What a beautiful analysis, it made me want to reread Romantic Comedy and dive into Seven Days in June straight away!
Re: your housekeeping notes, please do not let any perceived or real pressure to publish on a weekly basis ruin something that should be first and foremost fun for you!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for the support on a lighter publishing schedule! I love being in conversation with this amazing community so much that I'd love to show up in some way every week, I just think the amount of close reading I need to do to produce high quality analysis might require a bit more time between bigger pieces!
And re Seven Days in June - you won't regret it. I blew through both of her books in 72 hours, they were exceptional.
I’m new to your essays. My sister sent me your Emily Henry one, and I immediately hit subscribe! The essay on Nora Roberts last week was just as good. And, you’ve done it again with this analysis of two excellent books (and authors!). I have to say, if you need extra time to keep writing these wonderful essays, you take it. I’ll be here ready for it! Thanks for sharing your talent!
It totally makes my day to hear that your sister sent you my EmHen essay, and even moreso that it made you subscribe! I'm so grateful to have such lovely readers and am excited to keep being here in dialogue with you all!
Thank you for this post, and please don't worry about your publishing schedule! Your thoughtful analysis is worth the wait. I really look forward to reading Tia Williams, and Romantic Comedy is one of my favorite recent books. I deeply relate to Sally, and your analysis helped me interrogate why, and also understand myself better. One of my favorite lines happens after Noah encourages Sally to ask for more affirmation from him if she needs it, Sally wonders whether that would bee too needy, and he says, "Isn't the point of something like this that the other person tries to meet your needs, and you try to meet theirs?" That kind of emotional clarity and intentionality is a revelation to Sally. So sexy!
As for other pairings in the same emotional register, I recommend 2 novels which aren't technically romances, but definitely love stories. The first is Alice Winn's In Memoriam, set during WWI at a British boarding school and in the war. The other is the All The Young Dudes, a Harry Potter fan fiction my college-aged daughter insisted I read. Both are gorgeously written, heartbreakingly beautiful, melancholic love stories. I happened to read them back to back and felt like they were in wonderful conversation with each other. As a Gen X former English major, I was resistant to fan fiction, but I'm so glad I got over myself and listened to my daughter.
I've not read Tia Williams but I will now. Here is the meta quote that I singled out when I read and (Instagram) reviewed Romantic Comedy "Another of my pet peeves is that the female characters used to be all sort of cutesy like having flour on their nose after they baked cookies, and not knowing it, and now they're all a mess like waking up really hungover and getting fired. I want to create characters who aren't flawless - but also aren't ridiculous or incompetent at life.”
What also struck me about Romantic Comedy was the way we got to see them fall in love in words, email and text. It's always a rip-off when you get the montage or a summary of all the things they talked about. You could see them liking each other! Kudos also for the setting mainly during the pandemic, handled deftly. We need contemporary fictional accounts.
Nora Goes Off Script is a comp but more of a fairy tale compared to the social and personal topics interrogated in Romantic Comedy.
Also, Rena, you've illuminated not only what is happening in these two books but given me insight into my own writing. I operate from my head and it's kind of a struggle to write physical attraction. I mean, I've experienced it myself, of course but I struggle to describe it! Just seeing you pick it out like that is extremely helpful!
And... Write on whatever schedule keeps you sane. No one is going to forget you between essays.
Oh Linda - I think I need to print this out and stick it to my office wall: "No one is going to forget you between essays." That may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me!
I couldn't agree more about it being so interesting to see the characters fall in love across multiple mediums. The use of the epistolatory format in Red, White & Royal Blue as well as in Romantic Comedy was definitely something that influenced my current book in progress as I use emails heavily to punctuate scenes! I think it's such an under explored element of modern romance!
And I love that I was able to illuminate that aspect of your own writing to you. I also tend to be more of a sapiosexual and so, for me, reading authors that experience attraction and love in a more physical forward plane has been so helpful for me! If you like Curtis Sittenfeld's tone - it's worth looking at Sarah Dunn's the Big Love, which was written in 2004 (!) but very much carries the same type of observational humor applied to male/female interactions.
From that book: "But the truth is, power is much more elusive than that. I'll tell you who has the power. The person who loves less has the power. The person who is most willing to leave has the power." and also this: "Shouldn't love be simpler than this? Shouldn't this thing, this most fundamental of things, be easier and more predictable and less capricious and random and cruel?" It's one of my all time favorites.
