Rockville Pike: A Suburban Comedy of Manners

by Susan Coll

Jane Kramer never imagined a life selling discount furniture and commuting between grocery stores and soccer fields via minivan. But when her father-in-law has a heart attack, she and her husband, Leon, trade in their glamorous New York life for a stint running the family business on Rockville Pike, a tributary of the suburban sprawl line extending outward from Washington, D.C. Kramer's Discount Furniture Depot sits away from several lanes of traffic, near the tombstone of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is here that Jane escapes each day at lunchtime to ponder her confusing turn in life.

At age forty-one, she has a teenage Goth son, her husband is increasingly overweight and quick-tempered, and their business is in a state of crisis, both financially and legally. Jane finds herself wishing for something more. First, add to the mix Delia, a mysterious and strangely predatory patio-furniture saleswoman who seems to have her sights set on Leon, and then an attack on the store expansion plans by historic preservationists. When potentially disturbing findings about Delia's past come to light, Jane finds herself learning that, despite life's reversals, it is possible to reinvent herself by tapping into talents and desires she didn't realize she still had.

Rockville Pike is a smart, witty, and funny read that revels in the joy of discovering what life has in store.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Contemporary, Humor

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2004

About the author

Susan Coll is part of the events team at Politics and Prose bookstore, and the president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. She is the author of the forthcoming Bookish People (Aug. 2022), as well as The Stager, Beach Week, Acceptance, Rockville Pike, and karlmarx.com. A television adaptation of Acceptance, starring Joan Cusack, aired in 2009.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel takes place mostly in and around Rockville, Maryland, a suburb in the DC area. The protagonist of the novel, Jane Kramer, works with her husband in a furniture store on Rockville Pike, a main thoroughfare there. Jane is really down on life with worries about her and her husband's financial condition as well as their floundering marriage. She works in the store alongside her husband and his Uncle Seymour. She also has a teenage son, Josh, who has lately turned to Goth with all of its trappings including several face piercings and who has been suspended by the private school he attends. On top of that, she is concerned that her husband may be having an affair with Delia, a furniture saleswoman. She has no real friends and to find solace, she walks across the street at lunchtime to sit at the graves of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald who are buried there in a church graveyard. To try to earn more money, she becomes a "memory consultant" for Memories, Inc. which is run out of people's homes. In other words, she gets involved in scrapbooking which may be a pyramid scheme. When Justin flees to New York with a Goth friend without informing her and Leon leaves on a business trip with Delia, Jane follows and ends up having some escapades of her own.

I read this novel solely because it takes place in Rockville where I lived with my family for 13 years while I was working for the government in DC. The Fitzgeralds are indeed buried in the family plot at St. Mary's Church there. We attended mass at St. Mary's and often visited the gravesite which enhanced my interest in the Fitzgeralds.


Not sure what I was expecting when I started reading this and at first the novel tended to drag a bit for me. But as it continued, I really enjoyed the characters and the humor included in the story. By the end, I was glad I decided to read this one!

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, you pick up a book expecting just a light read, something to do between the Great Works of Literature you've been meaning to get around to, and you get to be pleasantly surprised by the fact that the book you've just picked up is one of the best (recent written) ones that you've read in a long time. I had the pleasure of having that experience with "Rockville Pike".

"Rockville Pike" was a great novel. It was funny, it was touching, and moreover, the author had obviously put a great deal of thought into the world of the novel. This isn't something you tend to think of realistic fiction authors as doing- after all, they get OUR world to play with, don't they?- but I think it is something that the best realistic fiction authors do. With the right combination of characters, setting, and tone, you can create for yourself a place and time that could easily exist in real life, yet which still stand out, making the book more than a mundane chronicle of something that could happen to anyone, but a miniature universe all by itself. The vaguely absurdist Rockville Pike, where everybody knows each other's business but nothing is quite as it seems, certaintly qualifies as that.

On top of which, well, Susan Coll is just a really great writer. I fell in love with her prose, and her postmodern style of referencing literary tropes, and her sly, dark sense of humour.

The only thing about the book I had a problem with was the character of Delia, who seemed confusing, unneeded, and rife with unfortunate implications. (I could get into that, but I won't.) If not for that subplot, I would have given the novel five stars. I loved it.

