So Hard To Do is so hard not to like. Sally Basmajian’s debut offering in the contemporary female fiction space is that feel good, easy to read book that is perfect to curl up with on a cold winter’s day. The story is told from the perspective of a mother, Suze, who is finally ready to break free of a semi-co-dependent living situation with her on the spectrum daughter, Jannie. A devoted mother, she sees that her daughter is ready to live on her own, and Suze is ready to finally make herself a priority.
It is also written from the perspective of Jannie, who may struggle to make a meal and read social cues, but has managed to have a very successful career in media sales. Basmajian, who worked in the media world at Canada’s leading broadcaster, uses what she knows best to create probably the most interest part of the plot – Jannie’s work life. A lot of the fun comes from Jannie’s whiplash attempts to either be a boss, or less frequently a friend to her colleagues. As skilled as she is with her work, she lacks people skills and watching her attempt to be a leader, but yearn to be one of the gang is both hilarious and touching.
The “love triangle” with Aram is a fun plot point too, and although it is clear who will couple up at the end, it doesn’t make the ride any less enjoyable. This is such a gentle, relatable book on so many levels. It explores people on the spectrum in the kindest way possible. As a reader, you will be laughing with them, but not at them. It is also refreshing to have one of the female characters in the book be from Gen X. This is a must read for lovers of The Rosie Project.
So Hard to Do explores a different kind of love triangle that revolves around three adults who are interconnected and challenged in different ways -- not just by love, but life.
Mother Suze Foster has always been devoted to her child Jannie. Now that Jannie is 29 and on the road to career success, Suze can finally relax. Or, can she? As soon as she draws back from her life-long support of her daughter, Jannie flounders in a big way. When she accidentally floods her apartment and older neighbor Aram comes to her rescue, its love at first sight. On her part. Aram, too, experiences love at first sight. For her mother Suze, who is also instantly and unexpectedly attracted to Aram. Therein lays the quandary, the puzzles of relationships and secrets, and the process of discovery whereby Suze and Jannie dance around the same man, each other, and their feelings about life.
During the course of this process, Suze and Jannie's entanglements assume disparate twists as Jannie moves in a different direction in love, career, and her relationship with her doting mother. It's truly a complex salsa to form a novel around a mother and daughter's changing adult worlds and perceptions of one another, much less add romance into the mix.
Sally Basmajian evolves these moves with a steady attention to realistic emotional responses, character growth, and emotional and sexual revelations. Suze may investigate a "boot camp" to rev up her sexuality; but what she really needs is instruction in independence and goals. When advised, in the arena of sexuality, that "you both need to play a part in the experience," the caution gains broader meaning as Suze comes to acknowledge the part she plays in not just her daughter's direction and growth, but her own choices and their consequences.
The process of demystifying life's circumstances will engage readers on both a thought provoking and entertainment level as they follow Suze and Jannie through navigating adult responses and options. Libraries seeking romance stories steeped in the challenges of loving too much (and too much alike) will find So Hard to Do not just a different kind of love triangle, but a different growth experience that will lead patrons to laugh, cry, and ponder.
Women's book groups who choose it for discussion will find many titillating topics within.
