Reuniting with deeply-admired colleagues is always a joy. Reuniting with colleagues who leave you feeling like a rock star is utterly fabulous.
Such was my feeling after Suzanne Strempek Shea — my former newspaper colleague, writing mentor and fellow MFA creative nonfiction writing instructor — interviewed me for a book talk about my novel, Louie on the Rocks, at the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley. Suzanne has an uncanny ability of asking incisive questions that frequently give me pause and make me wonder why I’ve never thought of that particular angle before.
Our back-and-forth, as well as the questions from attendees, focused a great deal on the subjects of my vacillating between different writing genres, and how I rendered on the page an authentic depiction of people who hold different political beliefs than I hold. That’s a question I’m getting a lot. It’s no secret that I’m adamantly opposed to all things MAGA and what’s happening under the Trump administration, but when I was developing the character of Louie Francis, I placed my personal politics inside a box and shoved aside. My charge was to create a fully-developed character and figure out how he thought. Additionally, I wanted to illustrate that, in spite of our currently polarized climate, Louie wasn’t and shouldn’t be perceived as just one thing, as just a MAGA dude. He was a good and supportive husband, a loving son-in-law, a reliable employee, and a respected volunteer in his community. Writing Louie required me to think more fulsomely about the layers and texture of his life, not simply through the lens of his politics.
Afterward during the book signing portion, I had the chance to chat with folks and was thrilled to see my very first friend in my hometown of West Springfield there in attendance — Gina! — as well as two pals from my UMass-Amherst days. And the support from the Bay Path University MFA in Creative Nonfiction community, wow, it made me feel blessed. In addition to Suzanne, there was her husband Tommy Shea (who mentored me when I was a young newspaper reporter), former MFA director Leanna James Blackwell, and Anne Pinkerton, with whom I had classes when I earned my own MFA from Bay Path.
Bookstagrammers have been so amazingly generous with their time and their compliments for my latest darkly comedic novel, Louie on the Rocks (on sale now!). Here’s a sample:
Louie is a grumpy 66-year-old man who lost his wife six months prior. Louie is estranged from his daughter, who gets pulled back into his life after she finds out how Louie is living. Though they have extremely opposing views on politics and most things in life, she aims to get Louie the help and support he needs.
Brilliantly told through multiple perspectives, including Louieโs deceased wife, this story examines a grieving family polarized by politics. It was an eye-opening and insightful exploration of how deeply affecting politics can be within a family unit that doesnโt see eye to eye. Though politics is a main theme within this book, the reader does not need to be an expert in the subject to sympathize with these characters. The brokenness of this family goes well beyond their political differences. It was easy to feel for these characters.
There is a sarcastic, humorous tone throughout this novel which kept the heaviness from overshadowing the story. I enjoyed the authors writing and how she sprinkled in witty prose to offset the darkness. This family dynamic is heart breaking and grief-filled, yet there were many moments I was smiling and laughing.
The chapters are short, making this easy to fly through. There are legal document entries scattered throughout which gives a refreshing break to the narrative.
Upon reflection, I am surprised with how much I loved this book. This book has a heavy focus on American politics so being Canadian, and not considering myself any sort of political guru, this was outside of my comfort zone yet it worked incredibly well for me. Itโs a book Iโll remember reading for a long time. I highly recommend you try it for yourself!
I loved Pumpkin, Louieโs late wifeโs dog that is a central part of the story!๐พ
@briannethebookworm: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ 4/5 Iโll start with saying Louie was an extremely triggering and infuriating character that was hard to empathize with. I pitied him for letting Cristall take advantage of him the way he did, but the way he treated Lulu and refused to compromise made it hard to give him any leniency. It was entertaining to have Helenโs perspective of the events from the grave, and I felt for her having to mediate Louie and Luluโs relationship for decades; however I donโt think having her background knowledge and context of Lulu and Louieโs relationship added to the story significantly. I felt similarly about Cristallโs brief chapter at the end. Overall, I enjoyed the book and looked forward to picking it up each time to witness the dysfunctional Francis family. Louie was a spot-on stereotype of some Trump supporters, and many readers will relate to the struggles of navigating familial relationships when political views and values are vastly different. Grab your copy this week!
@livingmybookishlife: Our nation is divided like never before. There are Lulus and there are Louies. I am most definitely a Lulu. This review and book will resonate with Lulus. Louies will hate both.
๐๐ข๐จ๐๐ ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ฆ is a tale of our time; an allegory of current events. Itโs a hard lesson wrapped in an often humorous, always engaging piece of fiction. Itโs a warning that we should have heeded, but ignored these past four years. It is a sad and sobering reflection of the destructive power of hate. It is where we find ourselves again and Iโm both ashamed and frightened.
