For most people, the experience of a child going off to college is a daunting one. It'll be their first experience out on their own. The empty nest syndrome is a well-worn trope that has been explored from both perspectives. One has to wonder what Tom Perrotta has to add to the conversation. The author behind "Election" and "The Leftovers" has done plenty to explore contemporary American life and continues that journey here. In an age where everyone is online and progressive politics are moving faster than ever, how does "Mrs. Fletcher" seek to find her own voice? The results may feel dated now, but are a perfect encapsulation of Obama-era ideologies, so full of optimism and potential. It may be a messy read, but encapsulates an era in one's life of reinvention very well.
The focus centers on two perspectives within the Fletcher family. On the one end is Mrs. Fletcher, the middle-aged mother who is fearing life with an empty house and no satisfying romantic life. On the other is her son who is a bit more arrogant and aimless. With his own neglectful relationship to his girlfriend, Perrotta gives a greater reason for disliking him. His journey into college is one that's full of the familiar dorm stories, finding him getting into awkward meetings and trying his best to find himself. While both take very different journeys, they each emphasize the darkness of this period. They're both alone, unsure of what the future will hold. For Mrs. Fletcher, her future seems useless while her son has everything ahead of him. Even then, what does that really offer for them? What does one do with that time?
Perrotta's narrative is most interesting when it's on Mrs. Fletcher, who is exploring a world that has changed without her. She returns to college only to find that gender politics are much different. Her teacher is a transgender woman and the idea of queerness is more openly accepted. Her personal life becomes more interesting when she decides to peruse porn and form an addiction. It's taboo, but it makes her happy, filling a hole in her loneliness. As she does everything to try and find meaning in her life, she keeps finding ways to use contemporary technologies and approaches to reach out, hoping that it will eventually find her love and happiness. Much like her son, neither really find it and stumble from instance to instance. The only difference is that there comes with it an acceptance, a newfound sense of independence that she has greatly lacked up to this point.
As a writer, there's something admirable about Perrotta's ability to focus in on a moment and detail it so specifically. With "Election," he captured the 90s very well, tying political scandals to minimal school elections. Here, he finds ways to explore the Obama era, where it felt like progressive agendas were becoming more accepted and people were more open about their problems. It's a time when women were allowed to have more agency, where racial politics suggested more unity. Perrotta does a great job of referencing various aspects of this time and creating characters who are using it to try and find satisfaction in their lives. The only conflict this time around is that it's so rooted in a moment that its themes are sometimes buried under a culture that feels in constant shift. While it's emotionally sound, it's maybe too close to the era to appreciate as more than a bit dated.
"Mrs. Fletcher" is another example of why Perrotta is a very engaging writer. As someone who takes the interpersonal relationship of family and finds something more endearing inside, it's another example of how he reflects our codependency on media and culture as some coping mechanism. He has a gift for writing with heart, finding anxiety and longing inside every experience. While this is well-worn territory, he finds enough of a spin to make it a worthwhile read. The loneliness of Mrs. Fletcher paves the way for a reflection on how technology in general consumes us, making us disconnected from the world around us. The trick is finding a balance. It doesn't condemn this as taboos, but more reflects why certain addictions happen in the first place. It's good, even if there's not enough of a hook necessarily to make it an essential example of his brilliance as a writer.
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