What do you think?
Rate this book
Spending
The Barnes & Noble Review March 1998
With such acclaimed works as The Shadow Man and The Other Side, Mary Gordon has established herself as one of America's most important female writers. Her novels are known for their vivid explorations of the depths of human feeling and what it means to live a moral, religious, and artistic life. In Spending, Gordon examines the complex details of everyday life while encapsulating larger themes in her story of a woman who seemingly has her wishes granted.
With such acclaimed works as The Shadow Man and The Other Side, Mary Gordon has established herself as one of America's most important female writers. Her novels are known for their vivid explorations of the depths of human feeling and what it means to live a moral, religious, and artistic life. In Spending, Gordon examines the complex details of everyday life while encapsulating larger themes in her story of a woman who seemingly has her wishes granted.
In Spending the reader is introduced to Monica Szabo, a woman in her 50s. She is divorced, has raised her children, and is finally able to focus on her painting without guilt or sacrifice. She is already a moderately successful painter when she encounters B., a wealthy man who is willing to become her patron and eventually her lover and muse.
Once Monica is freed from the pressures of finance and reawakened by an erotic and compassionate love, she begins to create her best work. She embarks on a series of paintings based on the idea that the deposed Christs of Renaissance art were not dead but post-orgasmic.
These highly controversial paintings immediately make her a hero of the art world and an enemy of the Christian right. But as Monica's fame and wealth increase enormously, B. is faced with an abrupt turn in his fortunes and loses almost everything. Suddenly, Monica and B. find their roles reversed and must contend with the implications involved in a society where the man is generally considered the provider.
Although Gordon has presented many complex issues that cannot easily be resolved, she paints them around an erotic and pleasure-charged story. As Gordon dissects gender relationships, religion, and artistic integrity, she never removes joy from her story. The joys found in sex, work, food, nature, and friendship are found in overwhelming abundance. As the novel progresses, the different meanings of Spending become clear. Yet the provocative story and fully drawn characters create an enjoyable path for the many discoveries that Gordon provides.
301 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
28 people are currently reading
1201 people want to read
About the author
Mary Gordon
101 books158 followersMary Catherine Gordon is an American writer from Queens and Valley Stream, New York. She is the McIntosh Professor of English at Barnard College. She is best known for her novels, memoirs and literary criticism. In 2008, she was named Official State Author of New York.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
July 26, 2016
I liked this book. I didn't love it when I was finished with it (for reasons I'll get to), but it was more thoughtful than I expected it to be.
Basically, a female artist (Monica) is approached by a wealthy man who proposes to be her "muse" (although patron is more like it) so that she's able to reach her full potential as an artist. But they're immediately attracted to each other and become lovers almost as soon as he introduces himself to Monica (she doesn't divulge his name until the last pages of the book but refers to him as "B"), which complicates matters for Monica because she's never sure what she "owes" him in return for all the money B lavishes on her. (This, is part, is where the title of the novel comes from.)
Often Monica considers great male artists ("the masters") and how they often had lovers who were muses to them and if, as a woman, Monica is entitled to the same benefits those men had. Also, money is a concern for her because she wonders if it's tainting her work in some way; having B's money at her disposal allows her to give up teaching and have the time and space she needs to make great (if controversial) works of art, but, again, it leaves her to feel indebted to someone else, keeping her at times from doing the work she absolutely needs to do.
Also, the book is full of sex--which almost becomes part of the works themselves--because of the murky relationship that Monica and B develop. For the most part, she wants to resist him and pretend that their relationship is business-only, but she always fails to see that through because B is so charming and attractive to her. The book falls apart for me towards the end, though, in part three (there are no official chapters but there are many breaks within the three parts of the book) when B loses his money and, therefore, becomes sullen and almost asexual; for him, at least, money is definitely tied into his desire for sex, which in my humble opinion causes him to fall into stereotype when a different approach to his character would have better-suited the book and its themes and messages.
A fan of art at least would enjoy the detailed descriptions of famous art pieces, and other artists (writers, for example) can enjoy reading about Monica's processes, mullings, and other complications associated with the creation of art. I liked how Monica was the artist, the older person in the couple, and a changing character who eschewed stereotypes herself. I didn't think the "happy ending" was as well-written as it could've been (it ended too easily and neatly), and I also think there were too many characters introduced too late into the novel. But as a subject for discussion about the roles women play and have played in art as well as about the importance of money in the creation of great art, this book is a thought-provoking piece that doesn't easily answer any of the questions it poses.
Basically, a female artist (Monica) is approached by a wealthy man who proposes to be her "muse" (although patron is more like it) so that she's able to reach her full potential as an artist. But they're immediately attracted to each other and become lovers almost as soon as he introduces himself to Monica (she doesn't divulge his name until the last pages of the book but refers to him as "B"), which complicates matters for Monica because she's never sure what she "owes" him in return for all the money B lavishes on her. (This, is part, is where the title of the novel comes from.)
