Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe

by Evan James

From a bright new voice in contemporary fiction comes a hilarious and sophisticated comedy of manners about a delightfully eccentric family and the absurd happenings that befall them during one frenzied summer at their home in the Pacific Northwest.

The inimitable—some might say incorrigible—Frank Widdicombe is suffering from a deep depression. Or so his wife, Carol, believes. But Carol is convinced that their new island home—Willowbrook Manor on the Puget Sound—is just the thing to cheer her husband up. And so begins a whirlwind summer as their house becomes the epicenter of multiple social dramas involving the family, their friends, and a host of new acquaintances.

The Widdicombes’ son, Christopher, is mourning a heartbreak after a year abroad in Italy. Their personal assistant, Michelle, begins a romance with preppy screenwriter Bradford, who also happens to be Frank’s tennis partner. Meanwhile, a local named Marvelous Matthews is hired to create a garden at the manor—and is elated to find Gracie Sloane, bewitching self-help author, in residence as well. When this alternately bumbling and clever cast of characters comes together, Willowbrook transforms into a circus of uncovered secrets, preposterous misunderstandings, and irrepressible passions.

Written in a singularly witty and satirical style, Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe is perfect for fans of Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, Andrew Sean Greer's Less, and Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Contemporary, Book Club, Audiobook, Literary Fiction

288 pages, Audible Audio

First published March 26, 2019

Reviews

[Matt Quann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Atria Books for an advance review copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe lands in store on March 26th, 2019!

There's something morbidly satisfying in reading about the lives of the wealthy few. Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe is populated by one such family, who live in the pleasant Pacific Northwest, but they all happen to be down in the dumps despite their financial advantages. The titular Frank Widdicombe is malingering after his friend cancelled their annual trip to France in order to attend a wedding, while his wife Carol bemoans what she assumes is her husband's decline into clinical depression. Their son, Christopher, is a watercolorist stifled by his parents' endless acceptance of his homosexuality who mourns a love lost in Europe. Into their house is welcomed pleasant assistant Michelle, drug-addled aspiring playwright Bradford, self-help guru Gracie, and gardener, Marvelous Matthews.

I was expecting humour along the lines of Arrested Development, or perhaps Wes Anderson-infused quirk. Instead, I was a bit taken aback at how often the book veered wildly in tone. There's some really funny bits in here, ones that genuinely provoked an outburst of laughter, but this is not a book that engenders relentless side-splitting fits. It often took me off-balance when James would shift between character POVs and you'd be plucked from the eyes of drunken Bradford into melodramatic Christopher's superficial woes. It results in a bit of thematically bumpy ride that I felt tough to get a hold on.

Still, there's moments when the book soars with pitch-perfect transitions and well-timed comedic blunders. In particular, a party at the Widdicombe's transitions between party members with such fluidity that I found myself more drawn into the narrative by sheer readability. Indeed, James' writing is often quite pleasant, but occasionally falls victim to odd phrasing or verbosity seemingly for the sake of looking elegant. There's an equal amount of lines in the book that had me chuckling or nodding in appreciation as there were those that left me puzzled.

I was also surprised to find out how much of the book is centred around the writing of not one, but two self-help books. Gracie's pursuit of instinctual happiness is contrasted with Frank's common sense approach to wellbeing. I think the intention here was both to lambast self-help authors and provide some self-help disguised as fiction. It makes for a bit of a weird read and I found these bits a little painful to work through. I'm all for characters finding their way through a life transition, but I don't think James quite stuck the landing with this duelling self-help approach.

Collectively, Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe is a bit of a patchy read. I didn't always love reading the book, but was pleasantly surprised when the characters' perspectives would link up with my own, or when I got in a solid laugh. Though the characters' wealthy ennui often frustrated me, I did find myself sad to leave the Widdicombes behind. I think, for many readers, this book will click a little better than it did for me. I give it a cautious recommendation to those looking for a family drama with a comedic undertone.

[Cassie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty sure I will be unable to slug my way through this PRETENTIOUSLY written novel in its entirety. Every paragraph long sentence is beleaguered, belabored, and so achingly proud of its own smug superiority!! Ugh. All that effort and still unable to get the Reader to care about the characters on any level. Cleverness (with no heart) is not sufficiently charming or funny, it’s tiresome. Saddened by my high hopes for a clever AND charming book. Guess I will keep holding out for the next Where’d you go Bernadette?

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s ok if all your characters are unlikable but it is unacceptable to have them be both unlikable and boring.

[Jypsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe is, for lack of a better word, weird. I know it's supposed to be odd and strange and satirical. The overall story seemed to be trying to hard to be something weird. Too much quirkiness and not enough story to balance it out. I didn't enjoy this book like I thought I would. It's too much oddness for my taste. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Nonha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't bring myself to finish this. It's interesting enough, but the tone and style of writing clash horribly. The story feels like watching Arrested Development, but on a really old tube television a trustfund hipster has in their home for the novelty of it. The wordiness kills it. I can't get passed the author's ego. Seems neither can he.

[Marilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is trying desperately hard to be funny but comes off as brash and missed the mark entirely.

[Deacon Tom F. (Recovering from a big heart attack) · Rating 1 out of 5]

A waste of my time.

[Donna McCaul Thibodeau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish this, I found none of the characters likable.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure what to expect but, as I got into the story I understood this is about the "idle rich". As you travel deeper into the lives of everyone you realize that they are just trying to discover "who" they are and what they need to feel good about their selves. This was more enjoyable than I thought, good reading.

[Tim Connors · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so hoping for the "as funny and charming as a summer party" part of the book. Instead it just became increasingly as irritating as the author's snide and condescending attitude toward his characters.

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 I had hoped this would cheer me up and as it came recommended by Andrew Sean Greer, Carmen Maria Machado and Grant Ginder I had high expectations but the characters all felt like caricatures rather than people. And it felt like style over substance.

[Jeffrey Sobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

CHEER UP, MR. WIDDICOMBE by @mrevanjames from @atriabooks #partner 🎈Available March 26
💐
This really is a fun summer party that I never wanted to end. It’s the type of book where, even if you’re having a bad day, you pick it up and a paragraph or two later your entire mood lifts into the clouds. I want to be part of the Widdicombe world!
🎾
This is about an eccentric family and their friends in and around a scenic island off the coast of Seattle all trying to make sense of this crazy universe. Part self-help, part romance, all wild hilarity, this debut novel effortlessly hits every note.
🖼
++Writing Reaction++
In a word: tone. Even in the deeper, serious parts this is still so light and fun because of the wonderful tone. I don’t even like the word wonderful but I have to use it after reading this because that is how I feel: simply wonderful! On top of how so many different characters are juggled so wonderfully! I’ve done it again. Just in time for spring, be sure to pick this one up for your poolside read.

[Erika Kraus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in the giveaway! I absolutely adored the story, Evan James has a wonderful voice. I'm completely charmed.

[Charlie Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I begin by saying this: I've been under a great deal of stress, ill relatives I'm caring for, lots of personal pressure, lack of sleep --- so I am 99% certain that any trouble I had with this novel is more about me than the novel.

That said, I did not love this the way I thought I would, or, rather, the way I had been led to expect by pre-pub publicity and its blurbs. It was neatly constructed, well-written, had a sense of humor, but it wasn't really satire, and it wasn't really --- well, it wasn't really for me. I didn't care for any of the characters, they were --- none of them --- likeable, and I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not believe the low ratings of this book. People, you should ALWAYS believe the low ratings of this book!

I gave the book 2.5 stars and rounded that up to 3 because --- yes this was the game changer --- the words, oh my goodness, the words!!! I am a Wordy Wordster, and there are plenty of lovely, delicious words in this book to fill my daily allotment of dazzling words for many days. Aside from that, and a few laughs, the book is not so great. It's bad.

I won't recommend it to anyone, and if somebody asks about it, I'll warn them away with skull and crossbones. Still, though, the words!

