Go Gentle

Reviews / Votes

For all those who crave a good page-turner, this is one wild ride of a story that carries equal parts wit and wisdom . . . I laughed out loud for real. And underneath the humor there was always something tender . . . a quiet truth about relationships, identity, and what it means to find peace with yourself -- Oprah Winfrey Semple has created something rare in Go Gentle: a story that's both deeply intellectual and still accessible. This novel is what happens when someone who understands trauma writes about healing. Smart, funny, and devastating in a great way. Read this book -- Jennette McCurdy, bestselling author of I'm Glad My Mom Died Highly original and loaded with Maria Semple's signature wit, Go Gentle takes us on a fast, wild ride through the days and nights of a philosopher for whom the meaning of life - and how to get through it - is completely upended by the one thing she never saw coming. Love -- Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry I adored this novel and it made me very happy. Go Gentle combines Semple's giant intellect, genius thinking, rich, witty dialogue and screwall comedy. Brimming with big ideas about art and philosophy and questions about the way we live our lives, this is an intricately plotted mystery, intrigue and romance with a glorious cast of characters -- Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina What a delight this witty screwball caper through philosophy, the art world and late-blooming love is -- Madeleine Feeny * Bookseller * Semple writes with immense charm. The book fizzes with funny lines... The book is a zany high-wire act and the main plot, which at times seemed like a shaggy dog story, is ingeniously wrapped up at the end... I felt both cleverer and sillier after finishing this book, which is a lovely way to be left. -- Rebecca Wait * GUARDIAN * Semple blends intrigue, humour, and irony into a story that splits open one character's life and might just inspire you to make yours a little bigger too. -- Ella Ceron * HARPER'S BAZAAR, Books everyone will be talking about in 2026 * The main character, Adora, a philosophy teacher for the children of a wealthy Manhattan family, is a brilliant creation - witty, sarcastic, clever - I loved her. -- Jo Finney * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING * Funny and smart, this is exactly the book you need to pack for instant and uplifting escapism (with a touch of #MeToo fury). -- Francesca Brown * STYLIST * The characters are great. Semple's witty, snappy, narrative bowls one happily along, with a sprinkling of Stoic wisdom for good measure. -- Wendy Holden * DAILY MAIL * A wild ride, although an exquisitely plotted one... it is so good to have the extraordinary Maria Semple back. -- Andrew Billen * THE TIMES * A madcap caper to tickle your funny bone -- Zoe West * WOMAN & HOME * Maria Semple is a treasure * LA Times * This is the kind of book I dream of. Hilarious, urbane, touching but never sentimental and just brilliantly plotted. It's about so many things - art world shenanigans, toxic Hollywood writer rooms, stoic philosophers, and above all, love, love, love. Maria Semple graces her readers with the intrigue, wisdom and belly laughs we deserve -- Gary Shteyngart, author of Vera, or Faith and Our Country Friends I couldn't have loved this unbelievable treat of a novel more. Funny and clever and sexy and uplifting -- Francesca Segal Manic and frank, playful and wise, Go Gentle rampages through reality, giving us glimpses into Hollywood writer's rooms, the lives of the fabulously wealthy New York elite, art heists and philosophical debates, but perhaps most preciously it allows us to glimpse a vision of cronehood as empowering and sexy and fun. Adora Hazzard is a heroine for the ages -- Rufi Thorpe, author of Margo's Got Money Troubles In her new novel, her fourth, a divorced woman named Adora Hazzard is enjoying life with her teenage daughter and a 'coven' of friends on the same floor of her building on New York's Upper West Side. She is not looking for love, and so Semple gives it to her, sparking events that show off the author's trademark hilarious chaos * Washington Post * A charming read -- Amy Rowland * CLOSER * A bona fide caper -- Helen Whitaker * GRAZIA * Delightfully zany * New York Post * The best-selling author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette blends the sensual with the sinister in a romp through the museums and maisonettes of genteel Manhattan * Time Magazine * A novel that's unlike anything we've read before -and all the better for it! -- Claire Frost * THE SUN ON SUNDAY, FABULOUS MAGAZINE * Go Gentle is generous, gorgeously wacky and raucously funny. Adora's approach to midlife is a fabulous antidote to the ads for collagen and anti-ageing cream which saturate social media... If you're looking for a kooky, charming companion for days when you're feeling a little dull, you'll love this. Zinging with one-liners and whirlwind energy, Go Gentle will give you the shake up you need. -- Elizabeth Morris * CRIB NOTES * Wild storytelling powers this fun, chaotic ride of a novel from the author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette... Glorious, immersive and tender. -- Kerry Fowler * SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE * A romcom caper of art heists, jet-setting and buried trauma. Empathetic charm and irresistible wit keep an exuberant plot in check. -- Hephzibah Anderson * MAIL ON SUNDAY * As you'd expect from the author of the unforgettable Where'd You Go Bernadette? Maria Semple's latest romp of a book is spectacularly madcap, full of wit, cleverness and spiky questions aimed at society's (dull, predictable) norms - whether it's the patriarchy, the pitfalls of parenting teens or morality itself... Fizzing, pacy and anchored by a darkly motivating episode from Adora's past, Go Gentle is a rollicking read that will make you consider the choices we make and behaviours we accept from those around us. And although it feels like it won't all come together at the end, Semple manages it with aplomb. -- Ella Walker * PRESS ASSOCIATION * A slapstick art heist, witty, whip-smart observations, and a love interest full of crossed wires, and you've got a madcap caper that might just tickle your funny bone. -- Zoe West * WOMAN'S WEEKLY * This book will leave you with a smile on your face! * BELLA *