Often Monica considers great male artists ("the masters") and how they often had lovers who were muses to them and if, as a woman, Monica is entitled to the same benefits those men had. Also, money is a concern for her because she wonders if it's tainting her work in some way; having B's money at her disposal allows her to give up teaching and have the time and space she needs to make great (if controversial) works of art, but, again, it leaves her to feel indebted to someone else, keeping her at times from doing the work she absolutely needs to do.
Also, the book is full of sex--which almost becomes part of the works themselves--because of the murky relationship that Monica and B develop. For the most part, she wants to resist him and pretend that their relationship is business-only, but she always fails to see that through because B is so charming and attractive to her. The book falls apart for me towards the end, though, in part three (there are no official chapters but there are many breaks within the three parts of the book) when B loses his money and, therefore, becomes sullen and almost asexual; for him, at least, money is definitely tied into his desire for sex, which in my humble opinion causes him to fall into stereotype when a different approach to his character would have better-suited the book and its themes and messages.
A fan of art at least would enjoy the detailed descriptions of famous art pieces, and other artists (writers, for example) can enjoy reading about Monica's processes, mullings, and other complications associated with the creation of art. I liked how Monica was the artist, the older person in the couple, and a changing character who eschewed stereotypes herself. I didn't think the "happy ending" was as well-written as it could've been (it ended too easily and neatly), and I also think there were too many characters introduced too late into the novel. But as a subject for discussion about the roles women play and have played in art as well as about the importance of money in the creation of great art, this book is a thought-provoking piece that doesn't easily answer any of the questions it poses.
September 12, 2011
This book felt incredibly honest and real - but wholly original, and I can say without doubt I've never ready anything like it or with characters such as these.
There is honesty in the romantic relationship between Monica and B, and the first-person narrative helps supplement the story and her own complex personality. Nothing in life is easy, but what if it were made easier? There are so many questions among these pages - discussion points about money, power, sex, family, relationships, etc. - that I want someone else to read it just so we can have those discussions.
The writing is beautiful; I must read more Mary Gordon. It may also be the first book in which a passage on sex doesn't elicit a wince from me (this leaves out the Erotica genre, like Anais Nin). To write so lovingly about two people in love, but not in a corny or offensive way, may be one of the hardest challenges for any writer - Gordon in this respect, and in her entire book, accomplishes so much.
I'm adding this to my favorites because I cannot wait to read it again, to revisit these characters, the beautiful writing and descriptions, and those issues that rise out of the fiction about our own world. Loved it!
There is honesty in the romantic relationship between Monica and B, and the first-person narrative helps supplement the story and her own complex personality. Nothing in life is easy, but what if it were made easier? There are so many questions among these pages - discussion points about money, power, sex, family, relationships, etc. - that I want someone else to read it just so we can have those discussions.
The writing is beautiful; I must read more Mary Gordon. It may also be the first book in which a passage on sex doesn't elicit a wince from me (this leaves out the Erotica genre, like Anais Nin). To write so lovingly about two people in love, but not in a corny or offensive way, may be one of the hardest challenges for any writer - Gordon in this respect, and in her entire book, accomplishes so much.
I'm adding this to my favorites because I cannot wait to read it again, to revisit these characters, the beautiful writing and descriptions, and those issues that rise out of the fiction about our own world. Loved it!
June 3, 2008
In this book, Mary Gordon deals directly with two modern dilemmas - between guilt over having wealth and wanting to enjoy it; and between wanting equality between men and women in our intimate relationships but also wanting to celebrate and express difference.
So many novels depict men and women who get squeezed, bruised or destroyed by these tensions. Mary Gordon's main character navigates them and makes it seem possible to find a way to reconcile them in a real life - not some fantasy. Novels that explore what goes wrong and why are really helpful for understanding our lives and the people around us, but a novel like this that shows what can go right is an inspiration - maybe we really can do better.
So many novels depict men and women who get squeezed, bruised or destroyed by these tensions. Mary Gordon's main character navigates them and makes it seem possible to find a way to reconcile them in a real life - not some fantasy. Novels that explore what goes wrong and why are really helpful for understanding our lives and the people around us, but a novel like this that shows what can go right is an inspiration - maybe we really can do better.
October 13, 2008
Smutty! Intelligent, original and interesting, though. However, it's very long -- there are no chapter breaks and the text is packed-in tightly. I was very engaged for the first 100 pages or so and then started to lose interest. It got repetitive and predictable. I guess, it was just too narrowly focused for such a long book (in my opinion). The writing is great -- but it's so contemplative and so tightly zoomed in on the one character's thoughts that it couldn't hold my attention for THAT long. I'd like to check out more of Mary Gordon's work, though.
December 25, 2024
This one took me awhile. There was a lot to think about. There was a lot of art work to view and consider. Who knew there were so many images of Christ? There was a lot of sex. Halfway in, it no longer felt odd to be imaging the sex while looking at the masters. The relationship with her male muse and the connection between money and sex was the driving force of the plot and told extremely well.
The art work of the narrator seemed real enough that I wanted to research those works too, although, of course, they don’t exist.
The narrator was so unapologetically herself, sensitive to the ways her art work is received, but also unconcerned that her many faults are on display in the process of creating. These parts of the book I thought were inspirational.
This book wins the top honors this year as the work I had to think about the most.
The art work of the narrator seemed real enough that I wanted to research those works too, although, of course, they don’t exist.
The narrator was so unapologetically herself, sensitive to the ways her art work is received, but also unconcerned that her many faults are on display in the process of creating. These parts of the book I thought were inspirational.
This book wins the top honors this year as the work I had to think about the most.
April 15, 2009
My first exposure to Mary Gordon was a short story in an O. Henry Collection and I was blown away. Since then, I have read a lot of her work and have never had the same experience. When I began this novel, I was immediately pleased. Although the quality of her writing never wavers, I was sick of the narration about the love affair about halfway through. What I did love was the description of painting, the process of art, and its connection to life.
November 12, 2015
Why does no one else crush on this book like I do? Luxurious and sly - it turns the trope of the long suffering and all giving wife of the artist on its gendered head. Mary Gordon, you get it. Loved the whole thing through to the end.
November 14, 2007
This is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read.
March 20, 2020
I read Spending by Mary Gordon twice. The first time was in July of 1998. The second time was for book club in August 2005. I remember liking it very much, perhaps even more the second time around.
August 30, 2024
I read an ARC years ago but my impressions are still clear. This novel has the most erotic scenes I have ever read—primarily because what most people label eroticism usually ends up being something humiliating being done to a woman. Gordon has other ideas.
Further, authors often write about the creative process in arts other than literary . . . and get it wrong. Gordon describes a painter's process and nails it.
I loaned this book out and finally had to remove it from circulation among faculty at my school because I was afraid it would eventually be either stolen or spread around among students. Did I really want such a book tied back to me? I would have been embarrassed at the time.
Further, authors often write about the creative process in arts other than literary . . . and get it wrong. Gordon describes a painter's process and nails it.
I loaned this book out and finally had to remove it from circulation among faculty at my school because I was afraid it would eventually be either stolen or spread around among students. Did I really want such a book tied back to me? I would have been embarrassed at the time.
April 23, 2010
This book is about an artist who enters into a relationship with a rich man who tells her he'll serve as her muse. I enjoyed the first half of this book much more than the second half. The jacket and reviews seem to think the most intriguing thing about the story is the relationship between sex and money, but the parts I found most interesting were the discussions of artistic creation and process.
November 25, 2018
I loved Spending. It felt like an adult fairy tale with the complete and complex rendering of emotional depth, rich sex, and the portrait of an artist's inner workings. The mind of an artist was in itself an educational gift. The reader can see her painting/s and know the pain she incurred to birth them. The boyfriend is the perfect man in her fairy tale. Perhaps Gordon is educating the men who may read her book?
Monica, the artist narrator, presents her own flaws as well as creative gifts. Mary Gordon writes from a feminist perspective, meaning Monica, the protagonist lives within the freedom to express every nuance of who she is. No need to edit, rehearse, or hold back because she is a woman. Her libido and sexual freedom matches and surpasses her boyfriend's at times. She receives as much as she gives. She speaks her truth. Monica is a highly gifted and recognized NYC art world and national success.
I learned so much abut the mind and emotions of an artist. I learned about a very separate, individual, and deeply connected relationship. I was often reminded of D.H. Lawrence in her scenes of the emotional and sexual encounters and how the two interweave and challenge each other. Thank you, Mary Gordon!!!
Monica, the artist narrator, presents her own flaws as well as creative gifts. Mary Gordon writes from a feminist perspective, meaning Monica, the protagonist lives within the freedom to express every nuance of who she is. No need to edit, rehearse, or hold back because she is a woman. Her libido and sexual freedom matches and surpasses her boyfriend's at times. She receives as much as she gives. She speaks her truth. Monica is a highly gifted and recognized NYC art world and national success.
I learned so much abut the mind and emotions of an artist. I learned about a very separate, individual, and deeply connected relationship. I was often reminded of D.H. Lawrence in her scenes of the emotional and sexual encounters and how the two interweave and challenge each other. Thank you, Mary Gordon!!!
July 28, 2023
This was excellent and I didn't see it coming. Loved reading about this fictional artist's process and her relationship. I'd like to read more from this author.
