Shampoo Effect
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I’ve got mixed feelings about this bad boy. It was doomed from the start; this is a Jenna Bush Hager ‘Read with Jenna’ pick, and I was also using a Laura Bush bookmark gifted from my mom that unironically says “As long as you have books, you are not alone”. As someone who bleeds blue, this was a little too much Bush-family for my liking, and I should have heeded it as an early red flag.
It started really strong for me, centered on Caroline Lash, an aspiring writer who flees New York City to escape her mother’s successful-author shadow. I embraced Caroline, and I was sat for her perspective. Then, to my chagrin, I discovered that this book shifts perspectives. It’s one of those. It’s all written in the third person, but each chapter hones in on a different character. There are a zillion examples where this is well-executed, but in Shampoo Effect, I fear it ended up diluting each character. In fact, it features four main female characters, and in our book club discussion, we kept conflating two of them. Bit of a lame sameness to them. Sorry, Fran and Augusta. I think those are your names.
It’s also missing voices that I want to hear. Where are the males? I know that some authors struggle with a particular sex’s voice, but for such a male-centered storyline, it was a glaring omission. Plus, I often find that switching perspectives can be a lazy writing choice. Like, okay, I can’t dig any deeper into this one character right now, let’s make an abrupt pivot. It’s perhaps unfair to compare it to masterpieces like Demon Copperhead that so effectively and intricately follow one character, but I do it, even though comparison is the thief of joy.
That’s not to say that this author– Jenny Jackson–isn’t skilled. In fact, I was particularly impressed with her specificity in mannerisms and dialogue. I could vividly picture those characters doing their thangs. In terms of content, I also found many of their problems relatable. Most of the women were struggling with the identity shift of parenthood, trying to balance their own lives, their marriages, their friendships, and their children. This can be portrayed in very cliched ways, but Jackson showed them clumsily, but authentically, moving through it. So, I liked most of the characters. They were flawed, but they were real.
The main issue is the fizzle. The premise was there, but the story fizzled out, and I stopped caring. It circled the drain with their messiness and then hurriedly tried to patch together character growth at the end, which worked for some but not for others. Too rushed and imbalanced, sloughing off the meat of the story.
Of note, the cover on this book is very misleading. They go to the beach maybe once– why is an ocean on your cover? Also, a little jump scare to remind me of the incestuousness of book publishing– Coco Mellors gives a back-cover review, and I’m currently reading her debut novel, Cleopatra and Frankenstein. That’s just a little fun fact to also brag that I’m already on to my next book. This book? Shampoo Effect? It receives 3 out of 5 flames. A fine rating for a fine book.
