... does a very good — which is to say very uncomfortable — job of exploring the way our desire for connection and approval swims against the tide of our propensity to judge and feel judged by those who are close to us ... The novel takes place during the months leading up to and following the 2016 presidential election. Against this backdrop, what might otherwise have been a tale of petty strife and mildly amusing snark takes on deeper import. Wisely, Anshaw keeps the national politics mostly offstage, alluding to them just enough to lend a sense of proportion — not so much counterpoint as compass rose — to the fictional events she maps ... perhaps Anshaw means to shake us awake from our little narcissisms, our devout solipsisms, our daily applications of principled maquillage. Perhaps, in its curiously bleak way, the novel means to nudge us toward some much-needed muddying. I mightn’t have thought so if not for the last paragraph, which, like a sudden break in the weather, astonishes with the force of its unexpected beauty.
... captures a world in midst of crisis ... Anshaw’s sentences are beautiful, and her characters are complex; the plot builds towards a slow climax, which then falls into a slow spin and a somewhat abrupt finale. Anshaw’s meticulous attention to the quiet, inevitable impact of the assault on Cate’s life and her friendship with Neale’s gives Right after the Weather its main drive. But despite her best intentions, Cate cannot alter the course that fate has set her on ... a sensuous and layered book. Though its pacing is subtle, Anshaw is a deft writer and her details are insightful, intelligent, astute, and subtly humorous. Cate—who may seem hapless to some—perhaps merely lacks the insight to see that the artistic, if sometimes aimless, course of her life is actually a beautiful meander. She remains true to herself, even when it looks ridiculous to those around her. In the final scene, a ripple of an epiphany blows through her—not enough to change her, but perhaps enough to allow her to see she’s doing just fine.
Anshaw’s compassionate novels are propelled by her preternatural gift for close observation, so it was a stroke of genius to create a hyper-attentive set-designer narrator. Not only does Cate take in every detail of every scene, she also has strong opinions about all that she surveys, making her inner monologue stingingly precise and often hilarious ... With sharply drawn characters, an ensnaring plot, and a look back at closeted gay lives, Anshaw, acutely attuned to the shifting weather of emotions and relationships, insightfully dramatizes the insistence of desire over convention and expediency and the endless reverberations of violence.
... [Anshaw] has again demonstrated her prodigious capacity for emotionally complex characters drawn with economical, point-on diction replete with wry humor, wrenching pain, and utter loveliness ... In this exquisitely written, psychologically sophisticated novel, rich in insight and sensitivity to human vulnerability, Anshaw suggests that shared tragedies do not necessarily draw human beings closer.
How do we move forward when the ground under our feet shifts with every step? Anshaw examines that question with her typical intelligence, compassion and insight ... Right After the Weather unfolds more deliberately than Carry the One, with Anshaw taking her time to create a deliberate atmosphere of uncertainty and dread against the backdrop of the 2016 election. The book isn’t overwhelmingly political, but Anshaw views a world where a way of life is quietly — and not so quietly — falling apart ... Anshaw is deeply empathetic to Cate even as she notes that violence has made Cate feel powerful despite her shaky memory.
... a keen-eyed and sharp novel with more than a few surprises up its sleeve ... Cate is a wonderful protagonist: stuck in life and full of potential, but with a bevy of frustrating flaws that make her feel as real as your own best friend, lover or coworker. Her passion for set design is a terrific lifeline in the book: I learned a ton about historical accuracy, the importance of size and placement, and, of course, the theater. But what is more interesting about Cate is her apparent cognitive dissonance with her life ... This is my first time reading a book by Carol Anshaw, and I was absolutely blown away by her careful and economic writing. Though the novel does not feel forced in any way, it is obvious that she chooses each word with careful precision --- there is no single wasted sentence or clichéd phrase ... Anshaw observes her characters and their emotions and actions sharply and vividly, so that each portrait is so fully fleshed out that there is no need to prattle on. However, her portrayals of some characters --- like Cate, Maureen and Neale --- are so perfectly sharp that others fall flat. You may care for Cate, but it is difficult to apply that feeling to Anshaw’s supporting characters, who can lessen the weight of her powerful statements about life and its hardships ... As much as Cate feels stuck in her life, Anshaw’s writing sometimes feels stuck in a lack of action. Few major plot points occur here, and the biggest does not unfold until midway through. Despite Anshaw’s snapshot-like writing propelling the reader forward, I can see why some may put this book down too early, hoping for more 'oomph.' The pacing is, unfortunately, painfully realistic, which can feel daunting in fiction ... That said, if you can handle a slow burn, you will definitely be rewarded by Anshaw’s clever, keenly observed writing, her astute and remarkably familiar characterizations, and, of course, the story of how one woman becomes stuck --- and how she can ever move past her own complacencies.
... there’s no shortage of plot dynamics in Anshaw’s latest novel. But this is neither a thriller nor a sensational piece of crime fiction, instead a witty and rather perceptive consideration of relationships both sexual and platonic, a tracing of the arc of life from the midpoint, and thoughts about how early expectations of fulfilment might have to be modified ... Shrewd, rueful and often solitary, Cate is an appealing central figure whose ambitions and disenchantments might tend toward the universal. She has a tender heart for those she loves, both human and animal, and a brain that takes its time comprehending and digesting events from left field ... Anshaw’s novel cheerfully eschews the happy ever after. Neither literary nor a potboiler, this is instead an immersive modern tale of survival as a single woman, with a lot of interior-design observation stirred into the proceedings. A treat.
At times, the novel is burdened by its numerous characters, their implausible quirks, and their almost uniform love for Cate. The most credible moments are those of discordant interiority, such as when Cate, who lost several fingers in a childhood accident, recognizes that 'she had long thought her bad thing had already happened,' a deeply revealing moment that showcases Anshaw at her best.
Anshaw crafts an engaging narrative with her customary precision and tart humor ... In a cast of richly drawn characters, Cate is foremost ... Anshaw never amps up her fiction with melodrama or neat conclusions, and she leaves her characters changed but by no means finished in an indeterminate yet satisfying finale ... Another treat from the great Anshaw: sharply observed, unsentimentally compassionate, always cognizant of life’s complexities.
Anshaw brings a fresh, keen voice to this story of modern lesbian life ... Anshaw’s account of a woman seeking love as she struggles to make a living in her chosen profession will captivate readers.
