Tournament of Books discussion

The Invaders, by Karolina Waclawiak


About the Book (from the book's description on GR)

Over the course of a summer in a wealthy Connecticut community, a forty-something woman and her college-age stepson’s lives fall apart in a series of violent shocks.

Cheryl has never been the right kind of country-club wife. She's always felt like an outsider, and now, in her mid-forties—facing the harsh realities of aging while her marriage disintegrates and her troubled stepson, Teddy, is kicked out of college—she feels cast adrift by the sparkling seaside community of Little Neck Cove, Connecticut. So when Teddy shows up at home just as a storm brewing off the coast threatens to destroy the precarious safe haven of the cove, she joins him in an epic downward spiral.

The Invaders, a searing follow-up to Karolina Waclawiak’s critically acclaimed debut novel, How to Get into the Twin Palms, casts a harsh light on the glossy sheen of even the most “perfect” lives in America's exclusive beach communities. With sharp wit and dark humor, The Invaders exposes the lies and insecurities that run like faultlines through our culture, threatening to pitch bored housewives, pill-popping children, and suspicious neighbors headlong into the suburban abyss.


About the Author (from the author's website)

Karolina Waclawiak received her BFA in Screenwriting from USC School of Cinematic Arts and her MFA in Fiction from Columbia University. Her critically acclaimed first novel, How To Get Into The Twin Palms, was published by Two Dollar Radio in 2012. Her second novel, The Invaders, which was published in July 2015, was recently optioned by ABC Television. AWOL, a feature she co-wrote with Deb Shoval, is currently in post-production. She is currently an editor of the Believer. Her last name is pronounced Vahts-Slav-iak and she is repped by Janklow & Nesbit and Gersh.


Other Links

• Author's website: http://www.karolinawaclawiak.com

• Follow on Twitter: @believekarolina

• The Guardian -- "The Invaders by Karolina Waclawiak review – a sad ballad of suburbia. Waclawiak’s Connecticut noir revises Cheever and Updike by making women the avatars of the delights and terrors of upper middle class life." http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015...

• Interview, millihelen/Jezebel "Karolina Waclawiak sat down with the writer Sara Gran to talk about female aging, our culture of sexual currency, and how we talk about beauty.": http://millihelen.jezebel.com/karolin...

• Review -- Slate: "Petty Brutality - Karolina Waclawiak’s The Invaders explores the small cruelties that bored, wealthy people inflict on each other.": http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/bo...

here is a discussion space for you -- let us know what you think about this book!! was it on your radar before learning it made the TOB's list of finalists?

I thought this book sounded intriguing from its longlist description, but then I was put off by its low GR ratings. Once it made the short list I decided to go ahead and give it a chance, and....I'm quitting. I just can't read another thought that pops into the head of either of the novel's extremely unlikable narrators. If someone else has read the whole thing and would like to argue that the overall novel is worthwhile, I may listen and try again, but for now I'm out.

I finished this book last night and am very surprised that it made to TOB shortlist. The book was not horrible, nor was it very compelling. In fact I had to really think hard to remember what it was about, even though I finished it last night. I agree with Heather that the narrators are unlikeable as well as the rest of the cast of characters. Nothing really happens plot wise. The ending comes out of nowhere and I did not like it. Now I'm much happier reading The Tsar etc…wich I know already I will love just after 30 pages.

I'm glad it's not just me! I gotta be honest; as a 43-year-old newlywed, reading all about how unattractive and gross older women are, and how no men desire them anymore, was not exactly making this novel the feel-good read of the year either.

I read it in 2-3 days - grateful for its brevity - and kept thinking: I don't care about white upper middle class problems. And I'm white! It's so whiny.

I actually totally loved this book. Here's my review:

Set in a wealthy oceanfront community in Connecticut, The Invaders examines wealth inequality, marital infidelity, elitism, materialism, and social mores. Told alternately from the perspective of Cheryl, the 10-year (and still unwelcome) "new" resident, and Teddy, her stepson, the story of the exclusive Little Neck Cove becomes brilliantly alive. Between the golfing husbands, the lonely wives, the pressure for perfection, the unrelenting competition, and the desire to whitewash their community, Little Neck Cove is a hotbed of rising tempers, resentful settling, and family discord. As Cheryl and her husband, Jeffrey, realize their marriage is just one among the many currently unraveling in their community, there is more devastation swirling on the horizon. A stinging, biting commentary on the state of the wealthy in modern times, The Invaders is not to be missed.