On its face, this is a story of the damage caused to one family by extreme politics told through three distinct points of view. Louie is MAGA to the core. A FOX News watching, conspiracy theory believer who searched for and found places to have his hate validated. At his core he is an insecure man battling demons of alcoholism and jealousy. Lulu is his estranged left leaning lesbian daughter. Their relationship was never solid and was irrevocably damaged when he refused to accept her sexual orientation and, instead, used hateful slurs to demean and belittle her. Helen is the recently deceased family matriarch who held them together by the thinnest of threads. Now that Helen is gone, all hell has broken loose.
It feels ironic that I finished this book on a day which sees the nation both honoring MLK, JR. and witnessing Trumpโs second inauguration. One man stood for the power of love to conquer hate while the other uses vitriol to divide in pursuit of personal gain. The differences could not be more striking. Meredith OโBrienโs brutally honest and bitingly funny work of fiction should be a warning to us all. Sadly, I fear the Louies who learned nothing from history will continue to revel in the chaos.
Finally, to Ms. OโBrien: โLouie on the Rocksโ is a brilliant and twisted play on words. IYKYK
@jaypippi: Finishing the yet-to-be-released Louie on the Rocks by Meredith OโBrien felt eerily on point today. This darkly funny, painfully relatable story dives into the fractures of family, grief, and division in the Trump era.
After losing their matriarch, MAGA dad Louie spirals into alcoholism, while his liberal, queer daughter Lulu fights to save both her father and their broken bond. Told in part through the ghostly narration of Louieโs late wife, Helen, the story gives a bittersweet perspective as she watches her family unravel.
Luluโs identity as a lesbian adds another layer of tension, as she struggles to stay true to herself while navigating her fatherโs conservative worldview.
This book made me pause and reflect. We all know that family member whoโs fallen down the rabbit hole, donโt we? And as the last breaths of democracy seem to sputter out, there are those who fear tomorrow, and others who celebrate it. Fathers, sisters, cousinsโpeople we loveโon opposite sides of history.
Messy, raw, and deeply relatable, Louie on the Rocks will make you laugh, cry, and reflect on your own relationships. Itโs a reminder of how complicated family can beโand how love and humanity might still cut through the noise, even in the most divided time.
@bobbijoreads: It’s MAGA vs. LGBTQ+ in this dark humor domestic drama. Louis (father) and Lulu (daughter) are at odds while Helen (mom) watches and commentates from the afterlife.
I loved the format of this book with the three alternating POVs and Affidavits mixed in throughout. I loved the character of Lulu, her relationship with her girlfriend Jules, and the way Helen loved her and embraced them both. The family dynamics (like toxic peacekeeping from Helen & fighting between Louis and Lulu) felt extremely real and relatable. Louis name-calling everyone who wasn’t enabling him, and refusing to take accountability perfectly mirrored his idolization.
The ending caught me off guard but also fit so so well into the story. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
@libraryscented: This book is a brilliant snapshot of how polarizing American politics have become since 2019. The story is told thru the voices of Louie, his deceased wife (ghost), Helen, and his daughter, Lulu.
Like much of America these days, Louie & Lulu have VERY different political views and it is destroying any semblance of family they have left.
This story will have you on the edge of your seat wondering how it will all play out.
@shopcoffeekids: This novel plays into todayโs household landscape divided by politics. We meet a queer young women and her alcoholic father whose buffer in the home has recently passed away.
Louie on the Rocks is told through multiple POVโs, including the deceased mother, which moves the story along nicely with its short chapters. This book is a bit heavy in its reality, humorous and definitely thought-provoking.
Fellow writer and full-time literature professor, Sarahlyn Bruck was kind enough to feature a Q&A we did about my work as a writer and, specifically, my forthcoming novel, Louie on the Rocks.
Baltimore-based author Leslie Gray Streeter and I met one another in 2020 just when our memoirs — mine, Uncomfortably Numb, and hers, Black Widow — hit the shelves. Our book promo plans upended by the pandemic, we joined a group of 70+ writers who all had books released at the same time, and we collectively tried to help one another.
A few years later, I met Leslie in person when I invited members of our writers’ group, Lockdown Lit, to a group book event at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough, Mass.
When it came time to solicit blurbs for Louie on the Rocks, her name immediately popped into my head because she and I are frequently liking one another’s posts on social media.
I also had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of her forthcoming novel, Family and Other Calamities. I LOVED it and can’t wait for others to have the delightful experience.
Here’s her full blurb:
Louie On The Rocks is a frank and, at times, blisteringly funny testament to the corroding influences of grief, addiction , polarization, regret and emotional abandonment. It’s told with multiple vivid voices giving witness to a tragic chain of events that might be stoppable – but probably aren’t.
Meredith OBrien 