kinder and gayer.
The writing style is so unique, idk how to describe it... it has a cheeky cadence, a conversationally tangential omniscience that makes it feel like it was pulled from the shelves of a turn-of-the-century library.
Read this book if you loved TV's Succession, but kiiiinda wished that show had been both kinder and gayer.
February 22, 2025
4.5 stars! This was so well executed and thought out!
Here is why I loved this one- IT WAS DIFFERENT!
Told from 3rd person POV, we follow Vivian from her childhood town of Utica, NY (45 minutes from me I was screaming) as she is an only child of a middle class family in the early 1900’s. Her wealthier friend is going to NYC for a summer to be debuted in high society and she gets to tag along. Finding that she loves the elegance, money, and drama that comes with the wealthy upper class of NYC, she schemes her way into never returning home by befriending an up-and-coming female writer for a popular tabloid. She makes herself someone by getting mentioned in the paper and soon she receives endless invitations to society events, exclusive clubs, and uses her networking skills to become one with the old money of New York.
Vivian is also a lesbian who after an affair has run its course when her paramour decides to leave NYC to go to Europe with a man, finds herself homeless and desperate. At one of her last weeks living with her love, she meets Oscar, an older closeted gay man who is a middle manager for a soap company. Oscar has been having clandestine rendezvous with other gay men for years after leaving his small town in Ohio and has made somewhat of a reputation for himself. He is also in competition with a peculiar old money brat named Squire who has decided on a whim to take up interest in candle making that competes with Oscars supplier for his soaps. Seeing an opportunity, Vivian decides that Oscar will be her next mark. The two come to an understanding and after being married, Vivian schemes once again to absorb Squires company to benefit Oscar, and therefore herself.
What we end up with is Oscar and Squire becoming lovers, Vivian continuing her illegal lifestyle of sleeping with women, and an empire of consumer goods ranging from candles, soaps, laundry detergents, and enough wealth to live comfortably. The three live together and call themselves a ‘syndicate’ of sorts. Maintaining a public image as husband and wife to the outside world, Vivian and Oscar are two different people behind closed doors.
Vivian, the real brains behind the entire empire, is still a young woman in the 1930’s and has to take the constant hits of not being credited for the companies success while Oscar and Squire galavant on trips together under he guise of “business,” I really felt her struggle and pains as a woman in business who had to hide herself away. She not only had to step away from her business ventures, but hide her true desire of being with women during a time where being gay was illegal.
This was filled with endless scheming where Vivian was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers. The old money vibes were immaculate. The story being told 3rd person was perfection. I loved the cheeky tone of the narrator throughout the book. This was female rage, female empowerment, and another example of a woman being extinguished by societal norms. I truly loved Squire and Oscar as their characters suffered in their own ways, but Vivian was my star in this. I truly loved everything she represented, even when she was ugly and desperate at times.
Someone described this as a book you’d love if you liked the HBO show Succession and I have to agree. This is that, but gay and I was here for it!
Here is why I loved this one- IT WAS DIFFERENT!
Told from 3rd person POV, we follow Vivian from her childhood town of Utica, NY (45 minutes from me I was screaming) as she is an only child of a middle class family in the early 1900’s. Her wealthier friend is going to NYC for a summer to be debuted in high society and she gets to tag along. Finding that she loves the elegance, money, and drama that comes with the wealthy upper class of NYC, she schemes her way into never returning home by befriending an up-and-coming female writer for a popular tabloid. She makes herself someone by getting mentioned in the paper and soon she receives endless invitations to society events, exclusive clubs, and uses her networking skills to become one with the old money of New York.
Vivian is also a lesbian who after an affair has run its course when her paramour decides to leave NYC to go to Europe with a man, finds herself homeless and desperate. At one of her last weeks living with her love, she meets Oscar, an older closeted gay man who is a middle manager for a soap company. Oscar has been having clandestine rendezvous with other gay men for years after leaving his small town in Ohio and has made somewhat of a reputation for himself. He is also in competition with a peculiar old money brat named Squire who has decided on a whim to take up interest in candle making that competes with Oscars supplier for his soaps. Seeing an opportunity, Vivian decides that Oscar will be her next mark. The two come to an understanding and after being married, Vivian schemes once again to absorb Squires company to benefit Oscar, and therefore herself.
What we end up with is Oscar and Squire becoming lovers, Vivian continuing her illegal lifestyle of sleeping with women, and an empire of consumer goods ranging from candles, soaps, laundry detergents, and enough wealth to live comfortably. The three live together and call themselves a ‘syndicate’ of sorts. Maintaining a public image as husband and wife to the outside world, Vivian and Oscar are two different people behind closed doors.