Although, I realize it's not for everyone.

Dianah wrote: "I actually totally loved this book. Here's my review:

Set in a wealthy oceanfront community in Connecticut, The Invaders examines wealth inequality, marital infidelity, elitism, materialism, and s..."

Dianah, thanks so much for posting this review. I read the book back in September and it left me disgruntled. But everything you wrote is true about it, too. One thing I felt as I read, I think unfairly: the story felt dated re gender roles. But when I think about it I realize it's probably still a plausible picture of the wealthy enclaves of the U.S.

I would agree that it is specifically an American book, and it felt like the most delicious skewering of a ridiculous group that definitely has it coming. I think you have to be willing to hate the characters here and still like the book, which I know is hard for a lot of people.

Dianah wrote: "I would agree that it is specifically an American book, and it felt like the most delicious skewering of a ridiculous group that definitely has it coming. I think you have to be willing to hate the..."

Yes to all you wrote. I want to ask you a question about the plot elements that depended on secrecy, people not revealing things that seem very obvious should be revealed, for instance what happened very early in the book, in the encounter Cheryl has on her early morning walk. Why doesn't she tell anyone? Why doesn't the boy she meets? I'd be interested in how you integrated their choices into your reading experience.

Anyway thanks for posting the flip side to what everyone else has posted so far. Your positive take also led me to this Slate review which also casts the novel in a new more positive light for me:

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/bo...

***SPOILERS***

Thanks for the article; I definitely agree with it!

As far as the secrecy between Steven and Cheryl, I read it as her desperation to feel wanted after Jeffrey rejects her. She does still want Stephen. For him, I felt like he saw an opportunity for revenge, which he took. I don't think he's a very nice person at all. ;) But, neither is she. :) One of my friends thought that it was beyond believable that she would invite her would-be rapist into her bed, and really hated the book for that reason. But, when she first hit him, she didn't know who he was; she just turned around and threw the rock. I think she somehow imagined that they were going to have a steamy affair, and she was still up for that. What did you think?

There was not one thing that rang true to me about the story and the characters. Don't get me wrong, I adore a flawed character but the author never explained any of the motivations behind any of them. They all felt very flat to me. I guess the whole point of Cheryl having sex with Steven was to demonstrate that she only saw herself as a one dimensional sexual person stemming from her screwed up relationship with her mother, which is another subject all together. I will cut the author some slack though because it was her first novel and she is obviously very well credentialed.

i thought the plot was completely unbelievable (if not slightly offensive). and, if the plot wasn't unbelievable (which it was) the writing came nowhere close to filling in all of the unbelievable-ness in the entire book. i gave it 1 star, but i would rather give it a zero.

Dianah wrote: "But, when she first hit him, she didn't know who he was; she just turned around and threw the rock. I think she somehow imagined that they were going to have a steamy affair, and she was still up for that. What did you think? "

I always jump way too quickly to thinking about the writer's intentions. Instead of savoring a story I think: Why did the WRITER make it happen that way?

I thought about it especially regarding the characters' silence about this encounter because their silence seemed unlikely. So I start to wonder what the writer's intention is for their silence.

In this case I concluded their silence was a bit of a convenience to the writer. It was a "let's have a secret" plot device that allowed some other plot elements to happen that wouldn't have happened if the characters had done the more logical thing, and had spoken up, either one of them, and told people: "he tried to rape me" or "she assaulted me without provocation."

There are other points in the story too where I didn't understand why people didn't say anything. The car accident in particular.

You have a plausible explanation for the secrecy though, inherent in the characters, where it wasn't just a false secrecy to allow plot elements to take place. I can accept the motivations you assigned to these characters as reasonable, and it allows me to like this novel a little better than before.

poingu wrote: "Dianah wrote: "But, when she first hit him, she didn't know who he was; she just turned around and threw the rock. I think she somehow imagined that they were going to have a steamy affair, and she..."

