The Society of Shame
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- 3,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
THURBER PRIZE FOR AMERICAN HUMOR SEMI-FINALIST • In this timely and witty combination of So You've Been Publicly Shamed and Where'd You Go, Bernadette? a viral photo of a politician's wife's “feminine hygiene malfunction” catapults her to unwanted fame in a story that's both a satire of social media stardom and internet activism, and a tender mother-daughter tale.
Kathleen Held’s life is turned upside down when she arrives home to find her house on fire and her husband on the front lawn in his underwear. But the scandal that emerges is not that Bill, who's running for Senate, is having a painfully cliched affair with one of his young staffers: it's that the eyewitness photographing the scene accidentally captures a period stain on the back of Kathleen’s pants.
Overnight, Kathleen finds herself the unwitting figurehead for a social media-centered women’s right movement, #YesWeBleed. Humiliated, Kathleen desperately seeks a way to hide from the spotlight. But when she stumbles upon the Society of Shame—led by the infamous author Danica Bellevue—Kathleen finds herself part of a group who are all working to change their lives after their own scandals. Using the teachings of the society, Kathleen channels her newfound fame as a means to reap the benefits of her humiliation and reclaim herself. But as she ascends to celebrity status, Kathleen's growing obsession with maintaining her popularity online threatens her most important relationship IRL: that with her budding activist daughter, Aggie.
Hilarious and heartfelt, The Society of Shame is a pitch-perfect romp through politics and the perils of being "extremely online"—without losing your sanity or your true self.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A New York politician's wife becomes an unwitting public figure in the entertaining latest from Roper (Eden Lake). Bill Held compromises his marriage and his Senate bid by having sex with an aide. They're exposed, and the story goes viral, including a photo of his wife, Kathleen, in which she's wearing period-stained pants. Though Kathleen just wants some privacy, a movement called Yes We Bleed builds in response to online trolls who seized on the photograph. At first, Kathleen finds the movement disingenuous and wants no part of it, partially to protect her 12-year-old daughter, Aggie. Aggie, on the other hand, insists on participating, much to Bill's ire, who worries it will further damage his campaign. Things change after Kathleen intercepts an invitation meant for Bill to a secret society of people who have been canceled. She bonds with the founder, a disgraced romance novelist who advises Kathleen to reap the benefits of her situation, which includes the chance to publish her own novel. She's ultimately swayed when she realizes how much the movement means to Aggie. Most touching is the mother-daughter relationship, as Kathleen projects her fears onto Aggie, and Aggie restores her mom's youthful boldness. Readers will be swept along by Roper's scrappy heroine.
