Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
I picked up Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven in Sainsbury’s, at the same time as I bought A Mind of My Own. I’d never heard of either the book or the author before, but I just loved the cover!
Set in Hollywood in 1964, it is the story of the Newmans – ‘America’s favourite family’. For 12 years, Del and Dinah and their two sons, Guy and Shep, have played black and white, fictionalised versions of themselves on screen. Every episode, written and directed by Del, features Dinah as the perfect homemaker – immaculately dressed and producing beautiful meals for her husband and sons.
But times are changing and the ratings are falling. The Newmans are stuck in the 1950s. The younger people of the sixties aren’t interested in their perfect family. This last series could be their last.
Behind the television characters, the real-life Newmans are struggling. Del and Dinah are sleeping apart, and he is keeping secrets from her. At just 17, Shep is a rock star, with girls chasing him everywhere. It’s getting harder and harder to keep his bad behaviour out of the newspapers. And 22 year old Guy is living with his best friend, as his parents and the TV studio try to force him into marriage with his on-screen girlfriend…
When Del has a car accident, Dinah decides it’s time to step up and take control. She goes to meetings and finds most men are unwilling to talk business with her. Together with a young journalist, Juliet Dunne, Dinah writes the script for the final episode, and this time she is going to show the real Newmans…
Meet the Newmans is an entertaining read about feminism and TV and life in the 1960s. I found it odd that, at 43 and 45, Dinah and Del were considered ‘old’ and at 17, Shep had so much freedom and was considered an adult. But I guess that’s what life was like then.
I enjoyed Meet the Newmans, but I didn’t love it. It reminded me a bit of Lessons in Chemistry – with the era, the TV and the feminism. Except, Lessons in Chemistry is one of my favourite books ever and did it all so much better. But if you’re looking for an easy and fun read, it is definitely worth picking up a copy of Meet the Newmans.
