Review: White Elephant by Julie Langsdorf

I first posted about White Elephant when I made my March new releases post. I was browsing book forums, making sure I hadn’t missed any highly anticipated releases for the month when I stumbled across White Elephant. I was intrigued by the synopsis enough to add it to my library holds list and then I promptly forgot about it. 

I sometimes get overwhelmed by the amount of content in the world today. I try to limit the time I spend on my phone, but my phone and social media is a huge part of my job, both as an actor and now as blogger. On top of all the reading and writing I need to do for this job, interacting with followers and other readers is huge. For this reason, I try to make sure I'm only following a manageable amount of people I can interact with realistically every day. But none of those follows were posting about White Elephant. 

Sometimes, I think it’s fun to be reading something no one else you know is reading. It’s your own world and you truly get to make your own opinion of the book. It’s a big reason I’m so grateful to read books before they are released. 

So, I have to say that I know White Elephant won’t be for everyone. I was worried in the beginning that it wasn’t for me! I very rarely abandon books, it’s just not my style. But I had the added stress that this was a library loan! 

Well, I finished it with plenty of time to spare and I'm really glad I did. Langsdorf novel is unassuming as you’re reading, until you realize that it’s a smart and funny commentary on the “American Dream” and suburban America. I grew up in the suburbs and it’s a completely different world than the city. It’s funny, watching these characters interact with each other while knowing their inner thoughts. 

I didn't find the story to be groundbreaking at all, but it was quiet story that hard a larger message the reader needs to ruminate on for themselves. I think authors feel a lot of pressure to have their novels be these huge, groundbreaking pieces. I was glad Langsdorf didn’t fall into that. 

Certain characters resonated with me more, so I looked forward to their POV’s. I am not a wife and mother yet, so it was hard for me to relate to Suzanna and Allison, but I could appreciate their need for individuality and personhood beyond wife-dom and motherhood. 

I was the most drawn to Jillian, since I was once a young girl who struggled with social identity and doing the wrong thing to look cool in the eyes of people I didn’t even care about. I also thought her storyline was going to bring the whole story together. It does, in a way, but not in the big twist way I sensed. 

This book reminded me a lot of Little Fires Everywhere, which I liked but didn’t love as well. I think White Elephant is worth the read, especially if you are patient and like a peek into a town’s gossipy side. It’s like a satire on the American Dream, so if you are someone who takes things at face value, maybe skip this one. It takes a little more thinking to understand its purpose. 

What did you think of White Elephant?