THE GOLDEN VIRTUE, UNVEILED

An affluent, unhappy woman heals her psyche and spirit by finding her purpose in Murgel-Subotic’s debut novel.

Ysabel Meyer lives a life suited for the Real Housewives franchise: Her husband, Christian, is a successful businessman, and she writes for a respected magazine, going to weekly lunches with her girlfriends to discuss their new designer handbags. But she knows that, beneath all the artifice, she’s suffering, going through life “utterly detached” and “wandering aimlessly with no purpose” while dealing with an undiagnosed chronic illness. A fainting spell lands her in the hospital, and her young, precocious son, Elijah, begs her to try a different approach to her endless treatments. A visit to her psychologist, Dr. Ravi, reveals to Ysabel that her malaise is due to a spiritual deficit and a severed connection to the “Divine”; only through internal healing and embracing her spirituality might she find purpose and, by extension, happiness. This sets Ysabel on a new path: She attends cacao ceremonies, meditates, and spends quality time with her family rather than gossiping over salads and concerning herself with black-tie fundraisers and galas. Her latest magazine assignment is covering a new exhibit of Dark Ages and Renaissance artworks, and Ysabel begins to see parallels between the shifting artistic practices and her own desire “to be set free and emerge from the dark, and be reborn into the light.” Soon, she feels her personal changes and spiritual growth begin to reverberate through her relationships with family, friends, and work.

The author has not so much written a novel as constructed an allegory around the pillars and teachings of her own Divine awakening and the possibilities that await others who endeavor to look inward. As a result, the characters are essentially vessels for information as they come in and out of Ysabel’s journey when she needs guidance (“ ‘Tell yourself a different story,’ he suggests. ‘I learned on the internet everything in life is energy…so…change your thoughts to change your energy. Positive thoughts equal positive actions and positive actions equal positive feelings! Change your story. It seems simple to me’ ”) and for Divine spiritual teachings, often speaking in pageslong educational monologues. The book is not overly concerned with plot, as much of it explores the evolution of Ysabel’s search for her purpose while demonstrating that this goal can be attainable for readers who find themselves in similar ruts. This framing makes the text seem less intimidating, and perhaps more accessible, than a straightforward self-help or New Age book. There are small moments of tension when Ysabel’s friends and husband doubt the efficacy of her new practices and question her shifts in priorities, which lend the book a sense of realism that works to its benefit. While Ysabel’s internal and external work prove fruitful, the ending feels a bit far-fetched considering Ysabel’s initial ambitions. As a stand-in for the reader, she is easy to empathize with despite her privileged position, though the book does not address the personal and external obstacles that might prevent someone without Ysabel’s resources from achieving the same breakthroughs.

A fresh, not-yet-perfected approach to the New Age book.