Viral and vibrant

Irish writer Emer O’Toole, who currently lives in Montreal, has produced a lively first novel that captures highlights of contemporary life, among them the candid thoughts and actions of a do-it-yourself influencer.

O’Toole is the author of two other books, Girls Will Be Girls: Dressing Parts and Daring to Act Differently (2015), exploring how gender roles are performed, and Contemporary Irish Theatre and Social Change: Activist Aesthetics (2024). She currently teaches performance, theatre and Irish studies at Concordia University in Montreal.

In Do It Yourself, 40ish Katy MacIsaac, mother of two young girls, has been abandoned by her husband, Alex Labrador, who has taken up with another woman named April.

Living in Ottawa, Katy and Alex agree to share the upbringing of their daughters, Blaire and Ella, who will stay half a week in each home. One of the first problems Katy has to deal with is a teacher’s concern that Ella has written a song that her classmates are singing called “The Vagina Song.”

While she has a regular part-time job at Poll Packaging, Katy decides to fix some of the flaws in her condo. She becomes so effective in her do-it-yourself efforts that she decides to film what she is doing, and arranges to show her work on YouTube.

O’Toole’s novel leads off with the first episode in what Katy calls DIY for Single Moms. Katy is so natural in how she speaks and what she says — interweaving candid comments on women’s foibles, men and marriage — that her show gradually grows in popularity.

For help on details in renovating her bathroom, she consults a fellow named Serge at Canadian Tire, who provides her with material in the form of videos. She meets another fellow named Jacob who says he can help her with tiling.

She often consults with her married friend Colleen, who lives where Katy used to live, in Antigonish, N.S., and who Katy really respects for her rational observations.

Though she becomes quite friendly with Jacob, Katy is attracted to two lesbian women named Farah and Gabrielle, arranging to go out with them to a microbrewery, then to a bar and disco. They kiss goodnight at 2 a.m. and, while Katy doesn’t tell them, she reckons it was the best evening she’d had in ages. That doesn’t stop her from becoming sexually involved with Jacob, who says he loves her despite his being otherwise involved.

One of the novel’s best scenes has Alex and April arranging to meet with Katy to deal with her growing online notoriety. Alex asks Katy to not ever mention April and him on her show.

As funny as Do It Yourself can be, there are touching moments. “At the door, April looked back. Katy’s fire had faded already, and all she felt was grief. April smiled at her — a sad, kind smile. Then they were gone, leaving Katy to wonder how, when people have loved each other so hard, things can end up so broken,” O’Toole writes.

As Katy’s lively, often provocative episodes continue, more and more people watch them. The number of fans watching DIY for Single Moms grows to two million, and it is nominated for a national YouTube Steamy award for best breakout creator, to be presented in San Francisco. When her boss, Mr. Poll, expresses concern about “her online diary,” Katy quits her job.

Katy looks forward to going to San Francisco, perhaps with Gab and Farah. Among the many other distractions in her life are April’s becoming friendly with her and the sudden problems of Alex’s boss, Luke Manning.

O’Toole uses a variety of narrative formats throughout the novel. One of the best is the commentary from viewers that follow each of Katy’s episodes. Brief comments from viewers appear on her laptop after each, and O’Toole offers the reader a variety of them each time.

Five examples, picked at random:

“@Lila Blake

Katy, you’re the dad I never had AND the mom I always wanted.”

“@RosaTanstein

I did not expect to be so moved by a video of a woman installing a toilet. This is funny/sad and also very wise.”

“@ShirleyLind

I know you were only joking about saying ‘that’s so gay,’ but it really knocked my energy. I love you, Katy, but please leave that language in 2005 where it belongs.”

“@Billious

My God, doesn’t YouTube have a policy forbidding this kind of material? My eyeballs are in need of a bath.”

“@PoppyMin

Ha ha! I love that Katy can make Jacob blush! Careful with my sweetie, Katy — he acts cool, but he’s a delicate flower!”

Do It Yourself is an enjoyable novel, full of surprises.

Dave Williamson is the Winnipeg author of 10 books and four television plays, and co-author (with Carol Shields) of the stage play Anniversary.