Well, im glad you liked it a bit better! This is my favorite part of the tournament; hashing out what you loved/hated with others that completely agree/disagree!

Alas, I think I'm in the minority, and I don't see The Invaders going very far in the tournament. Still, I really loved it and it's one of my favorites so far this tournament.

Gaby wrote: "There was not one thing that rang true to me about the story and the characters. Don't get me wrong, I adore a flawed character but the author never explained any of the motivations behind any of t..."

This is also an interesting point, although I think we might have experienced it differently, Gaby. Clearly, Cheryl's mother was a prostitute, and because of the fact that Cheryl sees herself almost exclusively in relationship to the men in her life, mainly Jeffrey, it's not too surprising that she goes this route to try to change her life, or possibly just to feel something, anything.

I feel like there is an ocean of interesting things going on in this novel.

Touche Dianah. I appreciate your metaphore of "an ocean of interesting things." considering the story line. I love this site because you get so many different opinions. I'm moving on to The Tsar of Love and Techno, which I am totally loving. Best to you all!

Dianah wrote: "I feel like there is an ocean of interesting things going on in this novel. ."

It feels to me like you as a reader did a wonderful thing, and took the empty spaces in this novel as an invitation to participate in a dialog with this writer. There are a lot of unexplained interactions and implied meanings, and I guess any given reader can either enjoy speculating about those things that went unwritten, or not.

This has been a great exchange! Maybe we can move over to some other threads and you guys can help me, because I absolutely loathed The Story of My Teeth and definitely didn't love The New World nor Oreo. Can you convince me to like them a bit more??? ;)

Dianah wrote: "This has been a great exchange! Maybe we can move over to some other threads and you guys can help me, because I absolutely loathed The Story of My Teeth and definitely didn't love The New World no..."

I haven't read The New World but I'm happy to talk about the other two. Both were in alt.tob so there is a bit of history in both threads and you may also want to check out the two matches so far in alt.tob where Oreo won the rounds--judges had a lot to say about that novel in their decisions.

Will do, thanks, Poingu!

Well, I just finished this one and am in the 'not for me' camp. I thought the ending of the book was great - loved where it took the plot, and really well written. But did not appreciate slogging through the rest of the book. Gave it two stars for the ending.
Read it right after Oreo, which I *thoroughly* enjoyed. Such different books!

Mo wrote: "Well, I just finished this one and am in the 'not for me' camp. I thought the ending of the book was great - loved where it took the plot, and really well written. But did not appreciate slogging t..."

Completely agree, Mo, both about the pleasant surprise of the ending and the slog through a lot of the rest of the book.

I like books about snobs and their false sense of importance, but I had no patience with the boring dialogue of this book and put it aside pretty early, after the dinner in the restaurant. When the TOB is approaching, it doesn't take much for me to move on to another book.

Agreed that this was totally implausible. I think she was interested in the characters as an idea, but then didn't know what to do with them. Honestly, even the "skewering" factor wasn't sharp enough for me. I didn't really believe* any of the plot twists of the last half of the book (unless Cheryl was literally imagining all of it, which I don't think there's a whole lot of evidence for and I don't care enough about it to look back through it).

*For example, although I have no real trouble believe Jeffrey would more or less abandon his wife and son, I didn't believe for a hot second that he would neglect *his expensive oceanfront property*! Or, seriously, the fact that one half of the narrators is passed out in a drug induced haze for the climax of the book? What is this, The Goldfinch?

Honestly, the more I think about it the less I like it and the only thing it had going for it was its brevity.

Blarg... I bought this one (used) but still... I should stop reading the negativity just in case the book connects to me somehow?! But probably not.

AmberBug wrote: "Blarg... I bought this one (used) but still... I should stop reading the negativity just in case the book connects to me somehow?! But probably not."

You might be like me and love it, AmberBug! I know that's unlikely, but maybe? :)

Dianah wrote: "AmberBug wrote: "Blarg... I bought this one (used) but still... I should stop reading the negativity just in case the book connects to me somehow?! But probably not."

You might be like me and love..."

To be honest, I'm halfway through it and the characters are SO spot on. Maybe because of my closeness to the area (CT) and knowing/growing up with people like this. I was an outsider invited in - to places on the CT shoreline and I've been to Fisher's Island (mentioned), so the main character struggling with "fitting in" is something I really get.