August 22, 2016
By the end of page two, I fell in love with this book - or rather its main character because it's so intensely written in the first person that you are living in and with her rather than making your way through a story. I emailed the person who had recommended it, telling them it was going to be their fault if I got no sleep that night for reading.
But a few pages later I put it down.
That continued for an entire week. A week for me is an eon to read a book. Much of the time I had to force myself to pick it up. Then I'd be almost immediately pleased and even thrilled by something on the page. And again, a few paragraphs later, just fed up, over.
It took me until page 268 to truly relax and trust the character wasn't going to do or think anything hugely annoying again, so I could just fall in love with the book and enjoy it through the satisfying conclusion on page 301.
It's beautifully written. I adored the insights into an artist's mind during the act of creation - I viewed the paintings at my local museum differently while reading this. It's also happily feminist, showing a confident woman my age with deep friendships with older and younger women, engrossed in her work, able to make her way through life and the world without focusing on a man. Yes, there's also a romantic interest, and tons of sex (pleasantly real but utterly unporny); but, neither of them are motivated by marriage or even wanting to move in together, because that's what you do when you're younger, now life is too complex and full. (Which is so f-ing true.)
I decided my problem was the lead character is too much like me, so it was incredibly easy to slip into her skin and I kept nodding my head yes, yes, yes that's it exactly. So, then when there were, inevitable, differences it was jarring. I wanted to whap her round the head, kick her in the shins. She's a baby boomer; I'm gen X. That was most of it. Boomers just sometimes annoy the fuck out of me.
Also the money thing. I didn't get the whole 'does taking an art patron's money make me a whore if I also have sex with him' debate AT ALL. And after some fairly brief fussing over that odd feeling/morality of being rich surrounded by the not-rich world, the lead really never addressed money again beyond occasionally spending it on something delightful. So, I had been hoping for more on that topic, but it was dropped.
I spent 90% of this book considering who I was going to hand my copy off to when I was done. But, since page 268, ok it's going in my library. And I'll buy more copies for friends who are painters. I know just who will like it....
But a few pages later I put it down.
That continued for an entire week. A week for me is an eon to read a book. Much of the time I had to force myself to pick it up. Then I'd be almost immediately pleased and even thrilled by something on the page. And again, a few paragraphs later, just fed up, over.
It took me until page 268 to truly relax and trust the character wasn't going to do or think anything hugely annoying again, so I could just fall in love with the book and enjoy it through the satisfying conclusion on page 301.
It's beautifully written. I adored the insights into an artist's mind during the act of creation - I viewed the paintings at my local museum differently while reading this. It's also happily feminist, showing a confident woman my age with deep friendships with older and younger women, engrossed in her work, able to make her way through life and the world without focusing on a man. Yes, there's also a romantic interest, and tons of sex (pleasantly real but utterly unporny); but, neither of them are motivated by marriage or even wanting to move in together, because that's what you do when you're younger, now life is too complex and full. (Which is so f-ing true.)
I decided my problem was the lead character is too much like me, so it was incredibly easy to slip into her skin and I kept nodding my head yes, yes, yes that's it exactly. So, then when there were, inevitable, differences it was jarring. I wanted to whap her round the head, kick her in the shins. She's a baby boomer; I'm gen X. That was most of it. Boomers just sometimes annoy the fuck out of me.
Also the money thing. I didn't get the whole 'does taking an art patron's money make me a whore if I also have sex with him' debate AT ALL. And after some fairly brief fussing over that odd feeling/morality of being rich surrounded by the not-rich world, the lead really never addressed money again beyond occasionally spending it on something delightful. So, I had been hoping for more on that topic, but it was dropped.
I spent 90% of this book considering who I was going to hand my copy off to when I was done. But, since page 268, ok it's going in my library. And I'll buy more copies for friends who are painters. I know just who will like it....
July 21, 2009
Currently reading this for book club and, um, concerned. This whole Fairy Godfucker introduction, with Ayn Rand assertiveness....hmmmm. I hope I'm being set up for something else...
Well that was after the first 50 pages or so...but then I continued through the book on behalf of my book club and encountered the actual Fairy Godmother and that did not redeem this book for me.
But then I'm not the target audience for this book. I've since returned my copy to the library, but the narrator has an early aside where she addresses the readers, and clarifies that "we" are women. I had the quote to share with my fellow clubbers. Still I of course would welcome a window into the secret lives of women, and cannot help but applaud when a woman near my age values sex at least on par with a good meal.
And yet this book just fails for me.
The interaction with the religious protesters could have been a source of genuine and interesting conflict, instead it turns into a catty high school reunion. The relationships with the narrator's twin daughters also left me wanting more, perhaps the author meant to carve out a character so devoted to her art, that her children are seen as canvases that she cannot control/paint. But nah, it's not even that interesting.
