FICTION

None of This Would Have Happened If Prince Were Alive

Atria. Nov. 2022. 336p. ISBN 9781982188863. $27. F
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DEBUTRamona catches her husband cheating, setting off events that culminate with a Category 4 hurricane. Savannah is under hurricane watch, but Ramona has more than the weather on her mind; her daughter is struggling with potty training, her son needs to take care of the class guinea pig, the 16-year-old boy next door is living alone, and her mother refuses to leave her ramshackle waterfront home. Then Ramona throws her husband out, piles her kids plus the teen next door into her minivan, and takes off for safer ground. Her mom refuses to go, saying she’ll evacuate with a friend. Ramona hits the road but heads back into the eye of the storm when her mother refuses to leave. Meanwhile, her husband, his fling, and her boss are bombarding her with texts, and she yearns for the days when her life felt like a Prince song. It’s all too much, and in Prusa’s hands, too funny. Caring for her kids and mother puts Ramona squarely in the sandwich generation, but she manages to handle it all with aplomb, while providing cultural touchstones along the way.
VERDICT Family drama has never been so much fun. Fans of Maria Semple, Jennifer Weiner, and Laurie Gelman will enjoy Prusa’s debut.
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