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps I describe too many books as quirky, but it certainly fits in this case. Amusing, silly, but believable, it was a good choice for finishing my lighter summer reading choices.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually grade on a bit of a curve on Goodreads, and even now I feel guilty giving this as low a rating as I did (I did finish it, the author worked hard on it, I don't want to be mean, etc. etc. etc.), but I did not care for this book. At. All. Mostly I finished it because I wanted to figure out exactly what it was that was bothering me about it. So here's my best assessment of my own feelings. First, this book was horribly overwritten. I was not at all surprised to see that the author came out of a world of writer's conferences and groups and circles, because so much of this felt like the kind of thing that other writers might find So Clever or Wonderfully Witty but that is, in fact, just top-heavy and silly. I like a good metaphor as much as the next reader, but not every observation needs one; I like specificity in my books, but you don't need to geographically locate every moment and add proper noun tags to every element. Secondly, there were way too many characters, and they all spoke and thought in the same entirely silly and arch way. I found myself wondering if this book had originally been much longer, and the author simply forgot that he cut out the parts of the character development that would have made us feel any of the emotions about the characters that they seemed to feel about each other. For example, the Widdicombs were supposed to be magically quirky and fascinating, but they did precisely nothing to earn that assessment within the four corners of the book; we just heard it constantly from other people. But maybe the most important reason this book bothered me was something else about the characters: they were shown up by the author to be essentially ridiculous and worthy of our laughter. I know this is meant to be a humorous novel, but to have the author laughing AT the characters, making them objects of eyerolling so often (or at least of MY eyerolling ... maybe this was just a personal feeling) just felt ... mean. Reviewers kept comparing this to the novel Less (color me shocked that the authors of the two books are friends with one another ... hence the glowing blurb), but I didn't feel that way at all. In Less, even when I was laughing at Arthur, I also FELT something for him. He felt like a real person who was acting absurdly or getting into absurd situations. There was some kernel of actual emotion at the center of what he was doing, so you could continue to root for him to find his way back to that. Reviewers also compared it to Arrested Development, but I see the same dynamic (putting aside the fact that this humor might work better on TV than in a book) - the Bluths are often terrible, ridiculous, laughable people, BUT you feel some sense of pity for them, and you see their ridiculousness in the light of a more sympathetic character who draws out feelings that are real. The people in this book - their relationships, their aspirations, their dialogue - were just pompous and silly. I didn't particularly care if things worked out for them because the things they wanted seemed empty and shallow. Maybe the real reason this book bothered me so much was because the reviews were so glowing, the sense of self-congratulations from the literary world was so strong, and at the end of the day, all I could see was an overly clever, self-congratulatory, mean book with an author who may have liked his characters but didn't respect them enough to make them real people. I actually don't regret finishing this, if only because it educated me in the mechanics of (bad) novel writing. I'll try to spare a little pity for the author and hope that he can put more heart into the next thing he writes.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I may have missed the point of this book, but Mr. Widdicombe didn’t seem to be the main character, as implied by the title. None of the characters, including Mr. Widdicombe, were very likable or written in a way which made me want to root for their success, but their storylines seemed to hint that way, as though the reader could relate to honestly horrible life choices with little real effort to improve. The characters were all incredibly self-involved but not self-aware. I feel like I missed an important chapter or more due to this discord.

[Lashawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book draged and frustratated me because I wasted my time ready this book and in the end there was no plot. Just rich white people with nothing to do. I was really happy to finished this book. It is certainly not worth recommending to my friends.

[Sylvia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost put this book away after the first chapter. The writing style was very off-putting for me, however, given that being a personal preference, I decided to continue on to see if the story could justify my putting up with it. I did finish the book, but had I know what I know now, I probably would not have. I kept waiting for the big "ta-da" moment in the plot, but it never came. The story just slogged along with unremarkable characters. Also, it almost seemed as if the author was trying to fit as many commas into the book that was absolutely possible and he must have sat with a Thesaurus by his side finding obscure words to use. I couldn't shake the feeling as I was reading this book that the author felt that he was smarter than all of his readers and he was going to prove it on every single page.

[Vince Wetzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I related to the characters in Mr. Widdicombe. You have the midlife crises, the awkward relationships and misunderstandings and people trying to make the most of situations. Unfortunately, the author's style choices were distracting. While I didn't initially object to lack of chapters, the breaks in the text marked by a couple of spaces, didn't make much sense. In one particular chapter, the narrative jumped consciousnesses from one character to the next. I liked the plot, the story and the prose, but wish it didn't make those odd narrative choices.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads giveaway, so thank you very much to the organizers.

The book presents a rich family, with some rich friends, as well as a few people who are less at ease financially. There is not much of a plot. The book is character-driven; the majority of it are inner thoughts and feelings of individual characters as they go through one summer together. Even the dialog often appears in the form of memories as a character is reflecting upon what happened.

I thought that the idea of presenting the inner worlds of those in the upper one percent was original. I also liked the fact that there were references to what it took for them to be where they are now financially; that they weren't necessarily born into this. However, because at the start of the book they are already there, I found it difficult to relate to their various existential crises.

I also found the format of the book somewhat challenging. Because it is focused so much on the inner world, much of the text is in long paragraphs with very little dialog. At one point, there is an entire speech given to an audience, which the reader is expected to read from start to finish, even if the topic may be quite eccentric. I wish there were more dialog for balance. As it is, sometimes it was difficult to stay focused through pages of block text.

Overall, I enjoyed the book well enough. The characters were likeable, even if not always easy to relate to. There were some funny parts; there were a few emotional moments. But there wasn't much of a plot to balance the inner thoughts of characters. Also, I wish the book had a different cover, as this one made me somewhat uncomfortable and I couldn't read the book in public.

