A couple months back, in my Creators’ Roulette series, I chatted with my friend Erynn Lehtonen about ghostwriting. It was quite fascinating to learn from her about the intricacies of copyright, writing stories for someone else and the challenges of the profession. When Algonquin Books contacted me to review an upcoming addition to their catalog, I was excited to pick up Impersonation – a fictional story about ghostwriting. This book gave me much to think about and if you want to rethink every book that you have ever read by a politician or famous person, this book will challenge your belief of whether they really wrote it, and how much is true. Let’s take a look at the book blurb and then I will present my thoughts.
Allie Lang is a professional ghostwriter and a perpetually broke single mother to a young boy. Years of navigating her own and America’s cultural definitions of motherhood have left her a lapsed idealist. Lana Breban is a powerhouse lawyer, economist, and advocate for women’s rights with designs on elected office. She also has a son. Lana and her staff have decided she needs help softening her public image and that a memoir about her life as a mother will help.
When Allie lands the job as Lana’s ghostwriter, it seems as if things will finally go Allie’s way. At last, she thinks, there will be enough money not just to pay her bills but to actually buy a house. After years of working as a ghostwriter for other celebrities, Allie believes she knows the drill: she has learned how to inhabit the lives of others and tell their stories better than they can.
But this time, everything becomes more complicated. Allie’s childcare arrangements unravel; she falls behind on her rent; her subject, Lana, is better at critiquing than actually providing material; and Allie’s boyfriend decides to go on a road trip toward self-discovery. But as a writer for hire, Allie has gotten too used to being accommodating. At what point will she speak up for all that she deserves?
A satirical, incisive snapshot of how so many of us now live, Impersonation tells a timely, insightful, and bitingly funny story of ambition, motherhood, and class.
Themes for Thought
Impersonation promises to be a read touching on ghostwriting, feminism, politics, public image and much more. In about 350 pages, it delivers a lot of information, sometimes factual as Allie researches the ideas Lana wants her to pursue, sprinkled with Allie’s life history. Though most of the book progresses at a slow pace, the last 30% delivers punches and has to be taken seriously. Below are three themes that spoke to me throughout this book.
On First Hand Experiences
Allie is a single mother. She has been in relationships but Cass is her family. Throughout the story, Allie is faced with the harsh realities of counting on a short-term partner who is dealing with his own identity crisis. She is the one who has to put food on the table, pay rent for their house as well as make sure that Cass is growing up with good role models. I liked learning about her struggles with parenthood, the challenges of being tight on money but wanting to give her son the opportunity to socialize with other kids.
It was often hard for Allie to work and without Lana giving her the right information to work with, it wasn’t surprising that Allie had to take inspiration from her own experiences as a mother. Every family is different and though the book that Allie was ghostwriting for Lana was about Lana and her son, Allie’s experiences as a mom came in handy. However, Lana did not give her enough material to help portray a family with her husband. When inspiration comes from experiences, the lack of them can leave gapping holes, and imagination has to kick in big time to make up for that/
On the Characters
This book has characters from various socio-economic statuses. We meet Allie who is a single mom, trying to make ends meet and Lana who is a famous activist. At the same time, we also meet different people involved in publishing a book, people in charge of publicity and public image for Lana, a full-time nanny that helps Lana with her son. Though Allie is the protagonist and a good chunk of these characters come later in the story when the book’s first draft is complete, it was interesting to see the dynamics of the roles that they fulfilled.
Though it is Lana’s book and Allie is writing it, with the intent to pass full ownership to Lana, there are outsiders who have a lot of say in what gets published and what should not. It does not seem to matter what Lana and Allie discussed and how they wanted to approach the book. It was situations like these that there was a lot of tension to be felt in the book because all I wanted to do for was Allie and Lana to speak up for themselves, or for me to speak up for them.
The book also touches on family troubles and how anger and discontent can have major repercussions on public image. Since the book portrays politics in the United States, it is not surprising that a lot of bad press is present for Lana and her competitors. The cut throat competition and how it affected Lana’s memoir about her son portrayed the outside forces that affect projects like this one.
I found Impersonation sad in this regard. What the public wanted to read about Lana or who they wanted her to be wasn’t exactly possible with the kind of work that she does and who she is. This attempt to show a side of her that does not exist was not something I had expected and I felt Impersonation did a good job of questioning whether the memoirs and books by famous people are even based in truth.
On Self-Advocacy
Impersonation is a very real book. Money and status often trumps talent and a person’s desperation to have food on the table wins over keeping their pride and name. No matter what happened, Allie got a major lesson in self-advocacy through this whole episode, and though I do not know if she would have continued to live by it, Lana gave her a fair chance. Lana did see her hard work though I found her quite passive and resigned to how she was a puppet herself in the game of politics.
Is Impersonation a feminist book? Does Lana live by her feminist ideals? You will have to read it to find out. Through forums with fellow ghostwriters and Allie’s story itself, you’ll get a glimpse of what a single mom ghostwriting a book might look like. There is promise of money but is no guarantee and there is definitely no fame. Lots to think about with this book!
** Impersonation is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Many thanks to the publisher for providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Images in banner and the fountain pen from Unsplash
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