Vivian, the real brains behind the entire empire, is still a young woman in the 1930’s and has to take the constant hits of not being credited for the companies success while Oscar and Squire galavant on trips together under he guise of “business,” I really felt her struggle and pains as a woman in business who had to hide herself away. She not only had to step away from her business ventures, but hide her true desire of being with women during a time where being gay was illegal.
This was filled with endless scheming where Vivian was playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers. The old money vibes were immaculate. The story being told 3rd person was perfection. I loved the cheeky tone of the narrator throughout the book. This was female rage, female empowerment, and another example of a woman being extinguished by societal norms. I truly loved Squire and Oscar as their characters suffered in their own ways, but Vivian was my star in this. I truly loved everything she represented, even when she was ugly and desperate at times.
Someone described this as a book you’d love if you liked the HBO show Succession and I have to agree. This is that, but gay and I was here for it!
abandoned
June 12, 2025I read about 20% of this book before I gave up. The writing is third-person omniscient and aggressively tongue-in-cheek twee, so I found it very difficult to connect to the characters or care about them. The narrator tells you that events happen and that characters feel a certain way, but there are very few actual scenes where characters interact. The writing prioritizes sly asides at the expense of emotional resonance.
I may have abandoned this too early, but it reminded me too much of Olivie Blake's Gifted and Talented. I read all 500+ pages of that and regretted it. It's nice to know when you're not going to enjoy something.
I may have abandoned this too early, but it reminded me too much of Olivie Blake's Gifted and Talented. I read all 500+ pages of that and regretted it. It's nice to know when you're not going to enjoy something.
February 16, 2025
My curiosity about Mutual Interest stemmed from early comparisons to Trust by Hernan Diaz, one of my all time favorites. And two years ago Trust won a Pulitzer, so that comparison is quite lofty. But I also saw some Edith Wharton mentions, and I absolutely adore a Gilded Age NYC story, so I'm grateful to @bloomsbury for sending this my way.
I will say that the Wharton comp is the most spot on, although again that is a lofty comparison. However, any reader of Wharton will instantly see what Wolfgang-Smith is doing here. I am not an English teacher but I would call this a pastiche for sure because the author absolutely imitates the novels of Henry James and Wharton. And the main character, Vivian, is quite reminiscent of Undine Sprague from The Custom of the Country - both are driven women who will stop at nothing for their personal gain.
But despite both understanding the author's intent and loving novels set in this era, something fell flat. The author here frequently breaks the fourth wall, which is one of my reading pet peeves. The "dear reader" trick became old and threw me out of the story every time it happened (and it happens a lot). It adds nothing and (if I remember correctly) was not a method employed by the writers she is imitating.
This is a story about power and one woman's attempt to carve out a place for herself. It also centers around a "lavender marriage" (a term I'd never heard before!) and I think Smith handled that storyline well.
All in all, I was mostly bored - something just felt like it never really got off the ground. When you comp a book to Trust or Custom of the Country, you set the bar so high it is somewhat problematic and I think that may have been my issue. Mutual Interest is out now!
2.5 stars. 3 is too high and 2 is low…come on goodreads!
I will say that the Wharton comp is the most spot on, although again that is a lofty comparison. However, any reader of Wharton will instantly see what Wolfgang-Smith is doing here. I am not an English teacher but I would call this a pastiche for sure because the author absolutely imitates the novels of Henry James and Wharton. And the main character, Vivian, is quite reminiscent of Undine Sprague from The Custom of the Country - both are driven women who will stop at nothing for their personal gain.
But despite both understanding the author's intent and loving novels set in this era, something fell flat. The author here frequently breaks the fourth wall, which is one of my reading pet peeves. The "dear reader" trick became old and threw me out of the story every time it happened (and it happens a lot). It adds nothing and (if I remember correctly) was not a method employed by the writers she is imitating.
This is a story about power and one woman's attempt to carve out a place for herself. It also centers around a "lavender marriage" (a term I'd never heard before!) and I think Smith handled that storyline well.
All in all, I was mostly bored - something just felt like it never really got off the ground. When you comp a book to Trust or Custom of the Country, you set the bar so high it is somewhat problematic and I think that may have been my issue. Mutual Interest is out now!
2.5 stars. 3 is too high and 2 is low…come on goodreads!