Let me be upfront, though, I do not really like these people... but I do see crystal clear reflections of real personas through them. However, this follows the age old argument of 'do we have to like the characters to like the book?' I've never needed 'likeable' characters to enjoy a book - I like my books to elicit an emotion or provoke thoughtful ideas. This book isn't intellectual but I do find it a perfect study of a specific class in a specific area.

The plot side of this book is somewhat weak, so I'll agree with some reviewers there. Maybe for some who didn't like the book, they just don't know how ridiculous people from this area can be. They really are like that! No joke.

It's interesting to think about that question of "do we have to like the characters to like the book"? When it comes to television, my friend and I have this argument quite a bit, and I usually am on the side of "no I don't", but now that I think about it, I think I actually DO like those "unlikeable" characters...for example, I did like Walter White from Breaking Bad; I certainly thought his hubris ended up being his downfall, but I felt like I understood what was driving him and I admired his intelligence and chutzpah. But the characters in this book, I really didn't like. I didn't even admire them in their badness. They bored me with their unlikeable-ness.

This is the second TOB book that I had not read prior to the list being announced.

Once again posting my thoughts before reading the comments listed above.

As I was reading this book the following questions popped kept popping up in my head:
• Who is the intended audience for this book?
• Is this satire?
• Why the reference in many reviews to “How to Get Into the Twin Palms?

For me this was a story of a self-contained community where the resident’s self-esteem is built on excluding others that were not of the same mold. Their pettiness, discrimination, arrogance and ignorance just wore on my nerves. It was really pitiful how they saw themselves as betters and morally superior to those not included in their circles and their circling reasoning that others were looking to “take something” from them. To illustrate these points the story centers on two characters – Cheryl, now a 40-something woman who married up and was never accepted by the community whose husband/marriage is over and Teddy, her stepson whose “luck” is on the downswing now that he does fit the physically fit and rising star model of the community.

As I read the story – I get saying – “duh” over and over as the storyline seemed to destruct as the characters seemed to hold on to their pasts and did not seem to understand the sayings – people smiling in your face as they work against you and you cannot make someone like/love you and now that this is not working out for you, you need to make the best deal for yourself so you can move on.

I think I needed to take that advice and have left this book alone.

Gaby wrote: "I finished this book last night and am very surprised that it made to TOB shortlist. The book was not horrible, nor was it very compelling. In fact I had to really think hard to remember what it wa..."

This is one where I should have read the comments before picking up the book. Now I see why there was not a wait on getting this book from the library.

Heather wrote: "It's interesting to think about that question of "do we have to like the characters to like the book"? When it comes to television, my friend and I have this argument quite a bit, and I usually am ..."

I do not have to "like" the characters to like the book.
But I found these characters too offensive, especially in their opinions of others who did not belong to their group when their behaviors left much to be desired.
I think my feminist side had me rolling my eyes too much to settle into the story.

poingu wrote: "Dianah wrote: "I would agree that it is specifically an American book, and it felt like the most delicious skewering of a ridiculous group that definitely has it coming. I think you have to be will..."

Thanks for sharing the article.

And yes, there are people like this and yes, I have seen this behavior in people and that the wealthy can more openly express these views than those who are not was also not lost on me.
That there are those who want to be included in this wealthy group will have them agreeing to this behavior was also not lost on me.
But I guess I was just not in the mood when reading this book to be tolerable of what the author had to say.

But I do understand that every book is not for everybody but every book is for someone.

Once again I am interested in what Judges have to say about this book.
Through this challenge and the alt-TOB challenge I am beginning to see how experimental formats and stories where I learn something is what I seek in reading or at least keeps me interested.

So I finished it. I did like this more than most people here but I just couldn't get on board with the ending. It got all wacky and there wasn't enough strange leading up to it. I stick to my original comment though that my interest in the book is perhaps due to my closeness to the subject matter. People do behave like that... ugh.

This will be an exciting battle, i think!

I just finished this over the weekend (and have now read all this year's competitors - yay!) and can't imagine why it was included in the TOB. I was going to give it 2 stars but the ending lost it one of those.