The Mulligan Curse

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Mary is disappointed by life - she's not the media star she could have been, her husband prefers golf to conversation, and her daughter is reluctant to spend time with her. When her wisdom teeth suddenly start coming in, she learns that, by having them removed, she could get a chance to start all over again.

Review
The blurb for The Mulligan Curse suggests that it won't offer many surprises, but I thought it indicated a certain charm, and I thought the wisdom teeth were an interesting twist. By and large, it provided just what was on the label – a charming, familiar, and harmless quick read.

The prose is good, the book moves quickly, and the characters are largely relatable and engaging. However, while the plot twists were mainly as expected, protagonist Mary never really does seem to learn much about herself. She rues her decision to change her life, realizing that she was somewhat selfish – and she continues to be selfish. To be fair, I don't think that's what the author intended us to take away, but I had trouble getting past it. The principal point of this trope is to learn to appreciate what you have and Mary does that, but a secondary point is usually to learn from your mistakes, and there I think Mary fails. It was a minor irritant, but one that troubled me more and more as the story went on. For just one example, Mary just seems to take it for granted that she knows her husband will be happier (if less successful) in their initial life than in the alternate one. She never asks him.

I hoped for a little more from the plot. Yes, the idea was familiar, but at the halfway point, I suddenly realized just how closely the whole thing was following the It's a Wonderful Life template. I think there was room to venture a little farther afield. I found the sudden discover of a key letter disappointingly ‘lucky' and anticlimactic.

The book also leans a little more heavily into a very specific audience than I think it needed to. Nothing wrong with that per se, but I thought Barnes could have opened up the story a little bit and made the story more broadly relatable.

All in all, a fun, quick, easy read, though more traditional in approach than I'd hoped for.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.