[The Suburban Eclectic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe has great bones: interesting characters, unique narration, quality backstory. But the storyline never gels. It has got a lot going on; there are seven main characters and a few periphery ones, which is not an issue, though the transitions are a bit abrupt. Although the story centers around the Widdicombe summer house and the characters flit in and out, the majority of the narration takes place within their heads, thus it reads like multiple thought bubbles floating about the characters with little context or gravity. It might work in a graphic novel or even as a screenplay, but as a novel, it makes for a choppy read. The quirky, satirical anecdotes are charming but Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe is best summed up by one of its characters; “What was she thinking about? Nothing, she said.” In the end, the story is much ado about nothing. Nothing can be humorous or even dark, but in this story, it is simply disappointing.

[Claire Zechiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars....

I've seen several reviews of Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe calling the writing style "pretentious" and the characters "boring". And honestly, it isn't hard to see why. Yes, sometimes it felt like the author used the most loosely related words in the thesaurus. And yes, the characters were mostly unlikeable, and perhaps you could go so far as to call them dull. Yet, there was a quirky charm about this book that spoke to me. I think it might have been the contrasts: the strange way that characters were both relatable and un-relatable, the mundane rollercoaster of emotions, the simplicity of the plot, the cheery writing style and somber tone.

I was recommended this book by GoodReads after I finished reading There's a Word For That. I think in many ways, these two books were similar. I would put Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe as a bit of a cross between There's a Word For That and The Break by Marion Keys.

[Michael Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am surprised to see the bad reviews of this book. I found it to be quite fantastic. The characters are all struggling internally in ways that are both very funny and very relatable. Each character has plenty of depth, and the transition between characters is very calculated. I found myself becoming invested in every character's outcome to varying degrees as more and more is revealed in each story. I would recommend this book to anyone who has gone through the "Who am I and what the hell am I supposed to do?" phase of life, and was able to find the absurdity/charm in it.

[Toria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was absolute garbage. None of the characters are developed. I kept waiting for the plot and it never happened. The book bounces from character to character and at the beginning of the book I thought it might get interesting. As I read further, nothing happened. What a complete disappointment. I can’t believe I wasted my time on this trash.

[Craig Lewin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not Just a Slice of Life

Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe

I try to write reviews without spoilers, so in many ways this should be a really easy review to write. There is really nothing noteworthy, big, or particularly eventful to spoil in this book. The book starts out with several irritating or otherwise obnoxious characters that over the course of the book change. This isn't a surprise - it happens in most books. What is surprising is that this change just seems to happen without any real catalyst. Frank starts out as a depressed -asshole husband; Carol his nagging wife. And their highly artistic, rebellious son who succeeds at everything without effort except pissing his parents off like any teenager.

The book does deliver a slice of life for a rather well to do couple with a teenage son, gardener, assistant, and a live-in new age, self-help guru. The author manages to pack in a lot of philosophy and self-help and yet, examine it, mock it, and offer alternative views in the book. On this point I think it could really help some people who love searching for answers and read lots of self-help books because it points out that in trying to escape their favorite named addiction, they have picked up the addiction of self-recovery, and I almost gave it 5 stars for the potential to be life changing. Yet at the same time, I almost gave it 3 stars because in the end it is just satisfying, it met the "Slice of Life" criteria - but was there a reason it was this particular slice? Somehow, by the end of the book you realize things have changed and you are not sure why, or how and you finish the book feeling like it was a comfortable, gentle finish.

So, I gave it 4 stars because the book is not like so many others that push a particular philosophy or morale view, but specifically because it did not. It delivered a simple, enjoyable story with lots of even profound insights - but without delivering it in a way that felt like it was an injunction to adopt that particular view. I found that refreshing. And it was a lighthearted tale that dealt with deep feelings of loneliness, insecurity, fear, belligerence, and anger without getting bogged down in how to be a better person. In the end, the book also delivers a simple story of how multiple irritating or obnoxious people can change and even become role models of a better way to live.

[Jonathan Karmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a satire of the leisure class in 21st Century America. Free of any responsibility or need to work to support themselves, the characters in this book turn their thoughts inward. Carol is an aspiring socialite in the Puget Sound who wants her summer home to appear in a magazine called Inside Places. But she is no Martha Stewart and must hire a gardener named Marvelous to plant a vegetable garden in addition to her regular hired-help Michele. (I happened to finish reading this book while on vacation in Maine on Mount Desert Island near tony Seal Harbor, the location of Martha Stewart's "Skylands" estate, which was featured in Architectural Digest.)

