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| The striking paperback cover of The Most, by Jessica Anthony, 2024. |
Jessica Anthony’s short novel The Most, takes place on Sunday, November 3, 1957. This was the day that the Soviet Union sent up Sputnik 2, the second spacecraft ever launched—and this time, with a dog inside of it! The Most follows Kathleen Beckett and her husband Virgil throughout the day, as Kathleen spends the whole day in the swimming pool in their apartment complex. The novel flashes back in time, and we learn more about Kathleen and Virgil’s lives that led them to this moment.
The Most is a fine novel, but the whole point of the novel seemed to me “people in the 1950’s had repressed inner desires.” This is not new information to people who have even a passing knowledge of American pop culture in the 1950’s. Authors like Richard Yates, John Cheever, and John Updike traversed this territory a long time ago, finding the dissatisfaction behind the hollow consumerism of 1950’s America. And that’s not to say that other authors can’t write books about dissatisfied white people living in the suburbs in the 1950’s, but The Most doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Although the novel focuses on Kathleen’s dissatisfaction with her marriage, it’s not really written from a feminist viewpoint.
One of my problems with Virgil’s character is how his relationship with the cocktail waitress Little Mo is portrayed. Virgil has flirted with Little Mo for a long time. Finally, about six months before November 3, 1957, he sleeps with Little Mo. He only sleeps with her once, and then because of his guilt, upends his whole life, quitting his job, and moving the family to a new state. Virgil even starts going to church every Sunday. Rather than have Little Mo be a one-night stand, the novel would have gained in complexity if Virgil was actually enmeshed in an affair with Little Mo.
The Most was an interesting, quick read, as I read the entire novel on a plane. It was fine, but it didn’t blow my mind.
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