Cyra McFadden's 1977 satirical novel, "The Serial," offers a humorous yet pointed critique of the affluent Marin County lifestyle during the 1970s. Originally published in serial form in a newspaper, the book quickly gained popularity for its sharp observations of modern life, consumerism, and the status anxieties prevalent in the California subculture it depicted. The novel's genesis began in 1975 when McFadden, an "incurable eavesdropper," started
jotting down phrases she overheard after moving to Marin with her family. These observations formed the basis for a fictional series that became a popular feature in the Pacific Sun newspaper, eventually leading to its publication in book form by Knopf.
Genesis and Development of a Satirical Novel
The idea for "The Serial" emerged from an opening at the Pacific Sun newspaper in 1974, after writer Armistead Maupin, who had been contributing a fictionalized saga about local hipsters, left to work on "Tales of the City." McFadden's freelance article satirizing a Mill Valley cafe, which featured canned peas and Orange Nehi on its wine list, was a success and prompted the Sun to ask her to expand it into a fictional series. She initially wrote 32 short chapters for the weekly newspaper, which proved to be its most popular feature. Knopf, recognizing its appeal, commissioned 20 more chapters from McFadden to create a full 52-week "Year in the Life of Marin County" for the book publication.
The novel's characters speak a distinctive jargon, using phrases like "flash on" (meaning to have a sudden insight) and "Really" to signify assent. McFadden's keen ear for dialogue captured the essence of the era's communication style. For instance, a character named Kate, disagreeing with Harvey about the boundaries of their open marriage, felt they "hadn't finalized the parameters of their own interface." This unique lexicon, along with black-and-white illustrations by Tom Cervenak that accompanied the original installments and subsequent editions, further immersed readers in the specific cultural milieu being satirized.
Critical Acclaim and Unexpected Backlash
Upon its release, "The Serial" garnered widespread praise and went through multiple printings. Charles Michener of Newsweek called it "one of the most delicious acts of cultural sabotage since Mark Twain." Reviewers often adopted the novel's lingo in their praise; Diane White of The Boston Globe wrote that it was "an extraordinarily funny social satire. I mean it's a real trip. It just blew me away." John Leonard, in The New York Times, described the novel as "hilarious" and the California "dynamic" it portrayed as rather scary, highlighting the burden of constantly keeping up with trends, whether it was a "Mongolian hot-pot" or "adultery and orgonomy."
However, the novel's success also led to an unexpected backlash from the Marin County residents it satirized. In 1978, an NBC documentary titled "I Want It All Now!" further highlighted the excesses of the affluent Marin lifestyle, featuring an interview with McFadden. This national attention turned residents into objects of ridicule, leading to a strong negative reaction against McFadden and her book. She received death threats, local merchants refused her business, and her home was pelted with eggs. When a new sewage treatment facility was to be opened in Mill Valley, some suggested it be named after her. The hostility eventually led McFadden and her family to move away from Marin County, and she did not return for nearly a decade.
Enduring Legacy as a "Time Capsule" Piece
After being out of print for many years, "The Serial" was reissued as a digital edition by Apostrophe Books in 2012, coinciding with the 35th anniversary of its initial publication. McFadden contributed a new preface and discussed her work in interviews. She acknowledged that many of the novel's place references and status symbols, which reflected "what people bought because it was the thing to have," were outdated. More significantly, she noted that "the language of The Serial, thank God, is thoroughly outdated." Despite a brief discussion about revising the text, the publisher and McFadden agreed that it should remain unchanged, recognizing it as a "time capsule piece, about a particular time and place."
The novel's insights into the 1970s California subculture continue to resonate. Author Tom Wolfe also targeted this subculture in his August 1976 essay, "The Me Decade and the Third Great Awakening." More recently, James Riley's 2024 book, "Well Beings: How the Seventies Lost its Mind and Taught Us to Find Ourselves," traces the origins of the modern wellness movement to the 1970s "fad diets and experimental health projects" that McFadden so effectively skewered, often associated with the perceived "flakiness" of Marin County.