This is so clever! I recently finished Romantic Comedy and there were things I did and didn't like about the plot and the storytelling, but you've really captured the style and approach here in ways I hadn't considered. I've not got to Seven Days in June yet, but I tend to prefer my romance a little more sarky and low-key, so It seems RC is more in my lane perhaps!
I love being able to show fans of Sittenfeld's work a new lens to view her through. She's so incredibly talented. I have mentioned this in a few comments but if you like Sittenfeld and like your romance low key and snarky, a predecessor of hers that you might really enjoy is Sarah Dunn, and particularly- her book The Big Love. She has a similar dry, observational humor about male/female relationships that is so reminiscent of Sittenfeld.
Tia Williams is definitely not low key but she is incredibly funny at times. There's a line I opted not to quote that made me laugh out loud: "Stop looking at me like your dick's in my mouth."
In any case, thanks so much for reading - I so appreciate the wonderful community of readers here!
thank you for giving Romantic Comedy its due—i feel like it got such mixed reactions from the book community, but i loved it for every reason you mentioned!!!!
I think the romance community resented Sittenfeld for thinking she could just try romance on like a new coat and the serious book literati couldn’t believe Sittenfeld had condescend to write a *gasp* romance and so no one wanted to cover it properly. Which really stinks - it deserved more for sure.
I loved it the way you love a family member - I see all the good (Sittenfeld’s voice is SO true and erudite and funny that it can paper over any number of sins!) but also think there were some fairly substantial issues with her characters. At some point I want to do a stand alone review on the book beyond just her prose / voice because I think there is just SO much to say about it!
PS: I’ve been saying this a bunch in the comments - I should probably just write a note about it but if you loved Romantic Comedy, I’d make a strong recommendation for Sarah Dunn’s 2004 book “The Big Love.” The romance arc is less central but the writing is like a kissing cousin of Sittenfeld’s - very much the same dry, observational, erudite humor. It was one of my absolute favorite novels for years.
Dolly Alderton’s voice in Good Material is also similar though I found that book to be more bleak than I could tolerate haha.
Also - a big thank you for reading and commenting!
As always, I loved this analysis! Definitely not two books I'd ever have thought to compare and contrast but I think it also speaks to the universality of the romance genre and how the way people fall in love, and what authors want to say about the world through the way they tell that love story allows for a through-line between the most unlikely of bedfellows.
Seven Days in June had me by the throat from its first line; it was so fully formed, so embodied and complicated and funny and painful--I'm still not sure I've read anything like it (I haven't read Ricki Wilde yet!) Romantic Comedy was surprising to me with how it hid a lockdown love story in its midst and how it handled it with grace and depth, without even losing the "comedy" aspect.
I completely agree re the universality of the romance genre. And, yes, what an elegant and totally accurate way to describe the experience of reading Tia Williams for the first time. I was blown away by her talent and the uniqueness of her voice, it's so indelibly hers in a way I don't often see in romance (or romance adjacent books). I'm excited for her next adult project!
Hahaha. I would probably also agree that it's my least favorite Sittenfeld, but it's the only romance adjacent one. I think there were some serious characterization misses but her voice is so strong that it's a joy to read it almost no matter what.
I loved this analysis. Having read both books and ADORED both, It was good to see the similarities and to have you articulate the reasons why I adored both - which on the surface are different but they're so good because they say something about the world and are funny.
And I loved the lines you quoted. Having read Romantic Comedy twice, those lines just jumped out.
Tia Williams does not get enough credit for how funny she is. There was a line I wanted to quote but ultimately didn't because of how raunchy it was, but I literally laughed out loud while reading it.
Always look forward to your posts! I’ve adored all of Sittenfield’s books. Will read anything she publishes. Have never considered the comparisons to Tia Williams! You’ve inspired me to read more of Williams’ work.
I was surprised by the throughline I found in their work myself. I think they are just both so fiercely intelligent with so much to say about the world and that’s rarer than I’d like in romance sometimes?
But +1 to reading anything Sittenfeld writes! I am eagerly awaiting whatever she puts out next!
Thank you for being such a generous reader and commenter on my work!
While I know it’s not a straight romance, I would also be interested in your thoughts about her book American Wife. If not technically a romance, the book centers on one of the most nuanced, complicated, and intellectual love stories I’ve read. It’s unclear if it’s more about the love between her and the POTUS she ends up with or the childhood love she lost.