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a local author about the furniture business her family had on Rockville Pike, a thoroughfare I have driven in Rockville, MD countless times. Read this awhile back so memory is a bit fuzzy, but I recall this being a "novel" although it reads just like a memoir. The author is feisty and it was an interesting read.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was going to suck terribly, but I needed some light fluff after Watchmen. I was pleasantly surprised; the book was pretty entertaining and not as vapid as I expected. Coll does a good job capturing the ennui, conformity, and excess consumption of the suburbs. I can't say I'd recommend this book, but neither did I consider it a waste of time.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested to see where the story would go, but overall, it wasn't an enjoyable book. I didn't find the main character particularly sympathetic, though I did understand her motivations. I just didn't like her. And the ending was wrapped up a bit too neatly.

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had higher hopes for this book, I just didn't like the main character at all, never warmed up to her. There are some cute parts, but overall it's not that good.

[Canaan Merchant · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.5 but that gets rounded up. Fun to read a book local to me and I learned some things. Also amazing how much things can change in the 15 years since this was published.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book got positive reviews from others in my book club, at least partially because the setting is so familiar to us. Rumor has it that the furniture store featured is modeled on Marlo's, a local institution. The subtitle about "comedy of manners" threw me because that genre screams Jane Austen, which this definitely is NOT. After due consideration, though, I can see a resemblance to George Eliot's Middlemarch.

This book took me a while to finish because it was not a good fit for me, particularly at this current stage of my life. A middle aged woman in the DC suburbs who is not happy with her life and not sure how to change it -- I can find that story in the bathroom mirror. Luckily I don't have a husband or a teenager or a furniture store, so I did come out feeling better about my own situation. But I had very little patience with Jane's denial and escapism instead of looking for practical solutions. I am also into denial and escape but I have taken some practical steps as well.

The other issue to address up front is the (semi spoiler) inclusion of a trans woman character. True, the book was written 20 years ago, bit there were a few missteps in how that storyline was handled. Kudos, though, on referring to the character almost exclusively as "she/her." I am probably more attuned to that aspect of the story because of a friend who is transitioning, which has made me more conscious of the need for more nuances in the telling.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got halfway through before quitting.

I chose this book at random from the library shelf because I live near Rockville Pike. I had wanted to read about my town, Rockville, in a novel. Unfortunately, the Rockville of this book does not remotely resemble the Rockville I know. Ultimately, I could not trudge my way through this one. Three main issues:
1. It's boring. The plot - if any - goes slowly and involves tedious suburban conversations and events. I wouldn't even know how to describe this plot to someone since it's meandering and unfocused, like a list of errands needing to be run.
2. The protagonist is unlikeable, her voice bland and without real personality. It's not fun hanging out in her head or watching her make ridiculous choices involving her relationships, a pyramid scheme, and shopping addiction.
3. Every other character is insufferable. Outrageous cruel people that the protagonist never seems to stand up to or confront about their rude, entitled behavior. It was infuriating watching her in-laws making terrible business decisions and shutting her down for no apparent reason.

It felt like a chore to finish and I didn't really care to know how it ended because it never even seemed to begin.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up to read because I was curious about the (relatively) local setting, which is perhaps not the best reason to pick a book to read. This story, narrated by a frustrated suburban wife and mother who finds herself struggling with mounting debt and a growing distance in her relationship with her husband as they struggle to keep the family furniture business afloat, was really not my cup of tea, so to speak. The pacing of the first half of the book was very slow, to the point where I almost gave up on it several times. And while the pacing improves in the second half of the book, I never really felt a connection to any of these characters. In that sense, it reminded me a little of my lack of connection to the characters in "The Great Gatsby" (which plays a role in this story), in that I simply didn't find these characters particularly sympathetic, and largely couldn't bring myself to care about their concerns. I know that lots of other people really enjoy "The Great Gatsby", so perhaps there is an appreciative audience out there for this book as well.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mediocre but entertaining light novel about a wife and mother in Rockville, MD, unhappily enlisted to help run her husband's family's furniture store on suburban strip-mall Rockville Pike. Jane Kramer spends the novel getting into scrapes and resolving issues with her marriage and job.

It gets an extra star from me because I was tickled to read a book set less than one mile from my house, that includes as a fairly significant plot point the one interesting factoid about Rockville (besides the R.E.M. song written to insult it)--that F. Scott Fitzgerald is, improbably, buried here right off the side of the very busy road.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiction based on the fact of being a soccer mom in Rockville. Cute but nothing great.

