“A Proper Contentment” is a story about love—and all the ways you learn to give it.
From the first line, you’re pulled into Ned Hopkins’ novel, which is filled with isolation, fear, lust, secrecy, love, discovery, and scandal. No one’s innocent, and everyone has something to hide.
Hopkins delicately unravels the lives of the three main characters—Bessie, her husband, Hugh, and their son, Sam—over a 77-year span, shifting from each character’s perspective to show how they love and how they hide it.
Through realistic reactions, blunt and relatable thoughts, and moral compasses that don’t have a “North,” the author brings every character to life. Hopkins has a light touch that adds nuance and power to each scene and character.
This engrossing tale begins in 1918, where we meet Bessie, a young girl who doesn’t fit into her family. Even at her young age, she takes her position in her family in stride, always putting her love for them above anything else. With a workaholic father, sickly mother, charming, self-absorbed, and boy-crazy sister, Flo, and quiet, caring brother, Roy, there’s little room for Bessie.
She learns to be small. Self-sacrificial. But that won’t last forever.
Time moves on, and Bessie marries Hugh. Like her father, he’s a workaholic and determined to keep his narrow view of the world—and others. But he doesn’t intimidate her. Bessie’s grown independent, headstrong, and sure of herself. Though her siblings have grown distant. And this distance, especially from her brother, still bothers her.
Eventually, they have a son, Sam. Nothing like his father. He’s a sensitive, quiet boy who loves theater. And so starts the whispers about his sexuality: Is he like that?
Everyone knows one, don’t they? Those… types.
Repression, euphemisms, and stigma are everywhere.
And while Bessie is more open-minded than her husband, she’s nowhere near as open about love as she believes she is. For her son or herself.
The years go on. Sam becomes lonely, hopping from fling to fling, never able to settle down. Bessie feels the same as she and her husband become more distant with age.
This is a story about figuring out how much love you need to be happy.
But what do you do when you don’t get enough?
Hopkins navigates the characters’ emotions, narrow-mindedness, heartbreaks, curiosity, and precarious relationships with a deft and gentle hand.
“A Proper Contentment” moves at a slow pace, which is excellent as it gives space to lay down the tiny pieces of the characters’ worlds. Allows the readers to feel the years passing.
There’s just enough description to show the world and the character’s quirks without slowing the pace too much.
Combined with humorous dialogue, gripping tension, and a well-developed writing style, the story flows nicely, creating complicated characters that are confused and scared, but open to growing. Hopefully. They feel real. Their pain, their desires, and their blind spots have many sides.
You’ll have to read “A Proper Contentment” to find out what happened. It’s WILD.
If you’re looking for a complex, thought-provoking novel that explores love through a raw, honest lens, then “A Proper Contentment” is a fantastic choice.
Review by Ashleigh Bonner
Pros:
- Pleasant writing style and excellent prose
- Complicated characters who make you love and hate them. They’re messy, and they feel real
- Moral dilemmas that have no easy answers
- Nuanced emotions and relationships that draw you in and make you care about the characters
- Plot and characterization that is well thought out. Great attention to the small details to make the world feel real
- Little to no grammatical errors
- Fantastic dialogue
- Great plot twists and interconnected storylines
- Overall, this is an EXCELLENT book
Cons:
- In the beginning, there were many large words that may be hard for readers to understand
- In later parts of the story, there were sections that had a lot of telling and little showing
- Slightly awkward writing in the beginning
- Somewhat slow beginning
- Head-hopping from one character’s point of view to another during a couple of scenes
Scribble's Worth 