Book 5: Beach Read by Emily Henry

The book:

Beach Read by Emily Henry was published in 2020 to widespread acclaim, but it’s easy to think it must be older, since Henry has churned out three more adult romances in the three intervening years. Her subsequent novels have matched, if not surpassed the acclaim received by Beach Read. Henry has firmly established herself as a talented and reliable writer in the genre and a key figure in its reinvention. Far from the shirtless images of Fabio that used to define romance in pop culture, all of Henry’s adult novels have similar covers, with bright poppy colors and protagonists rendered in low detail. The covers are inoffensive and blandly inviting, and similar covers are cloned throughout most bookstores. Like their covers, Henry’s novels–and most modern romance novels–play on familiar tropes while eschewing some of the more problematic trappings of the genre. While still the subject of some ridicule, this type of romance novel is thriving on BookTok and on the bestsellers list. The book that made Henry a juggernaut, Beach Read is not just an example of a modern romance novel, it’s an argument for the importance of the romance novel.

Beach Read’s protagonist, January Andrews, is an author of romance novels who struggles with writer’s block when her understanding of romance comes unraveled. As January rediscovers her belief in love and passion for writing, Henry shows the audience why romance books mean so much to their audience. Romance is synonymous with hope, Henry argues. Tales of love and happiness are not weaker for their predictability, they are stronger; they give us something to rely on while the real world spins out of control. Interestingly, this was Henry’s first romance novel, so she wrote her paean to the genre while still an outsider to it.

On the other hand, Henry also explores the disappointment and disillusionment readers can feel when their unrealistic expectations clash with the real world. In January’s case, a family secret unravels her understanding of her parents’ marriage and therefore her understanding of love. Not only does she find herself unable to write the romances that always came easily to her, she also questions the path of her own life. Without a role model for a successful relationship, January doesn’t know what type of future to picture for herself, and her picture perfect life no longer seems right. Readers of romance also internalize unrealistic relationship models; as Henry points out, “happily ever after” isn’t a reasonable expectation. If January’s life is thrown into disarray when she realizes that relationships can’t be perfect, then surely a genre that upholds this fallacy is dangerous. Yet January’s crisis and the accompanying implication that one shouldn’t idealize the perfect relationship occurs alongside her assertion that romance novels provide an unadulterated good for their readers.

With this duality, Henry has a difficult needle to thread. She attempts to engage critically with the expectations of the romance genre, while still writing a satisfying romance. Even as January doubts the existence of neat, happy endings, readers know the novel is hurtling towards a happy ending. For most of the novel, the contradictions coexist peacefully; yes, happily ever after is unrealistic, and yes, happily ever after is an important source of hope. In the denouement, however, Henry fails to stick the landing. The novel rushes to its conclusion; resolutions feel unearned, and a final chapter reveals a cloyingly perfect ending, even as Henry claims it’s not a “happily ever after.”

Henry’s attempt to allow coexisting contradictions brought to mind criticisms of the recent Barbie movie. A major question when discussing Barbie is whether to engage with Barbie the feminist icon (she was an astronaut before NASA accepted female astronauts) or Barbie the scourge of feminism (with her unrealistic body standards and "math is hard” catchphrase). Greta Gerwig attempts to have these opposite interpretations live side-by-side, which is mostly effective, but you have to wonder how nuanced of a critique her work can be, when it was funded by Mattel and ultimately created as an elaborate advertisement for the toy. It’s difficult to critique a product while selling that product, just as it’s difficult to critique a genre while also contributing to that genre.

Like the Barbie movie, maybe this book is best if you don’t read too deeply into it. It’s fun! It’s light! There’s dancing! I suggest you enjoy the romance, appreciate the moments of emotion, and ignore how dusty their surroundings would be when Gus and January hook up in a basement. After all, the title of the book is Beach Read, and it delivers on everything a beach read should be!

Reading experience: 7/10

The soundtrack:

One of my least favorite questions to be asked on a first date is what kind of music I listen to. It never lends itself to a conversation that I enjoy. At best, we exchange the names of bands and have a few in common; at worst, someone scrolls through their Spotify playlist and expects me to be engrossed. People with more strongly defined musical tastes than mine might enjoy this type of courtship, but I never have. In reading Beach Read, however, I briefly understood the appeal. On their way to a research trip, January and Gus are in the car together, and Gus sings along to a Paul Simon song. January is taken aback, as she thought he’d prefer moodier music, and I suddenly got it. Through his music tastes, Gus is revealing a side of himself not everyone gets to see, indirectly opening up to January, long before he feels comfortable sharing openly. It’s low-stakes intimacy.

In the soundtrack to Beach Read, Paul Simon lives alongside moodier songs. Perhaps surprisingly for a rom-com soundtrack, this playlist mostly eschews the saccharine. Carly Rae Jepsen (a favorite artist of mine, and one I’m very excited to include in this project) and Mariah Carey are both best known for their poppy takes on love, and their tracks provide brightness and sweetness to the playlist. Everybody Hurts and Hurt are a counterpoint–their sadness almost theatrical. Other songs weave between the two extremes, hitting notes of bittersweetness. It’s easy to read the playlist in conversation with the book. Like January, this playlist seems to acknowledge that love isn’t as simple as we may want it to be, but that the world is not as hopeless as we fear in our grimmest moments, either.

This playlist is short but sweet. I enjoyed the chance to give my full attention to artists I knew by name but hadn’t spent much time listening to (i.e. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Elliott Smith). I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

Listening experience: 8 / 10

Songs mentioned: 5

• Brown Eyed Girl

• Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.

• Always on My Mind - Willie Nelson

• Hurt - Johnny Cash

• Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinéad O’Connor

Artists mentioned: 10

• Fleetwood Mac

• Carly Rae Jepsen

• Paul Simon

• Elliott Smith

• Mariah Carey

• Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young

• (Bob) Dylan

• Neil Young

• Crazy Horse

• The Rolling Stones

Albums mentioned: 0

Fictional Songs: 0

Fictional Artists: 0

Fictional Albums: 0