Photo courtesy of Always with a Book
For as long as a full year, The New York Times has placed Maria Semple’s ’82 latest novel, Today Will Be Different, at the top of their book list, and Choate is proud to recognize this notable alum as a member of the community, one who exemplifies its characteristic sense of innovation. A graduate of Choate and later a graduate of Barnard College, Semple is currently on tour for her new book.
The embodiment of a creative mind, Semple has written many TV shows and novels students at Choate may be familiar with, including “Beverly Hills,” “90210,” “Mad About You,” “Arrested Development,” This One is Mine, and Where’d You Go, Bernadette? Semple has been nominated for an Emmy, a Writer’s Guild of America Award, and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award. A celebrated author whose Today Will Be Different spend more than a year on the New York Times bestseller list, and winner of the American Library Association’s Alex Award, her accomplishments range from literature to television entertainment.
Maria Semple’s latest novel, Today Will Be Different, centers on a female protagonist, Eleanor Flood, who lives a prosaic life until a kaleidoscope of events comes her way. The novel inspires readers to break the mold of routine and to take time to reflect on more than their own work. “I wanted the reader to take inspiration from Eleanor Flood. Everyone should enjoy all that life has to offer. The novel is up to interpretation depending on how you live your life, you must have a rollicking good time while reading it,” Semple said.
Janet Maslin, of The New York Times writes the following, “Ms. Semple is an immensely appealing writer, and there’s something universal in her heroine’s efforts to get a handle on a life spinning out of control.” Today Will Be Different is a poem laced with satire and soul. The poetry in the novel is unlike the prosaic life of Eleanor Flood. Maslin went on, “But this time delivering laughs does not turn out to be her primary purpose as a novelist. Her new book, Today Will Be Different can be outrageously funny. But it cuts closer to the bone than Bernadette, and its main character’s problems feel more real.”
Many authors leave traces of themselves in their literary counterparts, Eleanor Flood, like Bernadette Fox, almost imitates Semple, who recalled in an interview, “Regrettably at times, Eleanor Flood is very much like me. I pulled on my own experiences, my life, and reflected it on Eleanor.” All three women have careers involving entertainment and television. Perhaps it is because of this similarity that Semple paints such realness onto her characters. The New York Times stated, “The characters have memories, fantasies, desires, all of which serve as a toggle switch, allowing the narrative to move easily among past, present and future.”
Today Will Be Different is a novel which reflects deeply on Maria Semple’s life, starting off as a poem — even a diary. Semple stated in an interview, “The first thing I wrote was the very first page. I didn’t know that it would become a novel. Instead, I was trying to channel some deep part of myself, a part of me that was hidden. But when I read that page, I realized it was a book.” The refined character of Eleanor Flood not only exemplifies good fiction, but is also an extension of Semple.
Despite having a busy schedule much like her literary counterpart, she stopped to reflect on her time at Choate, “I love the whole writing process. Nothing gives me more enjoyment than creating a vivid dream for the reader and getting lost in that vivid dream myself. Choate was definitely a place that helped me find my passion in English. As an alumni, speaking to current students, I hope you can relate and reflect with Today Will Be Different.”
