Thursday, July 1, 2010

The Wednesday Sisters


"And I suppose it's worse to live without expectation than to live through the pain of expectations crushed, but it never feels that way in the moment, it always feels as though life would be so much easier if only you could stop hoping for things that would never come. " pg. 198

The Wednesday Sisters follow Frankie, Ally, Brett, Linda and Kath from the late 60's when they all move/meet in Palo Alto through the 70s and ends up in present time. They are all young mothers when they meet, or so they think. Each of them have moved their because of their husbands job. Of course none of them work, it is 1967. They all do have hopes and dreams and all have college degrees except Frankie who feels highly inadequate because she does not. They start their first conversation because of books, which lead to them discussing how they wish they could write. Born from that, The Wednesday Sisters. They started meeting every Wednesday morning to write/critique each others writing.

One of my favorite parts of the book is that incorporates what is going on in the world at the time into the book. How about the dreams of these ladies and them trying to fit them into the changing dynamic of women/racial roles. Above all, this is a a book about friendship and loyalty.

I really cannot do it justice, but it is beautifully written and it is one of those books that after you read it, you WANT that group of friends for yourself. Ironically, that time frame is the one if I could go back in time that would be it. It just seems simpler and there was sooo much change going on in the world, as much as I enjoy and appreciate the chances/opportunities I get because of that time, to be there would be amazing!

"Femininity consists in being myself, in not putting myself or my sisters down." - pg. 200

Another great thing, is that even though their are 5 main characters, it is told through Frankie and each character is wonderfully developed. Frankie is a timid/shy/unsure of her self transplant from Chicago, Linda is brutally honest/blunt and an athlete who wants to run a marathon, Kath is a Kentucky debutante who can talk extremely dirty, Ally is quiet and reserved, and Brett is super smart, using quotations to hide behind and wears little white gloves and everyone wonders why. But they are bonded by a shared love of books and interestingly enough, the Miss America Pageant, which is a yearly tradition.


I really enjoyed it, and want to pick up her other stuff and I already added all the books that they mentioned to my to-be-read list on goodreads. If you've read Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bon's and enjoyed it, you will MOST definitely enjoy this. Heck, I am sure most of you will like it regardless.


Do you have a group of women friends? Do you belong to an all women book club? All women anything club? What do you think are some benefits from a good core group of women to relate and confide in?

4 comments:

J said...

I have a few women friends, but mostly I am friends with guys because I work in a 90% male dominated field. Sometimes it stinks, sometimes it doesn't.

I got this book out of the library and can't wait to start it!

Amber said...

You know, I have lots of different girlfriends. But not a small, tight-knit group by any means. I've always wanted that and been jealous of women who do!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

What a great review - can't wait to check this out. I need to request it from the library.... It's been on my to be read list for so long now!

I am in an all women book club here in Minneapolis. There are about 5 of us, but we aren't all best friends. It's a couple of my good college friends and then we invited friends of friends. It's a great group and I just love when we meet every 6 weeks. Since we aren't all bff, we do a good job of talkign about the book and kind of limit the chit chat about gossip/what's going on in each others' lives, etc. We still talk about each other's lives, but there's a good balance.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a great read. I belong to several all women groups and find them valuable. Before I got married I only had men friends so it was a whole new world.