‘Enormous Wings' Takes What Could Have Been a Fantasy and Adds Thought-Provoking Reality

When you first hear of a story that involves a 77-year-old woman getting pregnant, you're likely to think of it as a fantasy. And there's no reason not to. It seems impossible and absurd, but Laurie Frankel manages to find the reality and the heart in Enormous Wings.

This is definitely a five-star read. And I say that despite it making me so angry that I had to put it down at points. It wasn't the writing or the protagonist that made me mad, but the situation she found herself in and the reaction of other people - on all sides of the political spectrum.

‘Enormous Wings' Is Definitely Not a Fantasy

It did take me a couple of chapters to really get into the tale. We start off with a woman who isn't ready to accept that she's no longer capable of everything she once could do. That's not unusual, and we get to see it from her point of view.

The narration of Pepper's thoughts made me chuckle, but it did take time to really get into the meat of the story. We had to see how Pepper ended up in the same retirement living complex as her ex-husband and her feelings about that, and then, we had to meet the characters who would become her friends and boyfriend.

Yes, boyfriend. I love that we get this reminder that life doesn't stop as we age. Not all men are after the next young thing that's walking on buy. Moth is a gentleman, and while I'm not always convinced of his and Pepper's interest in each other - that comes from Pepper's narration of it rather than Moth's feelings - I still love the cute buildup to how the two end up together.

Fortunately, it doesn't take too long to get into the actual part where Pepper finds out that she's pregnant. After all, this isn't a story about how she gets pregnant, but about what happens afterward.

There are plenty of questions that come up, and they help to keep the story grounded in reality. Of course, there's the discussion of abortion due to Pepper's age and the fact that they're in Texas. There are the different medical opinions about what could and should happen. We also can't forget the questions of who will raise this baby, what happens afterward, and how the other grown children and grandchildren react to the news.

There are elements that are glossed over, such as the reaction of Pepper's children and grandchildren, but I do think that it comes down to the fact that they don't want to tell Pepper any of this. There's even a quick mention of a certain doctor who violates HIPPA regulations, and I think that's too small of a mention as it's a much bigger conversation to have.

But those elements aren't what this tale is about. It's about Pepper's life as she finds herself somewhat "blessed" with some sort of "miracle," as that's what a lot of people keep calling it.

Nothing about the story is fantastical in nature. Frankel comes up with a logical explanation as to how Pepper could get pregnant, and that even connects to Moth and his late wife's story. There's almost a serendipitous element to it, but it's most definitely not fantasy.

Laurie Frankel Knows How to Extract Emotion

While there were moments of disappointment, it was the moments of pure emotion I felt that negated all of that. You see, this is a novel that makes you feel.

As soon as word gets out that Pepper is pregnant, the world swarms around her. She can't do anything without people getting in her business, and we're reminded of the horrors of human nature.

Everyone and anyone has an opinion about what she should do. There are mentions of the radio station having callers on discussing about the life this child could have - and even if it will be born fully formed - and we get to see how journalists surround everyone involved in Pepper's life to get some sort of story. It's nothing new. We've seen journalists do this time and time again, and I've always looked down on them for doing this.

However, the parts that made me really angry were when we see grown men and women acting unethically to guilt-trip Pepper (and even Moth) into things that they want. One guy from a Big Pharma company even tries the "if it weren't for me, this wouldn't have happened" type of speech when the two show him the door.

I expect it of the protestors outside of Planned Parenthood or similar clinics. The three girls who want to make Pepper the poster child of why not to have an abortion are not strange. They still anger me, but it's something we've annoyingly come to accept. What I didn't expect was someone to pretend to be a delivery person to make Pepper the poster child of the exact opposite of the anti-abortion message.

Once all of this is out, there is no life for Pepper, and it brings up a much bigger question than that of the abortion debate. How much of our life choices are our own, and how much end up being in the hands of someone else? Because Pepper realizes that there may be more on the latter side than we really think, it led to a rather thought-provoking night as I finished the final chapters.

Enormous Wings by Frankel is now available to buy, and while there's plenty of humor to it, do get ready for some big feelings.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 12:51 PM.