Play Book Tag discussion

It's rare that a book grabs me by title alone, but Who Is Maud Dixon? did. It's wonderfully provocative, and the synopsis, about an aspiring author becoming the assistant for a reclusive but famous author, hooked me right away. Alexandra Andrews' debut novel has a bunch of things I love: a twisty plot that keeps you guessing, characters flawed in unexpected ways, cheeky commentary on larger issues, the works. I don't know what it is about June, but the hotter the temperature gets, the more I want to read campy, fun mysteries, and in that regard, Who Is Maud Dixon? does not disappoint.

Florence Darrow is a twenty-something editorial assistant in New York City, struggling to get by with two roommates and astronomical rent. All the while, she yearns for her big break, a chance to become a famous, cherished fiction writer, heaped with accolades and riches. When Maud Dixon, the titular reclusive author, needs a personal assistant to join her, first on her isolated estate in upstate New York, and then on a research trip to Morocco, Florence jumps at the chance. Then, disaster strikes: after a car accident leaves Maud dead and Florence with the ability to assume her identity, she finds herself slipping into the fiction that she is Maud Dixon. Then things start to go awry...

This book definitely has twists and turns, and ultimately I enjoyed it. I really liked the character of Maud's real identity – I won't spoil that here, but she definitely wasn't what I was expecting. On the other hand, the POV character, Florence, is more of a mixed bag. She is a protagonist in the style of The Woman in the Window and The Girl on the Train – that is, kind of a complete, often unlikeable mess. When done well, I love this kind of main character, but when they're done poorly, they're just insufferable and impossible to root for. For me, Florence rides this line. On the one hand, I loved seeing her increasingly wacky plans unravel within hours or minutes. On the other, I wanted her to learn from her mistakes and become better at her nefarious schemes. Over the course of the book, she only does this marginally, and not in a terribly convincing manner, which did detract from the novel's strong beginning. I think the mid-point sees things begin to falter, when the narrative presents information that allowed me to I guess the book's eventual "big reveal." (view spoiler)[Waking up in a hospital to find you have all of someone else's identifying documents, yet you've lost your phone and all of your identifying documents is awfully convenient. (hide spoiler)]

Also, I was hoping Florence would spend far more time becoming Maud Dixon. I was pretty shocked when, realizing she has this incredible chance to embody her idol, she doesn't immediately start doing press interviews, going to fancy book events, ingratiating herself into Moroccan high society, or using Maud's fortune to make extravagant purchases. (view spoiler)[Instead, she lazes around on the beach and parties with some college age expats in a dingy apartment for several days. What? For all the disdain she expresses for the mundane nature of her past life, she spends an awful lot of time diving right back into it when she has the chance to escape it entirely! (hide spoiler)] I was expecting her to lean into the glitz and glamor of the Maud Dixon name, and was disappointed when she was too stupid to pull it off, as funny as it was.

Additionally, although I did enjoy the twists at the end, I thought Florence goes from too stupid for the sake of the plot to too smart for the sake of the plot. (view spoiler)[Are we really supposed to believe that one day Florence overlooks drugging Amy as well as Whitney to keep them quiet, then a few days later she's successfully staging murders (yes, more than one!) so that both the Moroccan police and the U.S. State Department are none the wiser? (hide spoiler)] The ending is where the book takes a hard veer into camp, which as I've said, I don't dislike, but the first half of the book felt more careful and nuanced, so it was a touch of a letdown. (view spoiler)[Also, I thought it would have been cool if the ultimate twist had been that even the person Florence believed to be Helen was actually Jeanette Byrd. If Jenny had killed Helen after getting out of prison, that would mean that someone else would have assumed Maud's identity before Florence tried to. That would explain why she was unable to write a novel and was plagiarizing Paul Bowles – because Jenny isn't a writer, Helen was. Who is Maud Dixon, indeed. But alas. At least the part where Florence finds Helen's real novel manuscript and realizes it's about her was a sick reveal. (hide spoiler)]

There are a few dropped plot threads as well - what was the whole purpose of Simon Reed and Ingrid Throne? Just to demonstrate Florence had obsessive tendencies? Was I picking up on some lesbian vibes with Florence's clinginess when it came to women? (view spoiler)[That suspicion was pretty much extinguished when Florence went for dull ol' Nick, and I think the novel is weaker for it. (hide spoiler)] Why did Lucy vanish completely? And Whitney and Amy and Meg? (view spoiler)[I was personally hoping Florence would go back to New York, become Maud Dixon super convincingly, and then have a run in with the Forrester staff, where they all come to believe she was Maud Dixon all long, and it would have been great. But again - alas. (hide spoiler)] Wasn't Idrissi's first name Hamid and not Ramzi? Was that a typo or another play on the whole Amina/Amira thing, an indication that identities become fluid, especially when you don't care to pay attention? There is some interesting commentary on classism in this book, which I felt most acutely when Florence compares her humble Florida upbringing to the New York elites. Maud, to some degree, also embodies this – she's all about upward mobility, swapping her small-town sensibilities for marks of sophistication like French wine and opera. However, I thought both women acted so crassly in Morocco, particularly to the locals. I found myself thinking, "Ah, so they are dumb, entitled Americans after all!" (Poor, long-suffering Idrissi, seriously.) Yet this theme never comes full circle, and like the previously mentioned hanging plot threads, it gives the impression that this novel just wasn't as taut and biting as it could have been.

Hence, 4 stars. It was mostly well-written, with surprising characters and an engaging plot, and I enjoyed it – but a few more tweaks and it could have been a real masterpiece.

Great Review. Thanks for posting. peace, janz

Peacejanz wrote: "Great Review. Thanks for posting. peace, janz"

Thanks! Glad you liked it.