“The Haters: A Novel”
Robyn Harding, Grand Central Publishing (2024)
346 pages, $29
There is an adage that anyone with an online life has heard over and over again: “Do not read the comments.” Following that advice can prove difficult, though, because missing the trolls and hateful comments also means missing any affirmation or glowing reviews people may have left. In Robyn Harding’s newest novel, “The Haters,” Harding explores what happens when trolls become obsessed with bullying someone online – and when that person becomes obsessed with changing their minds in return.
Camryn Lane is a Canadian school counselor who recently published a young adult novel that explores the life of a young woman who, after a short stint in juvenile detention, ends up running an illegal business exploiting other teenage girls who are runaways or otherwise desperate for money and attention. Lane’s novel is set up for success, with a team behind her including an agent and public relations specialists, along with her supportive boyfriend and teenage daughter. That is, until one day she receives an email accusing her of exploiting the students she works with by writing stories based on their lives and innermost secrets.
As “The Haters” unfolds, Lane continues to fall into a downward spiral as negative comments on social media and other sites threaten to derail the sales of her book. The comments and attacks do not remain online, however. Soon, Lane is getting very real threats sent to her home and the students that she works with at school are claiming they can no longer trust her abilities to keep their secrets confidential.
The tension comes to a head when Lane decides to track down the person who sent her the initial email complaining that her book was exploitative. She travels several hours across an international border to Washington state just to find out that the person trolling her has been using an unsuspecting woman’s photos. After she returns home, Lane discovers that someone has posted a video of her falsely accusing and confronting the innocent woman in Washington, making Lane appear petty and vindictive.
As Lane’s public image deteriorates, her personal life does as well. Her daughter no longer wants to confide in her mother. Her boyfriend claims that he will always be third in her life, once just behind Lane’s daughter, but now even taking a back seat to her novel. The high school no longer wants her counseling services and publishers decline to consider publishing her future work.
While there is certainly a lesson to be had regarding the impact of anonymous comments online, the deeper theme in “The Haters” is one regarding a tension between prudence and justice. On one hand, the trolls really were slandering Lane and her novel – she says over and over again that the issues she writes about are unlike what any of her students experience because she values her role as their confidant. The search for justice would want to clear Lane’s name, to pursue an apology or retraction so that her book can be consumed without any extra baggage.
Prudence, however, says that the justice she is looking for is not possible. The more she tries to defend herself, the more anonymous posters pick apart her every word and go searching for more reasons to hate her. In this case, prudence suggests that Lane avoid the comments section and stop trying to clear her name, possibly even letting go of the success of her novel. It is clear that if she remains obsessed with her public image and how her book is received, she will lose everything else that is important to her.
Robyn Harding’s latest novel meets the fast-paced, female character-driven plot expectations set by her previous novels, such as “The Drowning Woman.” “The Haters” is an entertaining read that also provides an occasion for an examination of conscience regarding our own priorities and what we may be willing to let go of in order to save what is most important.