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brindijo's review against another edition
1.0
Seldom do I give a book a 1 star because if it is that bad, I will abandon it. I was overly optimistic that something, anything might finally happen. Never did.
afeistymom's review against another edition
2.0
Slow. No plot. Uninteresting characters.
Still don't understand CeCe's fascination with Joan.
I hope 1950s Houston was more interesting than this book was.
Still don't understand CeCe's fascination with Joan.
I hope 1950s Houston was more interesting than this book was.
lauraa06's review against another edition
3.0
Love the setting of this book - 1950s oil-wealthy Houston. But Celia's fascination and obsession with her friend Joan often verged on creepy and stalker-like and made me uncomfortable. However, I didn't anticipate Joan's secret ahead of time and it made parts of the book make a little more sense.
jennrid's review against another edition
4.0
This review originally ran on Everyday eBook
New Fiction from Yonahlossee Author Anton DiSclafani
Money. Cocktails. Champagne. Paparazzi. Beautiful Clothes. Big homes. Life among the rich in 1950s Houston, Texas, seems glamorous and worthy of envy. This is the setting of [a:Anton DiSclafani|5760651|Anton DiSclafani|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1361477002p2/5760651.jpg]'s new novel, The After Party. Even the title invokes visions of privilege and exclusion, for who is usually invited to after parties but an elite few? What DiSclafani, author of [b:The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls|18693867|The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls|Anton DiSclafani|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396843613s/18693867.jpg|21995426], shows us, though, is that what is perceived is usually not at all what is real.
Friends since infancy, Joan and Cece (whose real name is also Joan) are nearly inseparable. In high school, after Cece's mother passed, she moved in with Joan's family. The two plan to live together after high school, living the high life that only children of the rich oil men can imagine. Joan disappears just a couple of months before graduation, though; a blonde bombshell, she runs off to Hollywood to break in to showbiz. She returns a year later, having failed, and life seemingly returns to normal. However, Joan does not quite fall in line with the expectations of the day: She drinks hard, sleeps around, and never attempts to get married and have children.
The After Party is told from Cece's point of view with two main timelines: the present day (1957), when she is married with a three-year-old son, living a few minutes from Joan and attempting to hold onto her friendship and her marriage; and the past, which tells the story of Cece and Joan through the present. I will be honest, both women got on my nerves throughout the book for different reasons. Joan's self-destructive ways and apparent disregard for the people who cared about her seemed self-indulgent. Cece's constant attempts to save Joan and be her friend seemed almost obsessive.
And yet! DiSclafani's writing and impeccable observations of female friendship, marriage, and parenting make The After Party a must-read. I found myself constantly using my e-reader's highlighting function. And despite the frustration that I occasionally had with the main characters, the underlying reality of the self-consciousness and anxiety of friendship and the feeling of inevitability and lack of control over one's life is palpable. In short, this is some of the best writing I've read.
New Fiction from Yonahlossee Author Anton DiSclafani
Money. Cocktails. Champagne. Paparazzi. Beautiful Clothes. Big homes. Life among the rich in 1950s Houston, Texas, seems glamorous and worthy of envy. This is the setting of [a:Anton DiSclafani|5760651|Anton DiSclafani|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1361477002p2/5760651.jpg]'s new novel, The After Party. Even the title invokes visions of privilege and exclusion, for who is usually invited to after parties but an elite few? What DiSclafani, author of [b:The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls|18693867|The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls|Anton DiSclafani|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396843613s/18693867.jpg|21995426], shows us, though, is that what is perceived is usually not at all what is real.
Friends since infancy, Joan and Cece (whose real name is also Joan) are nearly inseparable. In high school, after Cece's mother passed, she moved in with Joan's family. The two plan to live together after high school, living the high life that only children of the rich oil men can imagine. Joan disappears just a couple of months before graduation, though; a blonde bombshell, she runs off to Hollywood to break in to showbiz. She returns a year later, having failed, and life seemingly returns to normal. However, Joan does not quite fall in line with the expectations of the day: She drinks hard, sleeps around, and never attempts to get married and have children.
The After Party is told from Cece's point of view with two main timelines: the present day (1957), when she is married with a three-year-old son, living a few minutes from Joan and attempting to hold onto her friendship and her marriage; and the past, which tells the story of Cece and Joan through the present. I will be honest, both women got on my nerves throughout the book for different reasons. Joan's self-destructive ways and apparent disregard for the people who cared about her seemed self-indulgent. Cece's constant attempts to save Joan and be her friend seemed almost obsessive.
And yet! DiSclafani's writing and impeccable observations of female friendship, marriage, and parenting make The After Party a must-read. I found myself constantly using my e-reader's highlighting function. And despite the frustration that I occasionally had with the main characters, the underlying reality of the self-consciousness and anxiety of friendship and the feeling of inevitability and lack of control over one's life is palpable. In short, this is some of the best writing I've read.
adrose18's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like this is a less intense and extreme version of Elena Ferrante's series but it shares many of the same themes (complicated female friendships, one dominant and one overshadowed friends and secrets. Boy howdy are there secrets.) a good airplane read.
ebrand's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
romel's review against another edition
2.0
It started out with promise, but stalled. I wish I had the time back from reading this book.
knallen's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a treat to read. It's very glamorous, very dysfunctional, populated with a variety of interesting characters. It takes a dark path and keeps the reader worrying about what is going to happen to these characters they become attached to. This is a relatively quick read, but an enjoyable one. I also really liked the setting and the historical timeline. It's fun to read about a society that isn't that far from our present but is also light years away.
mhall's review against another edition
2.0
Historical fiction about 1950s upper crust Houston society, focusing on two 25-year-old women who have been friends since early childhood. One is pretty, one is stunning. One is happy with her marriage and place in society, one hasn't married and longs to leave Houston society forever. Privileged lives make for sort of boring reading in this case - this book also doesn't handle race well, referring to archaic terms for black people but without ever exploring the issue, it's just sort of an aside. There are two African-American sisters who are nannies for the two main characters when they're children, and I would have loved for the book to be in whole or part about them.
greta_samuelson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0