Reviews

Margot by Wendell Steavenson

Only show reviews with written explanations

ispeakbooknerd's review against another edition

3.0

Not-so-secret secret. I am 37 years old and am still not 100% certain "who" I am. How, who, or what determines that? This is the crux of Wendell Steavenson's [b:Margot|61089475|Margot|Wendell Steavenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668324729l/61089475._SY75_.jpg|96285461].

Margot is born to privilege and wealth, her grandfather having been a steel tycoon. Her mother's goal for her is simply to marry well and always exude class, but Margot struggles so with this. It doesn't come naturally to her. Then Grandpa's mansion goes up in flame and life does a 180. She's in college, the late 1960s, sexual revolution, drugs, freedom, all the things Margot believed she wanted, and yet she still doesn't feel like she fits.

Steavenson has written a novel that flows easily, even with the impressive vocabulary used. The writing is graceful. The characters are complex, fully unique, virtued and flawed, with sensible reasons for all that they do. She has done a superb job of portraying how life may have been for women coming of age during that time, constantly tugged between two eras, the one where a woman should marry and raise a family and the one where she might pursue all her dreams and ambitions. What's right? What's wrong? Is there a right or a wrong way? How is it best to live?

My heart constantly ached for the mother-daughter story that is portrayed. It wasn't healthy, and I think of my own daughters and my own mother, and I wanted better for Margot. The fact that I feel this strongly is a rather large kudos to the author. This character was fully three-dimensional for me. While I read the story, she didn't only exist between the pages, but was in my mind as I went about my day. She felt like someone I could pick up the phone and call for a chat.

The ending was open, as it should be, for until death, we don't know how life will turn out. I'm left wondering how things worked out for Margot, nonetheless, and that's perhaps my biggest complaint with the entire tale. I hope things went well - I hope she found herself!

If you enjoy character studies and thinking about how we transform into whom we are meant to be, this is a good read for you.

millierbrewer's review against another edition

Go to review page

wtf is going on rn...

jordan21's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.5

A pleasant lull of a book, gently empathizing with a generation forced to cope with the atrocities of the world. Margot is a likable, complex main character who shows us sexism, misogyny and classism through her clever perspective.

Content Warnings