Book Review: The Trouble with You by Ellen Feldman

Rating: 3.75⭐

Set in New York in the aftermath of WWII, The Trouble with You by Ellen Feldman revolves around Fanny Fabricant, a young mother, whose life is upended after her husband Max suddenly dies after returning home from the War. Grieving for her husband and with a five-year-old daughter, Chloe- who is heartbroken and misses her father dearly - to care for, she is aware that her existing funds could only support them for a limited interval of time. Fanny. a college graduate, having married a doctor, had been satisfied with life as a homemaker. She had never imagined joining the workforce to support herself. Employment opportunities for women were hard to come by. The rise in employment for women during WWII was essentially a stopgap measure to temporarily fill positions left vacant by men fighting in the war. Once the men returned, female employees were let go and expected to revert to their traditional roles of homemakers. With the help of her Aunt Rose, an independent woman ahead of her time, Fanny eventually secures a position as a secretary to a woman who produced radio serials – an experience that motivates her to discover her true potential. The narrative follows Fanny as she navigates her way through her new life as an independent woman, balancing her responsibilities on both the home and work front. She also meets new people including a scriptwriter whose reputation as a troublemaker precedes him and a doctor friend of her late husband with whom she and Chloe could have a life similar to the one she had envisioned with Max.

I loved the premise of this novel and thought it was very well-written. In the changing political and social landscape of the 1950s, Fanny’s story is one of loss, courage, resilience, self-discovery and reinvention. The story is shared from the perspective of Fanny with segments from Chloe’s perspective interspersed throughout the narrative. All the characters were well thought out . I found Fanny to be an interesting protagonist and I felt invested in her journey. I have to say that Aunt Rose was my favorite character in the story. The author deftly weaves the gender politics of the era,  the "Red Scare", the HUAC investigations and the subsequent blacklisting of writers/actors and other entertainment industry professionals into the plot. The pace is relatively slower in the first half of the novel but picks up as the narrative progresses. I did feel that the ending was a tad rushed and I would have liked to know more about how Fanny and Chloe fared in the gap years. However, I did like how the author chose to end the story.

Overall, this was definitely an engaging read that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to fans of character-driven historical fiction with strong female protagonists.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.