Thank you for your kind words!! I hope I've convinced you to give one (or both of them!) a look. They are both so incredibly talented and compelling, even for people who aren't typical romance readers!
"Seven Days in June" and "A Love Song For Ricki Wilde" are two of my favorite romances. Tia Williams is such a singular talent. Like you, I am not a big fan of magical realism—I just read an acclaimed novel (not a romance) that turned out to have a big magical realism element and it really put me off—but the way she does it in "Ricki Wilde" is just so beautiful and charming.
I agree with the other commenters that a weekly publishing schedule for these long essays is too intense! I wonder if an occasional "community discussion" might be fun and low-stakes—for instance, readers discuss and recommend titles based around a particular subgenre or trope.
I couldn't agree more that the way she did it in Ricki Wilde was so much more tolerable than I've ever found it before. I'm not sure if that's because I genuinely enjoyed the look at old Harlem or just because Tia is so good she could make even things I hate tolerable to read ha.
That's a great idea re community discussion. I'm going to noodle on it a bit - thanks for being such a wonderful part of the community here, Sue. I'm always excited to see your name in the comments.
Thank you so much for articulating so well the things I love about one of my favourite writers (Sittenfeld) that I never would've been able to pinpoint myself. Gorgeous piece, Seven Days in June shot straight to the top of my TBR.
Ahh, I love to hear that I was able to achieve that! I think you will love Seven Days. Obviously very different stylistically, but her intelligence is unmissable and her voice, so singular.
Thank you for sharing this post. I don’t typically read romance, but your mention of “misogynoir” makes me want to pick up both of these books as intersectionality (and its implications) has always fascinated me.
What a beautiful analysis, it made me want to reread Romantic Comedy and dive into Seven Days in June straight away!
Re: your housekeeping notes, please do not let any perceived or real pressure to publish on a weekly basis ruin something that should be first and foremost fun for you!
Thank you so much for your kind words and for the support on a lighter publishing schedule! I love being in conversation with this amazing community so much that I'd love to show up in some way every week, I just think the amount of close reading I need to do to produce high quality analysis might require a bit more time between bigger pieces!
And re Seven Days in June - you won't regret it. I blew through both of her books in 72 hours, they were exceptional.
I’m new to your essays. My sister sent me your Emily Henry one, and I immediately hit subscribe! The essay on Nora Roberts last week was just as good. And, you’ve done it again with this analysis of two excellent books (and authors!). I have to say, if you need extra time to keep writing these wonderful essays, you take it. I’ll be here ready for it! Thanks for sharing your talent!
It totally makes my day to hear that your sister sent you my EmHen essay, and even moreso that it made you subscribe! I'm so grateful to have such lovely readers and am excited to keep being here in dialogue with you all!
Thank you for this post, and please don't worry about your publishing schedule! Your thoughtful analysis is worth the wait. I really look forward to reading Tia Williams, and Romantic Comedy is one of my favorite recent books. I deeply relate to Sally, and your analysis helped me interrogate why, and also understand myself better. One of my favorite lines happens after Noah encourages Sally to ask for more affirmation from him if she needs it, Sally wonders whether that would bee too needy, and he says, "Isn't the point of something like this that the other person tries to meet your needs, and you try to meet theirs?" That kind of emotional clarity and intentionality is a revelation to Sally. So sexy!
As for other pairings in the same emotional register, I recommend 2 novels which aren't technically romances, but definitely love stories. The first is Alice Winn's In Memoriam, set during WWI at a British boarding school and in the war. The other is the All The Young Dudes, a Harry Potter fan fiction my college-aged daughter insisted I read. Both are gorgeously written, heartbreakingly beautiful, melancholic love stories. I happened to read them back to back and felt like they were in wonderful conversation with each other. As a Gen X former English major, I was resistant to fan fiction, but I'm so glad I got over myself and listened to my daughter.
I've not read Tia Williams but I will now. Here is the meta quote that I singled out when I read and (Instagram) reviewed Romantic Comedy "Another of my pet peeves is that the female characters used to be all sort of cutesy like having flour on their nose after they baked cookies, and not knowing it, and now they're all a mess like waking up really hungover and getting fired. I want to create characters who aren't flawless - but also aren't ridiculous or incompetent at life.”