June 12, 2025
2 stars. This book reads like a cross between a very arid anthropological field study and a lesser Edith Wharton novel, and not a very good mashup at that. The dry, detached, dispassionate tone throughout made me never much care about any of the three main characters, particularly Vivian, arguably "first among equals" of the 3 MCs. I can't recall if the phrase "Let us observe" was ever used in the book, but that was the driving narrative voice. Put another way, it was like being asked to observe someone pinning insect specimens for 8-10 hours. Not my idea of entertainment.
Would I, could I recommend the book to people? MAYbe, but only with ample reservations and caveats. The book is not without quite a bit of wit and interesting observations - interesting, often satiric dissections of human nature, if you will. I can think of many readers who would or could enjoy this book. (I just am not one of them.)
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.
Would I, could I recommend the book to people? MAYbe, but only with ample reservations and caveats. The book is not without quite a bit of wit and interesting observations - interesting, often satiric dissections of human nature, if you will. I can think of many readers who would or could enjoy this book. (I just am not one of them.)
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.
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dnf
June 18, 2025DNF at 15%
Just not feeling this writing style. It's so...disconnected.
Just not feeling this writing style. It's so...disconnected.
May 21, 2025
"They had adjusted to see in the dark, before Vivian hauled them to the surface."
this is one of the most charismatic and unabashedly queer novels i have ever read. head in hands. two weird, pathetic men and their 24 year old lesbian matriarch against the early 20th century new york society.
this was so tender and funny and, oh my god, olivia wolfgang-smith's writing is like no other; it's so genuine and witty, and i can't read anything else without yearning (truly yearning) to go back to hers. cannot begin to describe how this book has rearranged my brain chemistry and scraped out the walls of my heart. i could wax poetic about it until i hit word limit
thank u to this book 4 showing me that i AM a pathetic 54 year old man. omw to a walrus enclosure NOW!
May 21, 2025
Don’t read this if you hate having to sit through your grandma telling you what the gay neighbors are up to when she spies on them through the kitchen window.
January 31, 2025
I'm deeply obsessed with this queer historical fiction set in Gilded Age New York! Oscar has the skills make high-quality soaps. Squire has out-of-the-box ideas — and the family wealth to fund a new business idea. Vivian has the foresight and social savvy to bring them together. As an unlikely team, they build an empire while a world of queer love and heartbreak swirls behind closed doors. The protagonists of Mutual Interest are deliciously layered and messy and endearing. I especially love the cheeky narrative voice. Olivia Wolfgang-Smith is a remarkably talented writer and one of my new favorites!
Read
April 21, 2025I am so incredibly sad to be DNFing this at 57%. I wanted to love MUTUAL INTEREST. I was determined to love it! Maybe I set the bar too high.
I just happen to be reading MAURICE right now; the comparison of MUTUAL INTEREST to Forster is wildly off. Forster gives the reader insight into his characters’ psyches and dreams and passions. Reading MAURICE is hurting my heart in that amazing, literary way…a way that is only possible if the author really gives you access to their characters. MUTUAL INTEREST does the opposite— everyone in the story is held from the reader at arms length. I knew who the three main characters were only because the author directly told me. MUTUAL INTEREST really missed the mark on something so key for lit fic. 🥲
Note: I was gifted an ARC in exchange for my honest review
I just happen to be reading MAURICE right now; the comparison of MUTUAL INTEREST to Forster is wildly off. Forster gives the reader insight into his characters’ psyches and dreams and passions. Reading MAURICE is hurting my heart in that amazing, literary way…a way that is only possible if the author really gives you access to their characters. MUTUAL INTEREST does the opposite— everyone in the story is held from the reader at arms length. I knew who the three main characters were only because the author directly told me. MUTUAL INTEREST really missed the mark on something so key for lit fic. 🥲
Note: I was gifted an ARC in exchange for my honest review
February 20, 2025
So many opportunities missed. The style of this novel fails on every level for me. Characters were one-dimensional, the plot was just told in a very obvious way with no tension or drama or comedy. I should have gone with my instincts and dropped it after a couple chapters.
dnf
January 25, 2025DNF @9% idk im not feeling it, mr. krabs
November 1, 2024
In Gilded Age New York, three people from very different backgrounds make a fortune, a home and a life within an odd marriage. Vivian Lesperance moves to New York from her home in Utica, taking multiple female lovers and many risks to move herself toward her goal of happiness and self-determination. When she meets Oscar Schmidt, a midlevel manager and salesman for a Midwest soap manufacturer, Vivian perceives someone she can guide to create the life she wants, while he pursues relationships with men. Seeking capital to found their own firm, Vivian focuses on Squire Clancey, the scion of an old money family. Soon, Oscar and Squire are in love, they are all living under one very complicated and customized roof and Vivian is free to run the business and pursue occasional dalliances.
