“Whittall is excellent at writing the small, intimate details and sharp dialogue, as well as the mostly propulsive plot, while making no bones about opinions on gender inequities. Whittall is a great storyteller, and her latest does not disappoint.” –Publisher’s Weekly
“A gorgeous aching family saga that sweeps through decades, this book touches brilliantly on motherhood, womanhood, family, singledom, and every kind of aging.” – Chatelaine
“Raw, thought-provoking study of the relationships between mothers and daughters… The story is told in distinctive alternating voices…Readers will be immersed in the lives of all three women.” –Booklist“In a narrative that is gritty, raw, and unapologetic, the author builds strong female protagonists who seem largely unconcerned with how others expect them to behave. There is a strong focus on sexuality, gender fluidity, and free love, but the book also explores themes of motherhood and family responsibility… An entertaining story that is equal parts family saga and cultural indictment.” —Kirkus Reviews
“What an honor and privilege to read a book that so fiercely wants to be read. Zoe Whittall’s The Spectacular is rangy and deft, weaving three character threads together in a dexterous series of twists that left me excited for more. I found myself deeply attached to the women of this book and their relationships with one another. Whittall addresses motherhood and autonomy in ways I’ve never seen done before. A fascinating stunner of a novel, The Spectacular is exactly that: spectacular!” – Kristen Arnett, author of With Teeth
“The Spectacular gives us three brilliantly distinct voices of women challenging the societal expectations of who they should be. This is a novel about how we learn to define who we are, about the courage to make decisions nobody will understand, and about the profound complexities of maternal ambivalence. Zoe Whittall has a gift for vividly capturing our human behaviours, and for dialogue that will grab your heart. Both expansive and intimate, wild and tender, I loved it.” – Ashley Audrain, #1 bestselling author of The Push
“Zoe Whittall has this incredible ability to go straight at the honest emotional heart of a story, and yet even with that ferocity, her writing is always graceful, a total joy to read. It makes it so easy to love her characters. In the best books characters feel like my friends, but with the mothers of The Spectacular, they came to feel like my family.” – Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby
“Zoe Whittall’s engrossing and epic novel paints an indelible portrait of three women, each of them navigating the complex constraints of their bodies, their families, their obligations, and their desires. A daring and beautiful examination of motherhood, The Spectacular left me breathless.” – Robin Wasserman, author of Mother Daughter Widow Wife
“Both raw and refined, The Spectacular is an insightful, poignant exploration of family and relationships from one of my favourite writers working today. A multi-generational story that’s fully alive.” – Iain Reid, author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things and Foe
“Birth, identity, sex, what a woman wants, the vagaries of desire, love nibbling at the heart, independence, forfeiture of self, mother. Zoe Whittall carves at all of this with her pen and lays it out on the page in this fierce and tender novel.” – David Bergen, author of Here the Dark
“The Spectacular is a lush, sweeping novel that excavates the maternal layers of a family’s genealogy to breathtaking, surprising ends. This book will leave you with a brilliant roar inside your chest – Whitall’s prose is afire with the most complex and daring forms of empathy.” –Alissa Nutting, author of Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls