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The Roxy Letters
Mary Pauline Lowry
Genre: Women’s Fic | Chick Lit | Epistolary | Adult
Published: April 2020 (Simon Schuster)
Source: eARC
Meet Roxy. She’s a sometimes vegan, always broke artist with a heart the size of Texas and an ex living in her spare bedroom. Her life is messy, but with the help of a few good friends and by the grace of the goddess Venus she’ll discover that good sex, true love, and her life’s purpose are all closer than she realizes.
Bridget Jones penned a diary; Roxy writes letters. Specifically: she writes letters to her hapless, rent-avoidant ex-boyfriend—and current roommate—Everett. This charming and funny twenty-something is under-employed (and under-romanced), and she’s decidedly fed up with the indignities she endures as a deli maid at Whole Foods (the original), and the dismaying speed at which her beloved Austin is becoming corporatized. When a new Lululemon pops up at the intersection of Sixth and Lamar where the old Waterloo Video used to be, Roxy can stay silent no longer.
As her letters to Everett become less about overdue rent and more about the state of her life, Roxy realizes she’s ready to be the heroine of her own story. She decides to team up with her two best friends to save Austin—and rescue Roxy’s love life—in whatever way they can. But can this spunky, unforgettable millennial keep Austin weird, avoid arrest, and find romance—and even creative inspiration—in the process?
I’m not sure what possessed me to request this on NetGalley but I strongly suspect it was due to seeing it was an epistolary novel. Roxy is a late-bloomer in-so-far as she is a nearly starving artist – not that can bring herself to actually paint anything – that works in a deli at Whole Foods that occasionally mooches money from her parents. The Roxy Letters are firmly Women’s Fiction / Chick Lit with funny, cringe-worthy moments and a very flawed main character.
Roxy is a hot mess and if I’m being honest I didn’t care for her as a character. This isn’t necessarily the author’s fault. In fact, it shows just how talented she was at creating Roxy as an authentic, obnoxious hippie. She reminded me of the absolute worst characteristics of the “keep weird” movement when it came to my hometown. So painful. So snobby. If I wasn’t so curious as to what she would mess up next, I may have set it to the side. After all, its not every book I read that includes a sex cult.
There is an element of “coming-of-age” as Roxy’s self-awareness grows and she starts to take an active role in her life.The pacing was comfortable and appropriate for Roxy’s antics but, if you aren’t paying attention to the dates of the letters it is easy to lose track of the passage of time.
While this wasn’t my favorite, Lowry did manage to make me laugh with Roxy’s ill-advised escapades. Be prepared for a lot of hippie, vegan talk and elitism. If that isn’t for you then this might be one to skip. The Roxy Letters proved to be equal parts fascinating (train wreck character) and exceedingly awkward making this book quite an experience.
Side note: I had no idea that Austin, TX boasted a strange bubble of hippie, hipster, slacker community and I’m not sure what to do with that information. I almost want to see it for myself but then again…
**I voluntarily read and reviewed a review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About the Author
Mary Pauline Lowry is a native of Austin, Texas. Her novel “The Roxy Letters” is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster on April 7, 2020. She’s the author of the novel “Wildfire,” and is a regular contributor to O, the Oprah Magazine. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Millions, and other publications.
She recently received her MFA from Boise State University in Idaho. She currently lives in Boise with her husband George, who is English and has taught her that tea really is a balm for the soul.
One of her dreams in life is to ride a sled pulled by a gaggle of joyful dachshunds.
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[…] The upside of book hopping has to be my slower book reading… well finishing anyway. I finally finished 3 ARCs! Two NetGalley and one for Storytellers on Tour. Duckett & Dyer was hands down my favorite for the week. TCD: 48 Hour Lockdown really disappointed me (full review to come) and for my thoughts on the Roxy you can check out the |review here|. […]