Vivian is an unforgettable character, skilled at manipulation, a master of foresight in business, but falling short in her pursuit of personal happiness. Wolfgang-Smith has created an historical novel and queer love story that I could not put down.
Vivian is an unforgettable character, skilled at manipulation, a master of foresight in business, but falling short in her pursuit of personal happiness. Wolfgang-Smith has created an historical novel and queer love story that I could not put down.
December 6, 2025
MUTUAL INTEREST is a remarkable and entrancing historical novel about queerness, capitalism, ambition, power, and love that was a genuine delight from start to finish. wolfgang-smith's prose is reminiscent of your favorite gilded age fiction and her exploration of the book's lavender marriage—and the three characters within it—was perfectly beautiful. MUTUAL INTEREST is refreshing and timeless, and you—like me—won't be forgetting vivian, oscar, or squire once you've had the enormous pleasure of meeting them. i can't wait to dive into wolfgang-smith's backlist, and am greatly looking forward to what story she'll be telling us next.
October 29, 2024
The throw-back style of this amazing novel transported me back in time as much as the setting and the story. With the narrator looking gently over my shoulder, I gazed into the hearts and minds of three original characters united in a self-described "syndicate" to make their way in a world hostile to queer people and ambitious women. Original and captivating, I'm still thinking about this story days after finishing the book.
July 3, 2025
4.5 audiobook
December 4, 2025
A very slow character driven story that I was mostly intrigued by, but put down halfway through. After months of not touching it, I realized that I have no interest in continuing
February 16, 2025
Picked this book up from the library new purchases. In Mutual Interest, impoverished young lesbian socialite Vivian Lesperance is desperate to make it in 1898 New York society, but her rural farming family has effectively disowned her. Surviving off of her wits, Vivian connives her way into a lavender marriage with soap manager Oscar Schmidt and plots to make him a millionaire.
I liked Vivian and thought she was a great character. She has some of Baru Cormorant's self-centered ambitious lesbian plots her way to economic power, except with negative class consciousness. (Imagine a person with zero class consciousness. Now, take it a few dozen steps lower...) She's a resourceful manipulator, she's vulnerable as a Woman in Society, she was dumped by a fling she was relying on financially early on and has never had a serious relationship since. Repressed and anxious soap magnate Oscar and the eccentric rich autism-coded Squire were also fun to read about, but Vivian steals the show.
The narration tends towards arch little fourth-wall breaking quips that may not be to everyone's taste. I personally found them to be a touch grating. The story can stand on its own merits without any need to resort to moralizing about causality and stones dropped in a pool and The Year Without A Summer. Habits picked up from the book's literary fiction leanings, I suspect. Still, I found the story's focus on the rise and fall of a ruthless industry, and of living quietly as queer in a hostile time, to be fascinating. The ambiguous conclusion was an especially nice touch.
An intriguing and original historical fiction work about queerness, ambition, and forcing a space for yourself in the world. Recommended for historical fiction fans.
I liked Vivian and thought she was a great character. She has some of Baru Cormorant's self-centered ambitious lesbian plots her way to economic power, except with negative class consciousness. (Imagine a person with zero class consciousness. Now, take it a few dozen steps lower...) She's a resourceful manipulator, she's vulnerable as a Woman in Society, she was dumped by a fling she was relying on financially early on and has never had a serious relationship since. Repressed and anxious soap magnate Oscar and the eccentric rich autism-coded Squire were also fun to read about, but Vivian steals the show.
The narration tends towards arch little fourth-wall breaking quips that may not be to everyone's taste. I personally found them to be a touch grating. The story can stand on its own merits without any need to resort to moralizing about causality and stones dropped in a pool and The Year Without A Summer. Habits picked up from the book's literary fiction leanings, I suspect. Still, I found the story's focus on the rise and fall of a ruthless industry, and of living quietly as queer in a hostile time, to be fascinating. The ambiguous conclusion was an especially nice touch.
An intriguing and original historical fiction work about queerness, ambition, and forcing a space for yourself in the world. Recommended for historical fiction fans.
June 3, 2025
I don’t think I can say it any better than what was published in Kirkus Reviews:
“Wolfgang-Smith approaches historical fiction as a costume ball, affecting a fizzy, omniscient narration: At the book’s most fun, it’s Edith Wharton or Henry James, with more camp [i.e., queer] and a winking tone. But strict verisimilitude to this period in fiction also means a reliance on exposition, and combined with lots of business talk, this can slow things down.”