What also struck me about Romantic Comedy was the way we got to see them fall in love in words, email and text. It's always a rip-off when you get the montage or a summary of all the things they talked about. You could see them liking each other! Kudos also for the setting mainly during the pandemic, handled deftly. We need contemporary fictional accounts.
Nora Goes Off Script is a comp but more of a fairy tale compared to the social and personal topics interrogated in Romantic Comedy.
Also, Rena, you've illuminated not only what is happening in these two books but given me insight into my own writing. I operate from my head and it's kind of a struggle to write physical attraction. I mean, I've experienced it myself, of course but I struggle to describe it! Just seeing you pick it out like that is extremely helpful!
And... Write on whatever schedule keeps you sane. No one is going to forget you between essays.
Oh Linda - I think I need to print this out and stick it to my office wall: "No one is going to forget you between essays." That may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me!
I couldn't agree more about it being so interesting to see the characters fall in love across multiple mediums. The use of the epistolatory format in Red, White & Royal Blue as well as in Romantic Comedy was definitely something that influenced my current book in progress as I use emails heavily to punctuate scenes! I think it's such an under explored element of modern romance!
And I love that I was able to illuminate that aspect of your own writing to you. I also tend to be more of a sapiosexual and so, for me, reading authors that experience attraction and love in a more physical forward plane has been so helpful for me! If you like Curtis Sittenfeld's tone - it's worth looking at Sarah Dunn's the Big Love, which was written in 2004 (!) but very much carries the same type of observational humor applied to male/female interactions.
From that book: "But the truth is, power is much more elusive than that. I'll tell you who has the power. The person who loves less has the power. The person who is most willing to leave has the power." and also this: "Shouldn't love be simpler than this? Shouldn't this thing, this most fundamental of things, be easier and more predictable and less capricious and random and cruel?" It's one of my all time favorites.
A marvelous piece, Rena!
Truly appreciate that—especially coming from someone with such a sharp cultural lens. I both admire and enjoy your work!
Omigosh, thank you! I likewise appreciate your smart, lively writing and analysis 💐
This is so clever! I recently finished Romantic Comedy and there were things I did and didn't like about the plot and the storytelling, but you've really captured the style and approach here in ways I hadn't considered. I've not got to Seven Days in June yet, but I tend to prefer my romance a little more sarky and low-key, so It seems RC is more in my lane perhaps!
I love being able to show fans of Sittenfeld's work a new lens to view her through. She's so incredibly talented. I have mentioned this in a few comments but if you like Sittenfeld and like your romance low key and snarky, a predecessor of hers that you might really enjoy is Sarah Dunn, and particularly- her book The Big Love. She has a similar dry, observational humor about male/female relationships that is so reminiscent of Sittenfeld.
Tia Williams is definitely not low key but she is incredibly funny at times. There's a line I opted not to quote that made me laugh out loud: "Stop looking at me like your dick's in my mouth."
In any case, thanks so much for reading - I so appreciate the wonderful community of readers here!
thank you for giving Romantic Comedy its due—i feel like it got such mixed reactions from the book community, but i loved it for every reason you mentioned!!!!
I think the romance community resented Sittenfeld for thinking she could just try romance on like a new coat and the serious book literati couldn’t believe Sittenfeld had condescend to write a *gasp* romance and so no one wanted to cover it properly. Which really stinks - it deserved more for sure.
I loved it the way you love a family member - I see all the good (Sittenfeld’s voice is SO true and erudite and funny that it can paper over any number of sins!) but also think there were some fairly substantial issues with her characters. At some point I want to do a stand alone review on the book beyond just her prose / voice because I think there is just SO much to say about it!
PS: I’ve been saying this a bunch in the comments - I should probably just write a note about it but if you loved Romantic Comedy, I’d make a strong recommendation for Sarah Dunn’s 2004 book “The Big Love.” The romance arc is less central but the writing is like a kissing cousin of Sittenfeld’s - very much the same dry, observational, erudite humor. It was one of my absolute favorite novels for years.
Dolly Alderton’s voice in Good Material is also similar though I found that book to be more bleak than I could tolerate haha.
Also - a big thank you for reading and commenting!
As always, I loved this analysis! Definitely not two books I'd ever have thought to compare and contrast but I think it also speaks to the universality of the romance genre and how the way people fall in love, and what authors want to say about the world through the way they tell that love story allows for a through-line between the most unlikely of bedfellows.