[Monica S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was well-written and humorous at times, but the plot was a bit tedious.

[Evva Starr · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just as bad as the other book of hers I read. Only interesting because of local places names.

[Mary Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre chick lit, but with an occasional good moment. I picked it up because I grew up in Rockville. Knowing the setting made it a bit more interesting, but didn't do anything to improve the story.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rockville Pike, more so than Coll's other "regional" novel "Acceptance" which deals with high schoolers' applying to college in our suburban MD competitive culture. This novel follows a 40 something wife and mother who is dealing with a struggling marriage, a failing business, and a Goth teenager. What I could identify with as a 40 something wife and mother in the same suburban region was her humorous observations of others in this area and her simmlutaneous lack of confidence and willingness to measure up to the unreasonably high and dubious standards of these peers. There were fun characters, some of which I wish she had a bit more with. One of the subplots was a bit bizarre and jarring, but otherwise it was fun.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jane is stuck in a dead-end marriage and a dead-end job working at her father in law's outdated furniture shop on busy Rockville Pike in Montgomery County, Maryland. Jane seeks solace at the nearby grave of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I picked this book up mostly because:
1. It's by a local author
2. I used to live very close to the real Rockville Pike

Eh, I just couldn't get that excited about this book. It meanders a lot and doesn't seem to go anywhere. I wish Jane would have shook things up a little bit more to get out of the life that she was so unhappy with. It was a little frustrating watching her flounder...

[Helaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because I have lived near Rockville Pike almost my entire life. I cannot think of any book that I gave read where I have been less sympathetic to the main character. Jane Kramer is a middle aged wife who runs a furniture store on Rockville Pike. The store was started by her in laws and she and her husband have huge financial problems. Jane just buried her head in the sand when it came to money and I did not care for her character. But her husband was ignorant in other ways. The only smart character in the book was the son. I only gave this book 3 stars because I liked reading about Rockville. Otherwise this was only worth 2.5 stars.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book is "A Suburban Comedy of Manners" - so I was looking for something definitely comedic.

This book lingered in my currently reading (but clearly abandoned) status for a freakishly long time, and I wondered why I never just gave up on the book.

I honestly didn't find anything comedic about the characters or plot line. It was pathetically sad in its middle aged suburbia plot. Failing business, bordering on bankruptcy, family dysfunction.

All I can really say is that it is finally off my "still reading" list... Sorry.

[Deanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit weird really. I enjoyed this book and I HAD to keep reading to see how it would end. It was a bit depressing and I felt sorry for the "Jane" but I liked the adventure she went on. Some interesting points about wanting to live a different life than the one you are living at the moment. It was a good read.

[Jeanne]

I sat down and read this book in two days, but it was a task. Some parts were enjoyeable ...but there was something about this book that made it more work then it should have been to read. Not sure if it was a storyline issue or a style issue.

[Jessica Bukowinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another quick read (that seems to be my forte lately), but I felt an actual sense of inertia while the book was in my hand. The author seems to have created a character whose midlife depression and suburban angst is catching. I appreciated the literary references throughout.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because Rockville Pike is literally up the street from me, so the area was very familiar and not all that well disguised. The book was an ok read, but mostly because it was familiar. If the story was set anywhere else, I doubt it would have caught or kept my interest.

[Keanes · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 - 3 stars.Hard to get into at first. The author writes like a stream of consciousness. Interesting though that the Fitzgeralds are buried there. The author needs to take a look at early Beth Harbison novels to portray the true Montgomery County feel.

[Bari Lynn Hein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not since Jonathan Tropper’s This Is Where I Leave You has a book made me laugh out loud so many times. If you’re looking for a novel with relatable characters, bang-on descriptions and energetic pacing, I definitely recommend this one.

[Patti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I selected this book because I live in Rockville, MD right off of Rockville Pike not far from F. Scott Fitzgerald's grave that is central to the story. I was amused by certain local references but found myself rushing through to get to the end.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, but I wonder if I would have had less patience for it if it had not taken place in Rockville.

[Cyndee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Supposed to be a comedy of manners--it was more of a sad commentary on a marriage.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this quick and funny read.

[Sarah M · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining read, it was nice to see local landmarks mentioned. Acceptance is better, though.