Boy bands, cruises, and nostalgia: emma straub charts a course for reflection
Emma Straub, the beloved author and proprietor of Brooklyn’s Books Are Magic, has set sail on a decidedly unusual research voyage—a New Kids on the Block cruise—and the resulting novel, American Fantasy, is a surprisingly insightful exploration of longing, fandom, and the quiet power of solitude.
The unlikely muse: a boy band reunion
The narrative, which emerged from Straub's own solo experience aboard the NKOTB cruise in 2023, began with a yearning for something different. Having recently completed a particularly poignant book, she sought a tonal shift, a departure from the heavy emotional landscape she’d inhabited. “I was crying every day,” Straub confessed in a recent interview with Vogue, “and I wanted to write something really different.” The nostalgic pull of New Kids on the Block, a childhood obsession, provided the unexpected catalyst.
What initially appears to be a whimsical premise—being adrift at sea with a beloved boy band—quickly reveals a deeper current. Straub’s protagonist, Annie, serves as a keen observer of the onboard dynamics, a study in quiet introspection as the manufactured joy of the cruise unfolds around her. It's a clever device, allowing the author to dissect the complexities of fandom and the enduring power of childhood memories, even when those memories are filtered through the lens of adulthood.
The appeal of boy-band nostalgia, Straub argues, is universal. It taps into a shared experience, a formative period where music and identity intertwined. “The things that we love in childhood and adolescence have a profound hold on us,” she notes, referencing her own Backstreet Boys fandom and the lingering sense of something unfulfilled—a concert never attended, a moment never fully experienced. It's a sentiment many will recognize—the bittersweet ache of remembering a time when everything felt simpler, even if it wasn’t.
But it wasn't just the nostalgia that drew Straub to the cruise. It was the opportunity for unburdened observation. “I went by myself because I was not interested in being perceived, and I did not want to have to take care of anyone else,” she explained. This deliberate solitude allowed her to fade into the background and keenly observe the interactions and behaviors of those around her, ultimately enriching the novel's nuanced portrayal of human connection—or the lack thereof—in a manufactured environment.
Balancing her responsibilities at Books Are Magic with the demands of writing proved challenging, but with a dedicated team and her husband’s support, Straub was able to navigate both worlds. The bookstore, she happily reports, is thriving, and her family has, thankfully, grown accustomed to her relentless discussions of New Kids on the Block.
American Fantasy isn't just a quirky story about a cruise and a boy band; it’s a shrewdly observed meditation on the human condition, wrapped in a delightfully effervescent package. Straub proves, once again, that even the most seemingly frivolous subjects can yield profound insights—and that sometimes, the best way to understand ourselves is to lose ourselves in the midst of manufactured joy.