Seven Days in June had me by the throat from its first line; it was so fully formed, so embodied and complicated and funny and painful--I'm still not sure I've read anything like it (I haven't read Ricki Wilde yet!) Romantic Comedy was surprising to me with how it hid a lockdown love story in its midst and how it handled it with grace and depth, without even losing the "comedy" aspect.
I completely agree re the universality of the romance genre. And, yes, what an elegant and totally accurate way to describe the experience of reading Tia Williams for the first time. I was blown away by her talent and the uniqueness of her voice, it's so indelibly hers in a way I don't often see in romance (or romance adjacent books). I'm excited for her next adult project!
Thank you for commenting!
Romantic Comedy is my least fave Sittenfeld (and I LOVE her) but you've made me want to reread it. ARGH I don't have time.
Hahaha. I would probably also agree that it's my least favorite Sittenfeld, but it's the only romance adjacent one. I think there were some serious characterization misses but her voice is so strong that it's a joy to read it almost no matter what.
Sorry to be adding to the never ending TBR, ha.
I loved this analysis. Having read both books and ADORED both, It was good to see the similarities and to have you articulate the reasons why I adored both - which on the surface are different but they're so good because they say something about the world and are funny.
And I loved the lines you quoted. Having read Romantic Comedy twice, those lines just jumped out.
Tia Williams does not get enough credit for how funny she is. There was a line I wanted to quote but ultimately didn't because of how raunchy it was, but I literally laughed out loud while reading it.
Thank you for reading and commenting! <3
Always look forward to your posts! I’ve adored all of Sittenfield’s books. Will read anything she publishes. Have never considered the comparisons to Tia Williams! You’ve inspired me to read more of Williams’ work.
I was surprised by the throughline I found in their work myself. I think they are just both so fiercely intelligent with so much to say about the world and that’s rarer than I’d like in romance sometimes?
But +1 to reading anything Sittenfeld writes! I am eagerly awaiting whatever she puts out next!
Thank you for being such a generous reader and commenter on my work!
Thanks so much!
While I know it’s not a straight romance, I would also be interested in your thoughts about her book American Wife. If not technically a romance, the book centers on one of the most nuanced, complicated, and intellectual love stories I’ve read. It’s unclear if it’s more about the love between her and the POTUS she ends up with or the childhood love she lost.
This was so great! I really enjoyed Romantic Comedy and am now looking forward to picking up Tia Williams books
Thank you! I think you'll love them - Tia Williams' voice is very different but equally as affecting and distinct!
I haven't read these two authors but your love for them is infectious. 😊
I specially loved this observation:
One begins in sensation. The other in articulation. But both show us how love animates the modern woman.
Thank you for your kind words!! I hope I've convinced you to give one (or both of them!) a look. They are both so incredibly talented and compelling, even for people who aren't typical romance readers!
"Seven Days in June" and "A Love Song For Ricki Wilde" are two of my favorite romances. Tia Williams is such a singular talent. Like you, I am not a big fan of magical realism—I just read an acclaimed novel (not a romance) that turned out to have a big magical realism element and it really put me off—but the way she does it in "Ricki Wilde" is just so beautiful and charming.
I agree with the other commenters that a weekly publishing schedule for these long essays is too intense! I wonder if an occasional "community discussion" might be fun and low-stakes—for instance, readers discuss and recommend titles based around a particular subgenre or trope.
I couldn't agree more that the way she did it in Ricki Wilde was so much more tolerable than I've ever found it before. I'm not sure if that's because I genuinely enjoyed the look at old Harlem or just because Tia is so good she could make even things I hate tolerable to read ha.
That's a great idea re community discussion. I'm going to noodle on it a bit - thanks for being such a wonderful part of the community here, Sue. I'm always excited to see your name in the comments.
Thank you so much for articulating so well the things I love about one of my favourite writers (Sittenfeld) that I never would've been able to pinpoint myself. Gorgeous piece, Seven Days in June shot straight to the top of my TBR.
Ahh, I love to hear that I was able to achieve that! I think you will love Seven Days. Obviously very different stylistically, but her intelligence is unmissable and her voice, so singular.
Thank you for sharing this post. I don’t typically read romance, but your mention of “misogynoir” makes me want to pick up both of these books as intersectionality (and its implications) has always fascinated me.