The Stager by Susan Coll

The Stager started off well. Super successful Bella and her husband, former tennis star Lars, are trying to sell their Bethesda, MD house because she has been transferred to London. The real estate agent hires Eve (a house stager) to declutter and beautify the house, which has been on the market for a while without selling.

The story is told by rotating narrators: Lars, Eve, Elsa (Bella's daughter) and at one point by Dominque, the family's pet rabbit. The problem is that Eve is the only likable character. Elsa started out likable then just gets brattier as the book goes on. Lars seems to be having a prescription drug-related nervous breakdown. So his sections involve a lot of incoherent rambling. And part of the story is told in sort of flashbacks, as Eve recounts her history with Bella. (I did think the best line of the book was when Eve explained Bella usually means beautiful but it can also refer to belladonna, a deadly drug.) And indeed this Bella does seem to leave a lot of human wreckage in her wake.

I know this book is supposed to be a satire. And there were a few clever scenes. But in my humble opinion, it didn't really work. And when I realized that the rabbit was narrating the last chapter, I was really glad I had reached the end of the book.