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sassysparky's review against another edition
4.0
This hit close to home
A book about getting lost in motherhood, and finally returning to yourself. I'm not sure who the main character is - most likely Amy. I liked reading about the marriages and parenting
A book about getting lost in motherhood, and finally returning to yourself. I'm not sure who the main character is - most likely Amy. I liked reading about the marriages and parenting
elisabeth7291's review against another edition
2.0
I loved The Interestings, but this was just blah. As if my life isn't boring enough, I'm reading about 4 women who are less interesting than I am.
kirstenrose22's review against another edition
3.0
February 2016: So, I read some of this 8 years ago, and didn't like it. Now my book group is reading it so I gave it another shot (and had added incentive to finish it this time). I liked it better this time around - and I'm at a very different place in my life (then, I had a 3-year-old who was just about to enter pre-school, and I was at home and contemplating a career change; now she's almost 11 and I work full-time).
I still have issues with this - these women are all overly privileged and I still wanted to tell them all to buck up and stop whining. But I am also sympathetic to someone who doesn't know what her next big thing should be. It was definitely thought-provoking, I'll give it that.
May 2008: Don't bother with this one - cardboard cut-out characters whine about their over-privileged lives. I wanted to slap them all. The author tries to be deep and make a grand sweeping point about feminism; needless to say, I think she failed. At least, I didn't want to stick around to find out.
I still have issues with this - these women are all overly privileged and I still wanted to tell them all to buck up and stop whining. But I am also sympathetic to someone who doesn't know what her next big thing should be. It was definitely thought-provoking, I'll give it that.
May 2008: Don't bother with this one - cardboard cut-out characters whine about their over-privileged lives. I wanted to slap them all. The author tries to be deep and make a grand sweeping point about feminism; needless to say, I think she failed. At least, I didn't want to stick around to find out.
rachelbernholtz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A reflection on being a woman and a mother. Very drawn out and overly wordy.
saltpopsicle's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At 11, I read this book not understanding but being moved anyway. At 20, I read it again and understood more, I hope to read it again, carrying my beaten copy with me, and I hope to understand more as I age.
laila4343's review against another edition
5.0
I am such a sucker for a book like this! Although I'm not yet a mother, I think this book is valuable also for it's honest portrayal of marriage and women's friendships. It follows 4 friends, all stay-at-home-moms, as they navigate the realization that their children are growing up and no longer need them to be right there all the time. So they're doing a lot of soul searching about what they want to do with the rest of their lives, how they relate to one another and to their spouses. It also has brief chapters about their own mothers, I think to portray how things have not changed all that much for women in the last 40 years. It was a very realistic and fast-paced novel.
anniewill's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it fell way short for me. I slogged through it hoping that it would get better. I found the privileged women in this novel to spend a lot of time feeling sorry for themselves and whining. There was a lot of potential for this story idea, I personally don't think Wolitzer delivered.
mk_pagano's review against another edition
I really love Meg Wolitzer--The Interestings was one of my favorite books I read last year--so just assumed any book by her would be just as good. In terms of writing, this book had really lovely prose. But ... there just wasn't enough going on to capture my interest. There really wasn't much of a plot--each chapter was just a portrait of each woman's life, at various stages of career/stay-at-home Mom-ness. I made it about halfway through before giving up, which is something I hate to do, but I was just so bored. Maybe this will resonate more for me when I'm older?