The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise
by Colleen Oakley
So Different, So Alike (1/19/2023)
Fun, well-written, and studded with surprises, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise will tickle you, encourage you, and keep you turning the pages.
Twenty-one-year-old Tanner is in a funk after an injury derails her soccer career.
Eighty-four-year-old Louise is on a mission to correct a past mistake.
Never have two such different women needed each other so much. But exactly why they need each other creates a book chockful of rich themes.
The most obvious theme is friendship, especially friendship that can transcend a significant generation gap. Here’s where the book sparkles. Tanner and Louise make assumptions about each other from the get-go. Though the idea of a generation gap is nothing new, this “Mostly True Story” examines why we make snap judgments and how that inhibits good relationships. The women’s cross-country car journey serves as a structure that delivers them from postulations to understanding.
Mistakes—or perceived mistakes—is another important theme. As readers, we have the objectivity to see clearly, and this causes us to root for the characters who are muddling more through mistaken beliefs than true failures. It's relatable because who of us hasn’t done the same? Who hasn’t lost sleep over worries about how we could have done something differently? How Tanner and Louise handle and think about their regrets is food for thought about how we, the readers, handle our own.
Author Colleen Oakley also explores what constitutes real intimacy in relationships—whether it’s a friendship or a love interest. Though the main characters of Tanner and Louise are very different, they are the same in many ways, primarily in how they reveal themselves to others. Both are reticent to share too much. Both would prefer to keep their true identities safely concealed. Both want others to accept them for face value instead of revealing vulnerabilities.
The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise is about understanding and accepting yourself and others and moving on in life. And, as the title reflects, this witty novel will keep you guessing till its satisfying conclusion.
