‘Motherland’ finds sardonic humor in Brooklyn
You have to wonder: Is Amy Sohn the most coveted dinner guest in Park Slope, or the most dreaded?
With her latest novel set in the much-mocked (yet envied) yuppie neighborhood, Sohn firmly establishes herself as Brooklyn's bitchiest bard.
To someone who lives in "the Slope," as I do, Sohn provides more than a soupcon of sardonic pleasure. It's easy to laugh at the place, even as you frequent its cool restaurants and coffee bars, all while dodging the double-wide strollers filled with coddled 6-year-olds and pampered pooches cluttering the sidewalks.
Do you have to live here to appreciate Sohn's wit? Nah, but it wouldn't hurt to watch Samantha Bee's priceless bit about the Park Slope Coop from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart as an introductory clip.
The food co-op (here called the Prospect Park Food Coop, no doubt to sidestep litigious members) is back in Motherland, although with a less central role than it played in Prospect Park West.
Important characters from PPW return, along with some entertaining newcomers like Marco and Todd, a miserable gay couple. They, like the other couples in the novel, have little kids who are being raised in the modern protective parenting bubble — hence, the title.
(One of the most delicious subplots in Motherland is the stroller thief who is snatching Bugaboos and Maclarens and hiding them in her basement.)
When we left Rebecca Rose in the last book, she was pregnant by the film director Stuart Ashby, and now she's wondering if and when her husband, Theo, will figure out there's a reason baby Benny's hair is red.
Stuart's mess of an ex, Melora Leigh, has watched her movie career crash and burn, and she's trying to redeem herself on Broadway, dealing with skeptical castmates including a snarky Jon Hamm, who probably isn't passing this book among friends. Karen's hubby, meanwhile, has left her for a transsexual, and Marco is busy cheating on Todd with his new App Grindr.
Nobody, it turns out, is very happy. There's lots of sex (with everyone but spouses), illicit pot-smoking, dubious career moves, hilarious social commentary and clever twists and turns in Motherland — making it a perfect last-minute beach read before fall arrives.
Sohn can come over to my brownstone apartment for dinner anytime. But Amy, please leave your notebook on the stoop.