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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
This was not my normal mystery/suspense genre, but what a refreshing and inspiring story. Perhaps because I am around the same age as these women, or perhaps I can relate to some of their everyday struggles, or have friends going through these struggles. It really made me want to call up some old friends that I have drifted from, and start up a book club, or have a monthly game night. Something to just connect and to listen to friends in this hectic world we live in.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe follows the lives of five very different women that have found solace and friendship within a monthly book club. It was the first selection of the book club I started in January 2104, and it was a great read.
Each character: Eve, Doris, Annie, Gabbie, and Midge, are each faced with major events in their lives that completely shatter the comfort of how things "are supposed to be." And as it is with all groups of women, there is plenty of dissension in the group - working moms vs. stay at home moms, moms rejoining the work force with children that just don't understand, high powered business women that learn having children does not make you weak, ingratiating wives that finally realize their husband is a jackass, and free-thinkers willing to forge a new path; these personalities don't always meld.
While the monthly book club meetings are what bring the women to each other's table, it's really just the frame for the enduring friendship they forge as they face these turning points in their lives. The books themselves don't always connect to the struggle at hand, but a piece of them does - a quote here, a plot point there. The particular mention of Kate Chopin's The Awakening I thought quite apropos as all of these women are coming to grips with a new way of living (but they don't escape from it quite like Edna Ponteiller!)
The characters are believable and the story is well-crafted. After the book club meeting, we all felt like we needed to know more about the outcome of a few players because their story grabbed our hearts, but an author can only put so many words on the page.
A definite "thumbs up!"
Happy Reading!
Each character: Eve, Doris, Annie, Gabbie, and Midge, are each faced with major events in their lives that completely shatter the comfort of how things "are supposed to be." And as it is with all groups of women, there is plenty of dissension in the group - working moms vs. stay at home moms, moms rejoining the work force with children that just don't understand, high powered business women that learn having children does not make you weak, ingratiating wives that finally realize their husband is a jackass, and free-thinkers willing to forge a new path; these personalities don't always meld.
While the monthly book club meetings are what bring the women to each other's table, it's really just the frame for the enduring friendship they forge as they face these turning points in their lives. The books themselves don't always connect to the struggle at hand, but a piece of them does - a quote here, a plot point there. The particular mention of Kate Chopin's The Awakening I thought quite apropos as all of these women are coming to grips with a new way of living (but they don't escape from it quite like Edna Ponteiller!)
The characters are believable and the story is well-crafted. After the book club meeting, we all felt like we needed to know more about the outcome of a few players because their story grabbed our hearts, but an author can only put so many words on the page.
A definite "thumbs up!"
Happy Reading!
The Book Club is a group of middle aged, suburban ladies who meet once a month to visit, laugh, eat, drink and discuss that month's book choice. Each of the ladies undergoes a bit of a mid-life metamorphosis throughout the story. Their monthly book club titles cleverly coincide with the happenings in the lives of the ladies during that time frame. But with the help and support of the other ladies in the book club, they all find their way through and emerge not only unscathed, but stronger and wiser.
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It reminds us that each stage of life should be cherished, and that we should never waste precious time bemoaning that we are aging. Instead, we should strive to be the best version of ourselves at any age. Bravo, Mary Alice Monroe!
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It reminds us that each stage of life should be cherished, and that we should never waste precious time bemoaning that we are aging. Instead, we should strive to be the best version of ourselves at any age. Bravo, Mary Alice Monroe!
Maybe 3.5 stars, but I thought it was a fun, if a little predictable read. I read this for Friends and Fiction book club. Even though you can see things that will be coming, it’s an easy, fun read about friendship and books. I thought it was fun that it referenced Dante’s Inferno and I happen to be reading a Lent book focusing on the same passage.
Fun notes from our book club:
The characters are named for authors or reasons-
Gabriella- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Eve- founder, birthplace (character she related to most)
Doris- Doris Lessing
Originally written 20 years ago about the time Oprah’s bookclub began.
Fun notes from our book club:
The characters are named for authors or reasons-
Gabriella- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Eve- founder, birthplace (character she related to most)
Doris- Doris Lessing
Originally written 20 years ago about the time Oprah’s bookclub began.
Unfortunately, the thing I liked most about this book is that I finished it.
Well written, quick, easy read about a group of friends and their book club.
Each woman is being faced with a major challenge (death of a spouse, infidelity,infertility, job loss, sickness, etc etc).
The women in the book club are very different but they are very close friends, their stories interlap. Sometimes when you read a book about a group of women in a club, their paths cross at the club but their lives are mainly separate. I really liked how these women are actually close friends. They're all trying to carrying very big burdens and put their family first, but they have this fantastic group of friend to support them.
Each woman is being faced with a major challenge (death of a spouse, infidelity,infertility, job loss, sickness, etc etc).
The women in the book club are very different but they are very close friends, their stories interlap. Sometimes when you read a book about a group of women in a club, their paths cross at the club but their lives are mainly separate. I really liked how these women are actually close friends. They're all trying to carrying very big burdens and put their family first, but they have this fantastic group of friend to support them.