Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsThe irresponsible antics of a negligent mother are played off as cute, funny, endearing. Nope.
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2017
Here we have Eleanor, a scatterbrained wife and mother who heedlessly careens through her day; stealing another woman's keys, smashing her head at an art exhibit and passing out, dumping her phone in a bait bucket, forgetting her dog at Costco, driving with a concussion and getting attacked by a German shepherd. Are we supposed to find such behavior endearing? Humorous? Shake our heads with a knowing chuckle: ah, well, that's just how ARTISTS are!
I was so disappointed in "Today Will Be Different." It just doesn't live up to the hype, especially after the brilliance that was 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette?' Yes, it's sharp-witted and kind of interesting in an offbeat way, but it's also cartoonish. Entirely implausible. Like watching a circus on LSD.
Reframe the perspective a bit and Eleanor's behavior isn't "cute" fodder for a story but rather shameful negligence of an unfit mother.
I won't give away the ending except to say that it didn't connect. It felt very contrived. Wish I hadn't spent the money on this book. Should have borrowed it from the library instead.
