The Spectators

by Betsy Robinson

“A novel that in the last chapter reaches the only heaven to which I aspire: a life fully awake to this beautiful bleeding Earth”
—David James Duncan, author of Sun House and The Brothers K

This is what you get when you mix apathy, shamanism, Buddhism, esoteric Yogic traditions, quantum physics, the power of DNA ancestry, and cluelessness with a small band of older women negotiating chaos in New York City in the era just preceding Trump.

Part love letter to NYC’s Upper West Side, part an ode to friendship between a writer and her creations (reluctant psychic protagonist Lily Hogue and her loner friends, with guest appearances of real and fictional historical events and people, from Bernie Madoff to Paul Simon to terrorists), The Spectators’ cast of characters battles the problems of foreknowing disasters we cannot control and being part of an uncontrollable human herd.

Genres: Fiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2024

About the author

I grew up in New York's Hudson Valley and have lived in New York City for more than 50 years. I was an actor for more than a decade and did an amazing array of ridiculous jobs to support that art. Then I became a magazine writer and editor. Now I am a book editor specializing in spiritual and psychological topics. But I write fiction--specifically, funny literary novels about flawed people. My novel The Last Will & Testament of Zelda McFigg won Black Lawrence Press's 2013 Big Moose Prize and was published in September 2014. My first novel, Plan Z by Leslie Kove, won Mid-List Press's First Novel Series award and was published in 2001.

Radio host Jonathan Schwartz tells an anecdote about Stephen Sondheim: When asked if he was happy about selling 25,000 copies of a book, Sondheim replied, "Yeah, but it's always the same 25,000 people who bought the last thing." Schwartz believes this is because Sondheim's work pokes people, throws light on their flaws, makes them squeal, "No, no, don't show that! Not that!" and this makes many folks uncomfortable. Feeling so exposed evokes a kind of existential hysteria, which people then attempt to explain through hysterical negative criticisms of Sondheim's work, rather than contemplating their own discomfort. But 25,000 people do like Sondheim--including me.

I like to be poked and my writing pokes. It pokes, makes you laugh, and sometimes cry.

My edit of my late mother, Edna Robinson's novel The Trouble with the Truth was published by Simon & Schuster/Infinite Words on Feb. 10, 2015.

Postscript
I am an active reader on Goodreads and cherish my friends here whose reviews enrich my reading choices in ways I never anticipated when I first joined the community.

That said, please do not send me a friend request if you aren't interested in reading and haven't articulated why you want to be my friend in the question answer box in the friend request option. Specifically, if you are a guy looking to seduce and/or pull a scam on some lady, I'm not your lady and I will ignore your request and block you.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love knowing the inspiration behind a story so I never miss reading an author’s note or acknowledgements if they appear . Call me nosy, but I just find a book so much more meaningful knowing a little of why the author wrote it, not why they write , but specifically what prompted them to write the particular book at hand. Sometimes the author does tell you specifically . In other novels , you might have to read between the lines. In some cases it’s a little of both as I thought was the case with Betsy Robinson’s latest book . If you read a little about Betsy Robinson you would know the impact of her having lived over 50 years in New York City and in reading this see the inspiration she got from living in that time and place . In reading her acknowledgements, you’ll understand her blending her characters from her other books as well, as one of her mother’s.

This novel is clever, fun , funny and at the same sad, deeply profound. She gives us an intimate view of Lily, the main spectator I’d say, her innermost thoughts and feelings on her dysfunctional family and how she is made to feel that she doesn’t belong. We get a bit of comic relief with Lily’s quirky aspiring comic husband before she leaves him. The spectators is a group of quirky characters , mostly Robinson’s own from her other books , but the creativity continues as Betsy becomes a character in her own novel . While Lily and the other characters are spectators, it’s abundantly clear that all of us are spectators , many times of things we can’t control. It’s a book about our recent past with appearances by Bernie Madoff, the mention of Parkland, a horrific school shooting and more . For me, it was about friendship sustaining us through while we move forward in life being who we are.


Thanks to Betsy Robinson for an advanced copy of this book.

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paperback discounts available to readers in the US and UK. Here's the link to the links: Paperback $10

THE SPECTATORS
Part love letter to NYC’s Upper West Side, part an ode to friendship between a writer and her creations (reluctant psychic protagonist Lily Hogue and her loner friends, with guest appearances of real and fictional historical events and people, from Bernie Madoff to Paul Simon to terrorists), The Spectators' cast of characters battles the problems of foreknowing disasters we cannot control and being part of an uncontrollable human herd.

