It’s a commonplace that women of middle age and older become invisible, meaning they are no longer noticed by men, or by the world in general. For Jane Tara’s heroine, Tilda Finch, this is no metaphor.
Review: ‘Tilda Is Visible’ is a comic novel whose lesson is all too visible
Fiction: When the world stops noticing the middle-aged main character, she begins to disappear.
For the Minnesota Star Tribune
February 18, 2025 at 7:37PM
In “Tilda Is Visible,” the title character wakes one day to find she cannot see her pinky finger — she senses that it’s still there, but it has disappeared. She will soon learn that “disappear” is a politically incorrect word for what’s happened to her. As her doctor tells her, “We don’t use that term anymore. Invisibility advocates are very much against it.”
This witty bit is an example of the ongoing humor that tempts one to put aside concerns about the unabashed on-the-nose-ness of Tara’s premise. Yes, Tilda is actually disappearing, er, becoming invisible (the preferred term); her ear and nose are next to go. But why? Though her unpleasant husband left her years ago and she’s been single ever since, she’s got a house on the beach, loving, successful 21-year-old twin daughters, a supportive friend group, and a great business she started herself.
This Is A Sign is an online purveyor of inspirational T-shirts, posters, mugs and quotes, reflected in the epigraphs that begin each of the chapters, with sources ranging from Google co-founder Sergey Brin to psychologist Tara Brach, Epictetus to Jane Fonda. To cater to the preferences of the anti-New-Age crowd, of which Tilda herself is a member, they also have an “unspirational” line, her own favorite being “You’re only as deep as your most recent inspirational quote.”
Though Tilda’s doctor grimly informs her that the condition is incurable and sends her to a rather discouraging support group, her woo-woo best friend Leith gets her an appointment with the illustrious Selma Nester, who is either a quack or a genius, depending on whom you ask. Without giving away what Selma offers, or whether it works, I will assert that you can’t write a novel to deliver a lesson, or at least you shouldn’t.
The wittiness of Tara’s tale comes hard up against its preachy, teachy, in-not-un-spirational intentions. You should also not throw in the kitchen sink, introducing a domestic abuse subplot with equally instructive lineaments at the 11th hour.
But there’s more! This book also is a rom-com, giving invisible Tilda an ultra-hot, deep, sensitive, billionaire surfer boyfriend who is —wait for it — blind! This is so over-the-top it’s almost fun. Which, as a person who probably knows everything she needs to know about becoming a self-actualized woman of a certain age, is the best I can say for “Tilda Is Visible.”
Some will love this self-help book masquerading as a novel, and the rest should consider yourselves warned.
Tilda Is Visible
By: Jane Tara.
Publisher: Crown, 320 pages, $28.
Local fiction: “Romantic Comedy” author, who’s writing her first novel set in Minnesota, offers 12 new short stories in “Show Don’t Tell.”