The narrator cannot decide if she is neglectful, or a good parent, or somehow both.
And the love interest, that's what hurts most of all. Not the fact that muse and patron are sort of blurred, but that a woman in her 50's still thinks a prince charming can ride in golden chariot and offer dollars and devotion without asking for anything in return. Oh and since this is a spoiler review, must he lose everything so that then it is he that needs to be rescued? Is that the feminist angle?
I wonder if making this a first person account, with said first person being an artist (and one perhaps best left avoiding self-reflection in my opinion) is what doomed this tome.
Oh well, it generated a decent enough book club discussion but I cannot recommend it myself. Some ideas did spark creativity, particularly the "Christ Hath Come" series of paintings.
Well that was after the first 50 pages or so...but then I continued through the book on behalf of my book club and encountered the actual Fairy Godmother and that did not redeem this book for me.
But then I'm not the target audience for this book. I've since returned my copy to the library, but the narrator has an early aside where she addresses the readers, and clarifies that "we" are women. I had the quote to share with my fellow clubbers. Still I of course would welcome a window into the secret lives of women, and cannot help but applaud when a woman near my age values sex at least on par with a good meal.
And yet this book just fails for me.
The interaction with the religious protesters could have been a source of genuine and interesting conflict, instead it turns into a catty high school reunion. The relationships with the narrator's twin daughters also left me wanting more, perhaps the author meant to carve out a character so devoted to her art, that her children are seen as canvases that she cannot control/paint. But nah, it's not even that interesting.
The narrator cannot decide if she is neglectful, or a good parent, or somehow both.
And the love interest, that's what hurts most of all. Not the fact that muse and patron are sort of blurred, but that a woman in her 50's still thinks a prince charming can ride in golden chariot and offer dollars and devotion without asking for anything in return. Oh and since this is a spoiler review, must he lose everything so that then it is he that needs to be rescued? Is that the feminist angle?
I wonder if making this a first person account, with said first person being an artist (and one perhaps best left avoiding self-reflection in my opinion) is what doomed this tome.
Oh well, it generated a decent enough book club discussion but I cannot recommend it myself. Some ideas did spark creativity, particularly the "Christ Hath Come" series of paintings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2014
This book took me forever. I'm not sure how I feel about it and I wish there had been chapters to help me pause appropriately along the way. but now it's done.
The story was fine and it brought up discussions of the roles of money and gender and careers. Maybe I read it 15 years later than it was meant to be read but it didn't grab me. The writing was lovely, descriptions of art were excellent and vivid but even now I only feel "meh"at having finished.
The story was fine and it brought up discussions of the roles of money and gender and careers. Maybe I read it 15 years later than it was meant to be read but it didn't grab me. The writing was lovely, descriptions of art were excellent and vivid but even now I only feel "meh"at having finished.
May 5, 2011
Absolutely one of the most trite books I have ever read. Supposedly liberating for women artists, but I found nothing liberating in the trite language and dull sex.
July 24, 2017
I didn't care for this book, but there are a lot of people I admire who enjoyed it very much.
July 27, 2017
I have read this book multiple times, and still find its issues and visuals so intriguing.
July 7, 2024
Holy cow. I haven't had a book resonate with me like this in years. I couldn't put this down. Every ten seconds of spare time I got, I had to return to this book. This is a new all-time favorite for me.
I don't know how this author does it. There isn't even reeeeally a three-act-structure here. This book is full of what feels like contradictory setups but which just made absolute, well-set-up sense. The people in this book sometimes 'don't feel like real people, they feel like vessels to just... describe desire', and then sometimes, they're so realistic and relatable they feel like people who I know personally.
And both setups work SO well in my opinion. It's profound. The way the narrator character agonizes over the value of money and the value of work is gorgeous and deeply resonating. The sexual scenes are well-paced and emotional and good. I don't need a "structured" plot here. I was just so ready to celebrate the good and be sad during the sad. I was just so ready to think things like, "Wow, yeah, what could I accomplish if I used my time and energy to prioritize creative projects instead of chores and survival"? I think it's the first-person perspective that makes all of these really deep ideas so effectively sorted through -- the narrator character talks herself through her thoughts internally so we the reader get to experience all the wild ranges of emotions with her, but her ACTUAL behavior is honest to goodness always appropriate, so I never really felt like she was treating the people around her unfairly. So efficient. So good.
A worse, lazier-written novel would have taken many more shortcuts when it comes to romantic tension and drama. But this book's romantic pacing is PERFECT. I can't get over it. The relationship feels, on the surface, like it'd toe the line of being healthy or being manipulative, but to me it never felt like I was watching a relationship between anyone other than really, really good communicators. The characters BOTH get to experience the highs and lows of giving money, the highs and lows of making financial deals with loved ones. I never thought that one character was taking advantage of another, all the terms and consent felt clear at all times. It was so, so, so satisfying that even when things didn't go well, or people were struggling, or there was drama, there was always reasonable communication. I was always rooting for everyone to succeed and to stay together. The plot's problems and issues never felt forced or like they happened because a character didn't act reasonably. It's just perfect.
