Reviews

The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas

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plants_pages_poultry's review

4.0

Books about books is my favorite niche genre. This novel explores the complicated dynamics of female friendships, expectations of women, and the power of literature to open your mind.

Set in 1954, the story follows four girls from different socioeconomic backgrounds in their first year at Radcliffe College. Women had fewer job options during that time compared to today. Despite the differences among them, these young women learn how to resolve conflicts and who to turn to for support. The bookstore has a Book Club for girls to read books by well-known authors. The owner mentors the girls while they read and discuss books. A tragedy that threatens either to unite them or separate them challenges them.

It captured my attention. The story lacked depth because of too many storylines and undeveloped characters.

The book club didn’t have any other members. Why wasn’t there anyone else? When the four girls joined, did she just stop advertising it? Was there nobody else in Cambridge interested? Book club meetings themselves seem to be little more than a vehicle for learning clichéd lessons about women in men’s worlds.

One character suffers a terrible tragedy that gets worse. I’m not saying it’s never happened before, but did the author need to pile it so high? Then something completely bizarre happens near the end to make the whole situation seem implausible and absurd.

Overall, a good book exploring themes of friendship, coming-of-age, and expectations.

hbucurel's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

mctmama's review

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Sadly, this book was not what I hoped it would be. The premise was great, and I was most interested in the character of Alice, the book store owner, who started the book club. It was interesting to see the books she chose, and how the four college girls at Radcliffe in 1955 interpreted them and thought about life. Tess was such a rigid and unlikable character, and to be honest her extremely conservative beliefs just did not make sense to me with her unhappy home life. Caroline's troubles should have been heartbreaking, but seemed like they were written to a preposterous script - It actually detracted from the book for me. I liked the very end, but the situations to get there were unbelievable to me.

shasha_56's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

jab_ffxva's review

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4.0

I do love a good book about books! More than being “about” books, though, “The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club” by Julia Bryan Thomas is about female friendships and young women navigating their independence - in a time when it was assumed and expected that many women went to college solely to get their “MRS degree.” Set in mid-1950s Cambridge, Massachusetts, primarily at Radcliffe and a local, independent, bookstore owned by a not-quite-as-young woman, with occasional peeks at the young womens' lives back at home. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy (in exchange for an honest review).