How Perfect Is That
By: Sarah Bird
Published: July 7, 2009
Format: Trade Paperback, 336 pages
ISBN-10: 143912308X
ISBN-13: 9781439123089
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Blythe Young, recently divorced from a scion of one of the wealthiest society families in Austin Texas, is broke and has only her wits, and her amoral character to make her way in the world. In her wildly satirical romp through Austin, Texas, best selling author Sarah Bird takes the reader from the highest levels of wealth to the life of the homeless, in her hilarious novel How Perfect Is That. As Blythe Young reels from humiliation to disaster and back again, her determination to succeed echoes the conniving, yet sympathetic social climbing Becky Sharp in Thackeray's classic Vanity Fair.
Sarah Bird provides a novel that can be read on several levels. One obvious reading is the delicious and wickedly funny satire of the upper classes of Austin, Texas and their lives and politics. The author skewers the men as philandering and obsessed with money, status, and the right political connections. The women, much more visible in the novel, understand the obsessions of the society men, and as result, the women are consumed by issues of designer clothing and houses, being seen at the right parties, and their weight. Indeed, weight as in body fat and weight as in the burden of conscience are important themes in the book.
Sarah Bird (photo left) takes the reader into a deeper meaning as well. Blythe Young, in her short marriage, rose almost to the pinnacle of Austin society. When her marriage ended, she was cast out of her heaven, in a Lone Star version of Milton's Paradise Lost. Her sole mission was to regain what she believed her rightful place in society. Her attempts to hang on to that version of heaven were unsuccessful as she moved from one self made disaster to the next. Her past closes in on her, and Blythe runs out of scams, temporarily. One step ahead of the IRS and the law, she turns to her one true but ignored friend Millie.
Through more of Blythe's using of others, she narrowly escapes being cast out again. Instead, she seeks redemption through the Christ like Millie, and seeks to find a new, and more lasting heaven. The parallel to Paradise Lost becomes more firmly established as Blythe attempts to connive her way back to ruling in her society heaven. In its place, Millie offers an alternative to ruling in hell. She offers creating heaven on Earth, and helping others instead of using people for personal gain. Blythe faces her personal demons, and continues her pilgrimage to self discovery.
I highly recommend the rollicking How Perfect Is That by Sarah Bird, to anyone seeking a hilarious satire that bites to the core of Austin's society. The author's turn of phrase and scathing wit provide an insightful and subversive view of society at all levels, and politics both public and personal. The Becky Sharp type character of Blythe Young is well drawn, lack of a moral compass and all. Her misadventures propel the story forward.
Read the satirical and laugh filled How Perfect Is That by Sarah Bird, and you will want to add Blythe Young to your personal list of most fascinating literary characters.
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