Go Gentle (novel)

Go Gentle
A small image of the book jacket for this book.
2026 hardcover book jacket
AuthorMaria Semple
Audio read bySaskia Maarleveld
Cover artistMaira Kalman
LanguageEnglish
SubjectGrief, Comedy, Mystery motif
GenreLiterary Fiction
Set inManhattan and Paris
PublishedApril 2026
PublisherPutnam and Sons
Media typePrint, E-Book, Audio
Pages384
AwardsNY Times Bestseller list, Oprah book club
ISBN9798217176632
OCLC1529600921
WebsiteOfficial website

Go Gentle is Maria Semple's fourth novel, published by Putnam and Sons in 2026. In the novel, the protagonist, Adora Hazzard has reinvented her life as a Stoic philosophy scholar. She is living in the historically famous Ansonia building in Manhattan. Adora's Stoic ideals are put to the test as her daily routine turns into a "madcap comedy" mystery involving museum bombings, a stolen statue, a strange European broker, and a chaotic trip to Paris.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Go Gentle was selected by Oprah Winfrey as an Oprah's Book Club pick.[8] It was also a New York Times bestseller.

Plot summary

The story follows Adora Hazzard, a divorced, middle-aged scholar of Stoic philosophy. She lives in Manhattan's Ansonia building with her teenage daughter, Viv, and a cooperative group of single women of a similar age called "the coven." A series of flashbacks reveals that Adora left her former career as a television writer after being sexually assaulted and signing an NDA. After a suicide attempt, she used the money from her NDA to fund her philosophical education. Adora now works as a writer-in-residence at a Manhattan museum and as a private philosopher for the owners, the affluent Lockwood family. Layla Lockwood initially hired Adora to comfort her husband Lionel after he lost an arm in a climbing accident, though Layla credits the Venus de Milo for actually healing his depression.

One day after work, Adora meets a handsome stranger at the ballet named Digby. They go on a date and Digby reveals he followed Adora from the Lockwood's to ask her to deliver a letter to Layla. Adora delivers the letter, then has sex with Digby. Digby meets with Layla and convinces her to call off a planned art deal with Celine, whose father helped protect the Louvre art collection during World War II. Celine threatens to tell the Lockwoods about Adora's involvement unless Adora gets Digby to back down. Adora confronts Digby and realizes how little she knows about him. Adora gathers clues and becomes convinced that Layla and Celine were engaging in an illicit arms trade. She goes to the police who raid the Lockwood museum, but it turns out that the "arms deal" was really about statue arms. The Lockwoods fire Adora, who blames Digby for her suffering.

Digby sends Adora a letter revealing himself to be the lawyer who wrote her NDA many years ago and arranges for her to be released from its restrictions. Adora shares her past with Viv on a trip to Paris. Digby sends Adora another letter and explains his history hiding the misdeeds of powerful men, his eventual disillusionment, and his making amends through volunteering his skills to more moral causes. Adora realizes on her own that Layla's "arms deal" was purchasing the missing arms of the Venus de Milo from Celine. Layla was worried Lionel's depression would relapse if the statue regained its arms, whereas Celine was apparently desperate for money. Adora finds Digby in front of the Venus de Milo and they share a passionate kiss that is interrupted by a bomb blowing up the statue. Adora realizes that Celine orchestrated the bombing and the deal with Layla to hide that her father replaced the Venus de Milo with a fake. The true statue is returned to the Louvre and reunited with its arms, and Lionel displays Adora's Stoic teachings by remaining at peace. Adora is given back her job and moves into a larger apartment at the Ansonia with Digby and Viv, finally feeling whole.

Reception

Go Gentle was selected by Oprah Winfrey as an Oprah's Book Club pick.[8] It was also a New York Times bestseller.

Jeff Giles of the The New York Times says of the author: "Semple loves the human race — not in spite of our egos, anxieties and delusions, but because of them — and yet, she knows that calamity is always close at hand... [l]ike all her work, it’s a social satire full of dopamine-releasing one-liners and sparkling writing. "[2] Joanne Kaufman writing for The Wall Street Journal says, "Maria Semple... takes several story lines out for a spin in her teeming novel “Go Gentle.” Depending on their tolerance levels, readers may or may not choose to go along for the ride.[3] Amy Scribner, reviewing this work for the publication BookPage, says, "A thoroughly fun and raucous read that richly explores the wisdom that comes with middle age and the tradeoff between being content and taking chances ... Maria Semple’s newest novel defies easy description ...[with] Plentiful laughs....[9]

References

  1. ↑ Wait, Rebecca (April 10, 2026). "Go Gentle by Maria Semple review – a joyfully clever New York romcom". The Guardian (United Kingdom). Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  2. 1 2 Giles, Jeff (April 13, 2026). "Art Heists, Sexual Assaults, and a Coven of Middle-Aged Divorcées". The New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Kaufman, Joanne (April 17, 2026). "'The Golden Boy' and 'Go Gentle': The Show's Over". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  4. ↑ Kellogg, Carolyn (April 7, 2026). "Maria Semple's latest novel is a page-turner". The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 10, 2026. Full Text also available here: ProQuest 3326741418
  5. ↑ Warner, John (April 11, 2026). "Maria Semple's 'Go Gentle' is a fun, rollicking read". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  6. ↑ Staff (April 14, 2026). "GO GENTLE by Maria Semple. A wild mess of a plot". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved June 11, 2026. Book release date: April 21, 2026
  7. ↑ Staff (January 13, 2026). "Go Gentle, Maria Semple". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Burlock, Charley (14 April 2026). "Oprah Announces Go Gentle by Maria Semple as 122nd Book Club Pick". Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  9. ↑ Scribner, Amy (April 2026). "Go Gentle By Maria Semple Review by Amy Scribner". Book Page. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.