Very little about this book hasn't aged well in my opinion. There are a few terms that are outdated now that I suppose weren't in 1998, but that's basically the only thing that made me think, 'gross, don't do that'. That's nitpicky.
One of my new all-time top-THREE favorites. I'm going to be thinking about this one a lot and begging people in my life to read it so we can have discussions about it. In fact, I told a friend: "I kind of wish this was my autobiography" even though it's fiction. Can't wait to go find similar books!
I don't know how this author does it. There isn't even reeeeally a three-act-structure here. This book is full of what feels like contradictory setups but which just made absolute, well-set-up sense. The people in this book sometimes 'don't feel like real people, they feel like vessels to just... describe desire', and then sometimes, they're so realistic and relatable they feel like people who I know personally.
And both setups work SO well in my opinion. It's profound. The way the narrator character agonizes over the value of money and the value of work is gorgeous and deeply resonating. The sexual scenes are well-paced and emotional and good. I don't need a "structured" plot here. I was just so ready to celebrate the good and be sad during the sad. I was just so ready to think things like, "Wow, yeah, what could I accomplish if I used my time and energy to prioritize creative projects instead of chores and survival"? I think it's the first-person perspective that makes all of these really deep ideas so effectively sorted through -- the narrator character talks herself through her thoughts internally so we the reader get to experience all the wild ranges of emotions with her, but her ACTUAL behavior is honest to goodness always appropriate, so I never really felt like she was treating the people around her unfairly. So efficient. So good.
A worse, lazier-written novel would have taken many more shortcuts when it comes to romantic tension and drama. But this book's romantic pacing is PERFECT. I can't get over it. The relationship feels, on the surface, like it'd toe the line of being healthy or being manipulative, but to me it never felt like I was watching a relationship between anyone other than really, really good communicators. The characters BOTH get to experience the highs and lows of giving money, the highs and lows of making financial deals with loved ones. I never thought that one character was taking advantage of another, all the terms and consent felt clear at all times. It was so, so, so satisfying that even when things didn't go well, or people were struggling, or there was drama, there was always reasonable communication. I was always rooting for everyone to succeed and to stay together. The plot's problems and issues never felt forced or like they happened because a character didn't act reasonably. It's just perfect.
Very little about this book hasn't aged well in my opinion. There are a few terms that are outdated now that I suppose weren't in 1998, but that's basically the only thing that made me think, 'gross, don't do that'. That's nitpicky.
One of my new all-time top-THREE favorites. I'm going to be thinking about this one a lot and begging people in my life to read it so we can have discussions about it. In fact, I told a friend: "I kind of wish this was my autobiography" even though it's fiction. Can't wait to go find similar books!
July 2, 2021
I have read an autobiographical work by Gordon, and at least one other fiction work as well, although I don't have the fiction listed on bookcrossing or goodreads. I believe I read The Stories of Mary Gordon (the cover looks familiar). So I must have read it before I joined bookcrossing or Goodreads. I remember enjoying it, though, as much for Gordon's wit and attitude as for the subjects.
This book is a cut above. First, we treated with a realistic portrait of an artist, although of course every artist works differently. Monica Szabo spends months on one painting, only after exploring her subjects in many smaller tests. She works long hours, consumed. She has earned a reputation as a fine artist yet is still nervous every time she has an exhibit opening.
It is at one of these openings that she meets B. He tells her that he owns several of her paintings and values her work. He also reveals that he has a lot of money and would love to support her work, provide what she needs to create at her best.
Monica is suspicious about money. She does not want to be bought. At the same time she is attracted to B. She gets to know him, and gradually lets him pay for many things. Throughout the novel she is struggling with her feelings about money, about spending, and her struggle often reveals itself through irritation and anger. She will not make it easy for B.
The novel is told with the wit I expected. In it Gordon also creates a world of women I would love to inhabit. In different ways the women are all strong, intelligent, and thoughtful and have unexpected insight into themselves and others. The conversations between women and between men and women were a source of delight to me. There is none of the typical defensiveness even when the conversations turn sour.
Might be a spoiler:
In the end, what does Monica think about money? She has come some distance from childhood views, able to appreciate what money can do, but more importantly, able to appreciate her own place in the world.
This book is a cut above. First, we treated with a realistic portrait of an artist, although of course every artist works differently. Monica Szabo spends months on one painting, only after exploring her subjects in many smaller tests. She works long hours, consumed. She has earned a reputation as a fine artist yet is still nervous every time she has an exhibit opening.
It is at one of these openings that she meets B. He tells her that he owns several of her paintings and values her work. He also reveals that he has a lot of money and would love to support her work, provide what she needs to create at her best.
Monica is suspicious about money. She does not want to be bought. At the same time she is attracted to B. She gets to know him, and gradually lets him pay for many things. Throughout the novel she is struggling with her feelings about money, about spending, and her struggle often reveals itself through irritation and anger. She will not make it easy for B.
The novel is told with the wit I expected. In it Gordon also creates a world of women I would love to inhabit. In different ways the women are all strong, intelligent, and thoughtful and have unexpected insight into themselves and others. The conversations between women and between men and women were a source of delight to me. There is none of the typical defensiveness even when the conversations turn sour.
Might be a spoiler:
In the end, what does Monica think about money? She has come some distance from childhood views, able to appreciate what money can do, but more importantly, able to appreciate her own place in the world.
June 11, 2023
I feel conflicted about how to talk about this book. It felt like a really... decadent reading experience, if that makes sense? I took my time with it, I kept setting it down and coming back to it later because it didn't really pull me into a fast rhythm, but I don't necessarily think it was trying to.
I liked that the book was frank about the complicated emotional truth of sex and money and art. Like, the book didn't try to make any easy claims, or say that everything would be okay, or that everything would fall apart. It was a slice of life and that life will continue on, with all the highs and lows you might expect.
It's an indulgent book, it's a book that concerns itself with aesthetic and beauty and treats those things seriously. It's a book that contends with the potential beauty in anything, even something like grotesque amounts of money, and extravagant overspending. It's interesting to read a book written in the 90's that feels like... a period piece of the 90's in New York? Like, clearly the author wasn't reflecting past on a time distant to her, so it really speaks well to her observational ability that she seemed to capture something true on the page about the lasting impression of the moment she existed inside of. The part at the end where she and B go to the World Trade Center kinda spooked me. This book came out in 1998.
I liked that the book was frank about the complicated emotional truth of sex and money and art. Like, the book didn't try to make any easy claims, or say that everything would be okay, or that everything would fall apart. It was a slice of life and that life will continue on, with all the highs and lows you might expect.
It's an indulgent book, it's a book that concerns itself with aesthetic and beauty and treats those things seriously. It's a book that contends with the potential beauty in anything, even something like grotesque amounts of money, and extravagant overspending. It's interesting to read a book written in the 90's that feels like... a period piece of the 90's in New York? Like, clearly the author wasn't reflecting past on a time distant to her, so it really speaks well to her observational ability that she seemed to capture something true on the page about the lasting impression of the moment she existed inside of. The part at the end where she and B go to the World Trade Center kinda spooked me. This book came out in 1998.
February 8, 2024
A fascinating love story / romance between a Monica, a female artist (middle aged, divorced) and her patron (B), who also ends up modeling for her. Through the characters, the author provides some deeper psychological insights into a relationship that starts off as a more conventional affair of financial convenience, but later transitions into something more unique.
The story inverts conventional roles: rather than a male painter painting a female nude, the female painter paints the male nude. Feminist critiques are peppered throughout the narrator's thoughts, especially when she comments on her situation in relation to the primarily male historical painters. Her decision to paint Christ as a post-coital figure (inspired by B's modelling), and subsequent gallery opening results in protests from the Catholic community (she often wrestles with her Catholic upbringing).
The novel is an incisive commentary on sex, money, art, and the messy, sometimes, annoying, and often irreverent intersections of all of the above.
The tone of the book, and the framing of gender, comes off just a tad dated a quarter century post publication.
The story inverts conventional roles: rather than a male painter painting a female nude, the female painter paints the male nude. Feminist critiques are peppered throughout the narrator's thoughts, especially when she comments on her situation in relation to the primarily male historical painters. Her decision to paint Christ as a post-coital figure (inspired by B's modelling), and subsequent gallery opening results in protests from the Catholic community (she often wrestles with her Catholic upbringing).
The novel is an incisive commentary on sex, money, art, and the messy, sometimes, annoying, and often irreverent intersections of all of the above.
The tone of the book, and the framing of gender, comes off just a tad dated a quarter century post publication.
March 30, 2025
I enjoyed how adult this book felt. Not in an X-rated sense, but in the way where people had friends of different ages. Had past relationships that had ended both amicably and not. I read too much speculative fiction where the plot is the main driving force. It was lovely to read about a woman being reluctantly seduced into a relationship that neither she or her lover are sure they want.
And in the meantime, her life is being lived. She’s a painter, and through her lover’s largesse she finally has time to devote to a series. But it pains her, the obligation of it. As such, she is resistant to even fondness for a time.
B, her lover, is no saint either. At one point the tables are turned and he had almost no interest in love. His identity is partially built on his ability to make money, and the possible derailment of his income is a tragedy.
