Reviews

A monumental work of social history. The reader really sees a generation form and manifest itself. I wish I had read this before its 90s doppelganger A Fortunate Age but the constant doubling and tracking backwards added an interesting liminality to the experience.

sjgrodsky's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Read for the third or fourth time. Some holes in the narrative but the book still stands up, 62 years after first publication.

bboduffy's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Loved the Group's social dynamic and the way in which the themes of 20-something-ness resonate from the 1930's to the 2010's. It is also interesting to situate oneself within the geographic proximity of the text's cosmopolitan island.

ifyouhappentoremember's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This book stinks of the early 1960s. You have a lot of issues that the Second-Wave of Feminism and Betty Friedan's work [b: The Feminine Mystique|17573685|The Feminine Mystique|Betty Friedan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1377019820l/17573685._SX50_.jpg|809732] were discussing. As Friedan put it, "the problem that has no name", meaning the dissatisfaction that women feel in their lives (read: white, upper-middle-class and well-educated) due to the rigid constraints a sexist society has put on them, has been the subject of countless works. The Group is one of the earliest works in that canon and because of it, it has a reputation as being a classic, more specifically a feminist classic (something that's a little bit ironic as I don't think McCarthy considered herself to be a feminist as defined by the second-wave). Controversial in its day with explicit sex scenes, discussion about birth control, and lesbianism, The Group had a massive cultural impact. I don't deny the impact this book has had, but I struggled reading it. It borders between being very mediocre and bad.

The biggest mistake was having 8 members of the group. There was no way McCarthy could have fleshed out every single character or have had a compelling arc for each of them - and she does not do that. Four girls get any kind of story and character development but it's in the broadest possible terms. Only one girl, Kay, gets a full arc, although I would not say she is a fully realized character. Kay is the embodiment of the trope of the promising young woman failing miserably. The members of The Group who barely have any plot purpose are simply reduced to stock character roles (RIP to Pokey who is the rich, chubby girl of The Group, and to Lakey who is the beautiful, mysterious lesbian of The Group).

Additionally, the book starts out very slow. The first 100 pages are unbearable to get through. I slowly started to tolerate the book (although it may have been the Stockholm Syndrome talking). I am glad I read it if only to get some historical context. However, Mary McCarthy has not endeared herself to me as a writer. I am very hesitant to pick up another work of hers in the future.

chipie's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Slightly uneven, some characters got more airtime,somehow it didn't come together for me. Writing style was slightly arch...

thisisleila's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Though written in the 60s and set in the 30s, the stories of eight young college graduates remains surprisingly relevant. As much as the similarities struck me, the dramatic differences between our worlds were just as interesting. Each one of the eight women has a fully developed personality and life, and feels like a real person, an challenging and admirable accomplishment

More...