And for your entertainment, a new very short reading here: The Spectators: "The Marriage"

Elyse Walters's review on Facebook (I'm sure many of us Goodreaders miss her]
Betsy Robinson is a wonderful storyteller who cultivates love and empathy in everything she writes.
In “The Spectators”, she explores the impact and importance of creating peace — working together with others —
— the values of friendships - — the value of truth —
— and differences our contributions makes.
This is a great book of awareness of others and self.
It’s also fun, funny… with powerful comic/tragic reveals.
Moving beyond illusion … Betsy Robinson stimulates our thinking and opens our hearts on a humanity-migration.
And for those of us who have read Betsy’s past books, we are treated to seeing our favorite characters again:
[Leslie Kove, and Zelda McFigg]
“Part love letter to NYC’s upper West side, part an ode to friendship between a writer and her creations (reluctant psychic protagonist Lily Hogue and her loner friends, with guest appearances of real and fictional, historical events and people, from Bernie Madoff to Paul Simon to terrorists), ‘The Spectators’ cast of characters battles, the problems of foreknowing disasters we cannot control and being part of an uncontrollable human herd”.
The Spectators’ ladies would be observing themselves and others. (love the charming dialogue throughout)…
“Mrs. Schultz, my landlady, it’s very smart, and she said the way to peace is to know the truth under our acts. To find our true nature. You see, everybody is acting all the time, even if they aren’t a professional actor like Zelda”.
“The problem is that it’s next to impossible to know what you don’t know about yourself, and therefore find peace” —
so —
Lily had the idea to begin ‘The Spectator’s Club’ where a group of women (“who clearly do not fit anywhere”), that she met at MoMA, commit to telling the truth, observing each other and helping each other.
The Spectators’ Club eventually dissolves due to loners’ disinterest— but a few of the women stay in close contact. But isn’t that just the way life goes?
:births … deaths…
:creating …destroying
:breaking down … breaking through…
:oblivious, and consciousness
‘The Spectators’ reinforces my faith, and that we are all together in this huge global world. ….
There is a lot of relevancy
and hope to contemplate.
With the 2024 United States presidential debates tomorrow night…
Betsy gracefully dazzles us with joyful wisdom!

And a bonus for people who have read any of my earlier novels, The Spectators has connections to all of them: Plan Z by Leslie Kove, The Last Will & Testament of Zelda McFigg, my late mother’s book The Trouble with the Truth, and most recently, Cats on a Pole (All books are available everywhere in paper and as e-books.)

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A warm and wonderful story containing the same clever atmosphere present in Robinson’s previous novel, Cats on a Pole, which I adored! One thing I love about her books is that the characters from one sometimes pop up in another. It’s always surprising and fun when they make an appearance and, really, it does make sense—since her books are usually set in New York City—that some of her characters would know those from her other books. Right?🤔 It’s a bit quirky but I love it! It’s obvious Betsy knows every inch of New York City—and thoroughly loves it.

There were a few occasions while reading The Spectators that the movie (or book) Forrest Gump came to mind. I don’t want to give you examples as that’ll only spoil it for those who might read it. I certainly don’t want to do that, so you’ll simply have to take my word for it.😉

This was my second Betsy Robinson novel and I thought it was simply marvellous!! She’s a tremendously talented author and I love her writing style! I’ve seen this book described as “a love letter to NYC and friendship”,❣️ and I’d definitely agree. I highly recommend it!

5 "Friendship-is-a-wildly-underrated-medication" stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Jim Puskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, I’m thinking: “Well, this isn’t nearly as goofy and liberating as The Last Will & Testament of Zelda McFigg.” And of course, it’s not. It’s a great deal more.
Betsy Robinson slyly inserts herself into the narrative as one more character, and thus it becomes both 1st and 3rd person concurrently.
There is so much I could say about his novel, but I’ll just quote one passage, an account of a dream experienced by Lily, the unintended child.
”She is a naked little ball-shaped person suddenly bombarded by a blitzkrieg of bullets. They come at her from every direction. Curling into an even tighter ball, her knees to her chin, she tries to become invisible, squeezed into a corner of a soft-walled closet. But she’s hit anyway and finds herself floating, falling backwards, down and down, finally coming to a stop in a dark-red cave whose walls and mouth are pulsating and murmuring. Just when she thinks she’s safe and can unball herself, a tidal wave erupts through the mouth of the cave, flooding the place, and then the cave walls spasm and bitter fluid fills her mouth and ears, stings he eyes, and burns her skin, but still she hangs onto her cave wall, digging her nails into the red. She holds on so tight that when a giant blue hand reaches into the cave, she easily flattens herself out of its detection until the fingers give up and retract out of the cave mouth.”
I assure you that no living person who happens to have been the result of an unwanted pregnancy can fail to be stunned by that paragraph.
At the end, Lily (no spoiler here) “knows she is good and whole, has always been so, and has never been alone. It comes upon her with a sudden force, and she feels its power. She is herself, a spectator and an actor, and that is exactly what she was meant to be.”
If only our own last moments could be like that.

[Lorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great read, especially after reading Cats on a Pole and The Last Will and Testament of Zelda McFigg, by this same author. I loved and connected with all of the characters, especially Lily. The humanity and real life situations combined with actual events makes this a grand slam read. I will read more by Betsy Robinson! ❤️

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spectators is a delightfully original and gently profound novel, capturing all the nuances of the Upper West Side of Manhattan as well as the complex and confusing state of the world.
Robinson has created a wonderful cast of characters in a poignant and thought-provoking novel.