Nothing much happens in this novel. Conversely, many things happen. Another reviewer called this book decadent, and it feels like it. Art, food, sex, being around people you love. One could argue, the most important things.
And in the meantime, her life is being lived. She’s a painter, and through her lover’s largesse she finally has time to devote to a series. But it pains her, the obligation of it. As such, she is resistant to even fondness for a time.
B, her lover, is no saint either. At one point the tables are turned and he had almost no interest in love. His identity is partially built on his ability to make money, and the possible derailment of his income is a tragedy.
Nothing much happens in this novel. Conversely, many things happen. Another reviewer called this book decadent, and it feels like it. Art, food, sex, being around people you love. One could argue, the most important things.
July 15, 2025
I loved this book so much and ripped right through it in about a day and a half. It touched on so many different looming themes in a thoughtful way, with flawed but likable characters: Love, power, money, art, what’s worth supporting, time, gender, motherhood, and how all of those things can become intertwined in challenging and wonderful ways. Love isn’t simple but also it is. The entire story is about navigating confronting situations and dynamics, and building something beautiful/subversive amidst and with that.
It has some of the best and most beautiful sex writing Ive ever encountered. It’s so hard to write about sex without being cliche or corny or voyeuristic and this book nails it. There is so much pleasure and joy in sex, but also in food, wit, travel, conversation, clothing, landscape, friendship and art.
I’m enjoying reading reviews because everyone gets something really different from it, regardless of whether they liked it or not.
There’s definitely some writing that didn’t age well.. definitely written in the 90s. And still, I just loved it.
It has some of the best and most beautiful sex writing Ive ever encountered. It’s so hard to write about sex without being cliche or corny or voyeuristic and this book nails it. There is so much pleasure and joy in sex, but also in food, wit, travel, conversation, clothing, landscape, friendship and art.
I’m enjoying reading reviews because everyone gets something really different from it, regardless of whether they liked it or not.
There’s definitely some writing that didn’t age well.. definitely written in the 90s. And still, I just loved it.
December 29, 2021
I’m not sure about this one. I guess I’m ambivalent.
I didn’t like the main character because she seemed selfish and self absorbed - and that’s part of what I liked about the book as well, it made me feel uncomfortable because I admired and identified with her being focused on her work and what she wanted to do. I liked and didn’t that she didn’t give a shit about B’s work. I didn’t like that she trusted him with her money.
Would I recommend it? Well I wouldn’t not, but then I wouldn’t necessarily either… It is a bit dated. Worthy for its discussion of art and making art, for its pleasure seeking. Who wouldn’t love a patron who could give you the space and time to make your art?
I didn’t like the main character because she seemed selfish and self absorbed - and that’s part of what I liked about the book as well, it made me feel uncomfortable because I admired and identified with her being focused on her work and what she wanted to do. I liked and didn’t that she didn’t give a shit about B’s work. I didn’t like that she trusted him with her money.
Would I recommend it? Well I wouldn’t not, but then I wouldn’t necessarily either… It is a bit dated. Worthy for its discussion of art and making art, for its pleasure seeking. Who wouldn’t love a patron who could give you the space and time to make your art?
December 22, 2019
Hard to write a review...everything was just so perfectly done. The stream of consciousness, the prose, the unique artists perspective, the way a woman contends with her world. I think my favorite thing about it was Gordon's faithfulness to her character and her story. The ending (and I tend to be picky about endings) was perfect, in part because it was so faithful to everything of the book that came before it
April 14, 2022
I first read "Spending" years ago, probably as a library book. Recently I'd been thinking of it again and wanted to reread it, but couldn't remember the title, author or enough details for a google search. Then I visited a friend in a small town 100 miles away. We were on a long walk and stopped at a little free library near her house. I knew the instant I saw "Spending" that it was the book I'd been trying to remember! It was just as good the second time around.
July 12, 2024
I fell for the concept...a rich benefactor believing in your talent so completely that they gave you the opportunity to focus on nothing else but your work. No job, no bills...the writer in me loves the idea of this.
But the story was often above my comprehension when the character talked about her art and the motivations for it and really, anything connected to her art was more of a challenge for me to follow. Maybe because I'm a writer and not a painter?
But the story was often above my comprehension when the character talked about her art and the motivations for it and really, anything connected to her art was more of a challenge for me to follow. Maybe because I'm a writer and not a painter?
July 21, 2025
as someone born in the year this was published it felt like a carrie bradshaw/mr big (monica/b) situation and dated in the way gender roles are expressed, which is interesting when this pas published only a quarter of a century ago. perhaps not in the mood for this exploration of muse, money, sex, art. perhaps just found the characters cliché and lacking dimension. either way i can't really see myself finishing this.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews