‘The Most’ by Jessica Anthony (2024) – 133 pages #NOVNOV24
‘The Most’ is a straightforward honest story of the marriage of Virgil and Kathleen Beckett .
One Sunday morning Virgil wakes up to find his wife Kathleen in the hardly ever used swimming pool of their apartment complex. Virgil can’t figure out why she is in the swimming pool since she has never gone into it before. He tries to convince her to come out. She won’t come out, so he takes their two sons to church by himself. Later in the afternoon, Virgil golfs with some men from work.
The story takes place in Delaware in 1957. The headline from that time, which is repeated often in the novella, is that the Russians have just launched their second satellite, Sputnik II, into space with a dog named Laika inside it.
Virgil is very good looking, but lazy and unambitious. His main interest is listening to jazz. Although from California, he winds up selling life insurance in Delaware. He gets married to the only average-looking Kathleen, who was a former college tennis champion. “The Most” is a tennis strategy used by Kathleen. They have two sons.
They move to Rhode Island where Virgil starts going to a nearby bar several nights a week with some of the insurance guys. There are girls, young women, at the bar, and after Virgil spends a night with one of them, Little Mo, he feels guilty enough about it to move the family back to Delaware and to start taking the family to church.
Now several months after moving back to Delaware, the family is still stuck in an apartment complex. Nobody ever uses the pool there, but one morning there is Kathleen swimming around in it. She is still in the pool near evening. Why?
Jessica Anthony’s centering this story around a swimming pool kind of reminded me of the famous story ‘The Swimmer’ by John Cheever about a guy who swims from neighbor’s pool to neighbor’s pool in the suburbs.
Although this is the story of a marriage and not an adventure story, there is real suspense here. The reader does not know what will happen, what the final conclusion will be.
The suspense between this husband and wife, which has been subtly and skillfully portrayed, continues through the last page and even beyond.
There are many fine things in Richard Powers’ novel ‘Playground’, but this steady little novella ‘The Most’ achieves more depth than the much, much longer ‘Playground’.
Grade: A #NOVNOV24
Tony's Book World 
Posted by Cathy746books on November 1, 2024 at 4:52 PM
This one is new to me Tony, sounds really good. Thanks for taking part.
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Posted by Anokatony on November 1, 2024 at 4:57 PM
Hi Cathy,
Yes, ‘The Most’ surprised me how simple yet deep it was.
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Posted by Rebecca Foster on November 1, 2024 at 8:48 PM
I’m so keen to read this! Thanks for featuring it, Tony.
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Posted by Anokatony on November 2, 2024 at 5:23 AM
Hi Rebecca,
Sometimes good things come in small packages.
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Posted by Kat on November 1, 2024 at 10:37 PM
I loved this one. Great review!
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Posted by Anokatony on November 2, 2024 at 5:25 AM
Hi Kat,
You read it too. It figures. It seemed very real to me.
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Posted by Lisa Hill on November 2, 2024 at 1:15 AM
It sounds most intriguing!
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Posted by Anokatony on November 2, 2024 at 5:26 AM
Hi Lisa,
Yes, most intriguing.
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Posted by Anne Bennett on November 2, 2024 at 4:57 AM
I think this book sounds quite good. Was it published in the 1950s or just set in that decade?
My first batch of reviews: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/11/novella-reviews-christmas-carol-dept-of.html
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Posted by Anokatony on November 2, 2024 at 5:16 AM
Hi Anne,
‘The Most’ was written this year, so it’s a look back in time.
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Posted by Jinjer on November 2, 2024 at 5:09 AM
Sounds good!!! Added it.
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Posted by Anokatony on November 2, 2024 at 5:28 AM
Hi Jinjer,
‘The Most’ is a quick read, but surprising.
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Posted by kimbofo on November 2, 2024 at 8:01 AM
Oh, I really like the sound of this! Marriage, suspense and the 1950s setting really appeal to me.
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Posted by Anokatony on November 2, 2024 at 8:16 AM
Hi Kim,
I have always thought that fiction can be more honest than history, and ‘The Most’ is an example where that is true.
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Posted by kimbofo on November 2, 2024 at 8:25 AM
Just looked it up online. Not available in Australia until 12 November but have added to my Wishlist!
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Posted by hopewellslibraryoflife on November 7, 2024 at 3:25 AM
Good review. I also liked this one
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Posted by Anokatony on November 7, 2024 at 8:06 AM
Hi hopewell,
So far I haven’t found anyone who has read ‘The Most’ who has not liked it a lot.
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Posted by New To My TBR during #NovNov24 on November 30, 2024 at 12:00 PM
[…] THE MOST BY JESSICA ANTHONY (TONY’S BOOK BLOG) […]
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Posted by My Favorite Fiction I Have Read in 2024 | Tony's Book World on December 10, 2024 at 5:36 PM
[…] ‘The Most’ by Jessica Anthony (2024) – From its cover, I did not expect this novella to have such depth. Thus I was most pleasantly surprised. ‘The Most’ is a straightforward honest story of a modern-day marriage. […]
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