HOT AIR
By Marcy Dermansky
Knopf, 208 pages, $27
Extreme pressure is generally a recipe for disaster, but what if an explosion is the point? This line of reasoning drives Marcy Dermansky’s slim and potent novel “Hot Air.’’ Known for her direct style and evocative storytelling, she’s exceptional as a sharp satirist. This arch, edgy comedy is no exception. Be prepared for a sleek but ultimately corrosive rush.
The book begins at a personal crossroads. It’s 2021 and Joannie, a divorced single mother, still smarts from spending the pandemic in her dreary apartment with her 8-year-old daughter where their only luxury is takeout sushi. Her career as a novelist is at a standstill. So why is she enduring a bad kiss with Johnny, a dad from her neighborhood? This much is clear: She hasn’t had a date in the seven years since her divorce following her 10-year marriage. These were “years and years of her life. Stolen. Not the opportunity to date, but of leading her life, spending her days the way she would have liked, instead of always trying to placate someone else.’’
The promise of a nice dinner at his place and no need for a baby sitter — her daughter, Lucy, could hang out with his son, Tyson — make it hard for her to say no. A post-dinner backyard stroll seemed like another innocent, anodyne act. “The sky had turned pink. The light sparkled over the lawn, onto the swimming pool that Joannie did not know he had.’’ But is this generic romantic moment worth leaving the apartment? Is this what she had been missing all those years? She was someone who “as a rule’’ didn’t like rich people, but “thought she could change her mind if she were to become one.’’
Before another existential thought crosses her mind, she’s interrupted by an “oppressive’’ kiss immediately followed by something else: “Joanne was realizing that she would have to forcibly end this kiss, because she would soon need oxygen, when a hot air balloon came veering down toward Johnny’s very large backyard.’’ Talk about a twist!
If this seems like a swerve to you, get ready for more. Just as Joanne concludes this moment “was crazy’’ and that “she was never going to kiss this man, Johnny, again’’ she turns to witness a couple in the balloon basket falling toward them, screaming less out of fear and more out of hatred for one another. After the man falls into the pool, Joannie dives in to save him. Because absurdity is the name of the game, he happens to be Jonathan, the first boy she ever kissed. He’s now a billionaire married to a supremely frustrated philanthropist and painter named Julia. It’s an awkward situation.
And it only becomes more complicated when, after the four adults change into dry clothes and settle down with a round of drinks, Julia suggests that the couples switch partners. Joannie’s take: “They were middle-aged white men in decent shape. Maybe they were all interchangeable. Maybe,’’ she thought, “this date was getting interesting.’’ Would you like to proceed? I’ll let you pick up where I’ve left off to find out what other curveballs Dermansky throws at these characters. You’ll finish this visceral punch in a sitting or two. It’s an ideal power punch novel. However, do not classify this as a screwball comedy; this is not a lighthearted adventure.
“Hot Air’’ is a romp that fixes you in place with outrageous humor that matches the characters’ unbelievable behavior. Faced with the aftermath of crashing a hot air balloon in a stranger’s swimming pool, Jonathan leaves the clean-up effort to his assistant Vivian. If spouses are interchangeable, imagine what Jonathan and Julia think of assistants or children. If you find yourself squirming, that’s the point. Dermansky finds the bruises made by unchecked capitalism and applies firm pressure to make you wince. You’ll be cheering her on until you’re faced with the mockery of your own vulnerabilities or desires. The dynamic shifts, but her narrative grasp never wavers. She paints an unsettling portrait of a world where winning looks like the ability to get whatever you want, whenever you want. This stark world doesn’t need much explanation.
In “Hot Air,’’ her sixth novel, Dermansky is at the top of her game: an iconoclastic writer whose deadpan delivery and spartan writing succeed because of her confidence. Her jokes land without an excess of development or explanation — much like her characters’ actions. Dermansky doesn’t flinch from the seedier side of wealth or the permeable limitations of desire. Money still smooths a path to getting what you want, but it can’t always deliver what one needs. It’s almost too trite to quote the Rolling Stones and Joannie would be the first to make note of that. Leave it to Dermansky to set me up for the obvious joke and get the last laugh.
Lauren LeBlanc is a board member of the National Book Critics Circle.
