I found Spending by Mary Gordon at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival a few months ago in Honolulu. I don’t remember why it called out to me, or why I chose it over the thousands of other appealing used-books for sale. However, I believe that books choose us when we are ready for them, and that is exactly how I felt about this [kind of random] novel. I bought it at the festival the first weekend in May, and read it during my travels to the East Coast, two weeks later. I started it on my way to New York City, read it during my subway rides, and finally finished it in the Richmond, Virginia airport, on my way to Rochester (I had spent two days in Richmond visiting a friend, after NYC).
Here is the book’s synopsis:
Monica Szabo, a middle-aged, moderately successful painter, encounters B, a wealthy commodities broker who collects her work. B volunteers to be her muse, offering her everything that male artists have always had to produce great art: time, space, money, and sex. Passionate, provocative, and highly engaging, Spending displays Gordon’s maverick feminism, her extraordinary wit, and her unique perspectives on art, money, men, sex — and the desires of women.
I say that this book found me at the right time, because of the following issues that the book addresses, that are also personally relevant to me at this point in my life:
- I struggle with anxiety (often feeling that I do not have enough time, because of work)
- I have finally started to confront personal issues I have (both practically and psychologically) surrounding money
- I have begun to revisit feminism as it relates my own life, instigated by a feminist podcast I’ve been listening to, called “Stuff Mom Never Told You”
- I have recently made a conscious effort to reconnect to my personal creativity and artistic expression
Feminism, issues of power, desire, money, sex, art… this book delivers on its promise to explore all of these issues, all from the relatable vantage point of a regular person. The book is written as though the protagonist is confiding to the reader. The plot isn’t dramatic; yet somehow you want to keep reading. I enjoyed the writing itself, as well as the few but complex characters. The way the author dealt with all these loaded issues was very interesting, and she didn’t necessarily resolve them, although the book did not leave me dissatisfied. It’s difficult to expound upon the book’s listed description, but I will say: if you are interested in gender issues, or if you are simply in a reflective, artistic, melancholy or conflicted mood (or stage in life), this book will probably speak to you. I loved this book, and that’s probably largely due to the fact that I read it at the perfect time in my life. I am interested in hearing what men think of this book, since it flips the traditional artist/muse gender roles.
Via my complex book-rating system (just kidding!) I give this book a big thumbs up.
Side note: books are better with a beverage. I treated myself to a sugary, caffeinated one from the airport’s Caribou Coffee. I bought the cool ring from a thrift store in Astoria, Queens (New York). Sadly, it broke a few days later, but at least it wasn’t too expensive!