I liked the Gilded Age setting, the author’s sympathy for her complicated characters, and the intentional updating and contextualizing of the late 19th-early 20th century comedy of manners. But the novel kind of peters out in the second half…what’s supposed to be high drama comes off as floundering for a meaningful and compelling climax—which, when it arrives, is both unsatisfying and vague. I’m giving it four stars, but just barely.
“Wolfgang-Smith approaches historical fiction as a costume ball, affecting a fizzy, omniscient narration: At the book’s most fun, it’s Edith Wharton or Henry James, with more camp [i.e., queer] and a winking tone. But strict verisimilitude to this period in fiction also means a reliance on exposition, and combined with lots of business talk, this can slow things down.”
I liked the Gilded Age setting, the author’s sympathy for her complicated characters, and the intentional updating and contextualizing of the late 19th-early 20th century comedy of manners. But the novel kind of peters out in the second half…what’s supposed to be high drama comes off as floundering for a meaningful and compelling climax—which, when it arrives, is both unsatisfying and vague. I’m giving it four stars, but just barely.
March 8, 2025
3.5 stars MAYBE? I need to Think. RTC
March 31, 2025
Book might be called mutual interest but it was all disinterest for me. Bet the writer is a wonderful person tho, so gave it 3 stars. I didn’t finish the book, but I read the ending since I’d never make it there on my own. I mean if you understand big words this book is probably better. Gave it a couple stars incase I was not academically inclined enough to get it, and maybe it was better for smarter person. Just an array of random thoughts.
June 25, 2025
A little hard to follow if using an audio book but over all a good story. The writing style was interesting.
October 8, 2025
I felt kinda mixed about this throughout but I ended up enjoying it. while I didn't always gel with the style of the narration (felt a bit too * wink wink nod nod* at points), I really respect the ambition and appreciate that it felt like I was reading something new and unique
March 30, 2025
Definitely an interesting read. The story and the plot did keep my attention and I was interested in knowing what was going to happen, but there are parts of this book and the way it's written that don't trust the reader enough. It also tells you a lot of the information about the three characters' relationship to each other without seeing a whole lot of it.
March 31, 2025
Also fucking fantastic. Vivian is both familiar and terrifying, and the writing itself is complex and satisfying. So exciting to read a new book of queer historical fiction. Highly recommend.
November 3, 2025
esta entre 3.5/4...
June 20, 2025
I enjoyed that this read like a classic, and that the author made tongue-in-cheek comments about the characters. Vivian slayed while the others were idiots
April 3, 2025
(rounded down from 3.25)
This was a massive departure from what I've been reading lately. It was interesting and fun for parts because of the snarky, conversational, omniscient narrator who breaks the fourth wall periodically, but it was less interesting because we never really dive deep into the characters and their emotions as much as we should. Given that the crux of the book is Vivian and her life, she is unfortunately only slightly less impenetrable to us, the readers, than she is to her husband and his husband.
I don't really know if a change in the perspective, i.e. having the book from Vivian's point of view, would have helped much because while she ought to be very interesting in her machinations and manipulations to get ahead in life, she doesn't engage with people on any real level which means we only end up having a surface level attachment to her as well.
Despite the shortcomings, I enjoyed this story of a 24-year-old lesbian dragging two nervous gay bachelors through life and prosperity and even a long-term romantic relationship.
This was a massive departure from what I've been reading lately. It was interesting and fun for parts because of the snarky, conversational, omniscient narrator who breaks the fourth wall periodically, but it was less interesting because we never really dive deep into the characters and their emotions as much as we should. Given that the crux of the book is Vivian and her life, she is unfortunately only slightly less impenetrable to us, the readers, than she is to her husband and his husband.
I don't really know if a change in the perspective, i.e. having the book from Vivian's point of view, would have helped much because while she ought to be very interesting in her machinations and manipulations to get ahead in life, she doesn't engage with people on any real level which means we only end up having a surface level attachment to her as well.
Despite the shortcomings, I enjoyed this story of a 24-year-old lesbian dragging two nervous gay bachelors through life and prosperity and even a long-term romantic relationship.
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March 9, 2025Wanted to love this and thought I would—I loved Trust, and I love historical fiction, and I love stories about class and how women in particular navigate that. But I didn’t. Felt like the author was keeping me at a distance from the main characters, which may be because she was working in an old fashioned omniscient third person that doesn’t necessarily have to be as cool as this, but is in the hands of someone not used to it. Also felt like the thing with the pins and the map and history etc was too on the nose.
I’d read her next book, because clearly she’s a smart and talented writer, but maybe got in over her head here.
I’d read her next book, because clearly she’s a smart and talented writer, but maybe got in over her head here.
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