Marvelous is in recovery. In his struggle to achieve sobriety, he employed the techniques of a self-help guru named Gracie, whose character is not unlike Marianne Williamson (author in the Democratic primary debates in 2019). It turns out Gracie is Carol's house guest, and Gracie and Marvelous have an affair, which is both a fantasy for Marvelous and a trigger for his neuroses.

The title of the book refers to Carol's husband Frank, who Carol believes is depressed. It turns out though that Frank is probably the most well-adjusted of all the book's characters. Frank earned enough money to retire comfortably, and he continues to apply his strong work ethic to his hobbies, such as playing tennis and cooking fancy meals from scratch. He is even composing his own self-help book with how-to-feel-smug advice for old, rich, white privileged men.

Frank's house guest, Bradford, is a self-indulgent alcoholic and addict, but he's rich and good looking, so he has no trouble finding enablers, including the housekeeper Michele, who wants to be Bradford's girlfriend.

Frank and Carol's son, Christoper, is a spoiled prep school brat who has just returned from Europe, where he had an affair with a swarthy working class Albanian in Italy. No matter how disaffected and obnoxious Christopher acts, his parents continue to spoil him, and they set him up with a Danish guy named Jens.

Carol & Frank, Gracie & Marvelous, Michele & Bradford, Christopher & Jens, four couples the reader can feel superior to even though we'd probably envy them if we saw them walking into an upscale restaurant with their designer clothes and haircuts. This book is a modern-day social satire, similar to many works of literature from the 1800s. I liked it.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe by Evan James is a highly recommended satirical comedy.

Frank Widdicombe is suffering from depression, but only according to his wife, Carol, who also contemplates other things Frank may be suffering from. The Widdicombes are a wealthy family summering at their island home, Willowbrook Manor, on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound. Carol is planning a garden, created and cared for by Marvelous Matthews. Self-help author Gracie Sloane is going to spend the summer with them. Their son, a painter, has just returned with a broken heart from Italy. The Widdicombe's personal assistant Michelle is enamored of screenwriter Bradford, who returns her ardor. There are employees and guests and events planned for the summer that will hopefully cheer up Frank out of his supposed depression.

This comedy will strongly remind you of a hilarious and sophisticated screwball comedy in films (for example: Bringing Up Baby or His Girl Friday or Some Like it Hot), only set in the present day. The narrative features the same absurd dialogue, irreverent wit, and repartee between characters as found in these old comedic films. The novel "outlines a summer with a family that’s so neurotic they’re almost normal."

In order to appreciate Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe, readers will need to be prepared for the comedic banter and actions of all the characters in this debut novel that does not take itself or its characters too seriously. These characters are all characterized by outlandish and absurd behaviors and dialogues. They are laughably dysfunctional, prone to follow whatever New Age thought process that catches their eye. Don't take this novel too seriously. You need to laugh at all of it in order to appreciate it. Now, at times it does wander close to being a bit too over-the-top, but on the other hand, that does make it a fun read. This is a good choice for a summer vacation read.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/0...

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I finished this book and said, out loud, "well, that was delightful." And I meant it. At about 20% in I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading. At that point it felt a little tedious and I wondered why I cared about these privileged characters. The writing kept me going. Sparkling, whip-smart writing. Sure, overwrought at times, but it's satire, perhaps it's meant to be overwrought. The sentences are long, with many asides throughout, but it's a style I got used to. I laughed aloud many times and was enthralled by a story of a nose hair gone awry and a self-help guru dancing naked in the woods and a matriarch felled by interior decorating...

My favorite character was the son, Christopher, an over-smart, surly, and ironic sort. Here's a snapshot:

"Hello, son," she said. Of course! Son. What could be more obvious and yet more unbelievable? That he should exist only in reference to those that created him, those that nurtured him and paid his way to survival - what better starting point for an act of subversive and provoking performance art? He would hang out with his parents, throwing himself completely into an exploration of sonhood, son-ness; he would spend the rest of the summer so artificially at ease with his family, so devoted to an exaggerated performance of sonhood that he would eventually surpass the so-called reality of son-ness and enter a realm of tongue-in-cheek filial abstraction, becoming a parody of a son. If nothing less, it would annoy his parents. On that he could depend."

I mean, how could you not love this kid? My only gripe is with the Bradford character and his loose ends. What the hell happened to him and with him? .
In the end, a summer with the Widdiciombes proved enticing, entertaining, and thoughtful. The commentary (read: satire) on life and family was all the more real for being a bit neurotic and exaggerated. And that writing. Wow.