THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick is a sort of a historical view of an eye-opening time, mixed with humorous moments that remind you this is a novel. I love a book that is somehow reminiscent of some part of my own life. The reference to mothers, and in my case, grandmother, asking if all was okay when you fail to produce a child in the first few years of marriage. Part of a conversation between two ladies, diverse in age and station, triggered a wonderful memory.
This book club chose a book that would become quite controversial and is still quoted from time to time. This was the age of bra burning. Pantyhose instead of stockings and girdles. Ah, and here’s where I age myself. Women who were looking to step out of the acceptable mold to see what lies beyond the proverbial picket fence. Needless to say, it almost immediately constructed walls between the sexes. And dare say some still exist.
Mothers Little Helper by the Rolling Stones came to mind during the meeting with newcomer Charlotte. I am a child of the fifties – a pretty true baby boomer. Never really thought about the magazine being filled with propaganda. Aprons. Appliances. Taking care of the home. None were in my stream of consciousness. I liked the stories. I think it was Redbook that would have a romantic short story in each publication. It was fostered by love of fictional reading. Didn’t everyone read GONE WITH THE WIND? When swept off her feet, did you think of romance, or did you realize that Scarlett was headed to a bed not necessarily her choice?
Women who had different opinions weren’t easily accepted back then. An uncle, whom I simply adored, didn’t speak with me after our disagreement about what happened at Kent State. Not political. Familial. Father Knows Best. The Donna Reed Show. Do I see any smiles here? It was pervasive.
A housing community where everyone knows which model they live in. Candidly, this book took longer to read than most. I kept stopping to mull over a point the author made about feminism during a certain time. Charlotte and her truth serum. Pivotal moment.
From those that have been given, much is expected. Viv has been brought up believing that statement. Much like Tikkun Olam. Healing the earth. Brought out another smile. Catholic vs. Jewish guilt. You can’t escape it even while reading a book.
When Margaret and the bookstore owners have their conversation about books and such, and Margaret returns home to find a tree in her yard. The discussion turns to conformity and HOA rules, and once again, you are jolted into reality. No orange planters, as it isn’t in the list of approved colors. No blue door. My HOA quantifies the allowed number of pots and ornaments.
This might be the most difficult and yet enjoyable book I’ve read. Slow going since there is much to savor and contemplate. Why rush through a decadent chocolate cake?
THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick has an amazing cast of characters. Reference to actual authors and books is astounding. I love bookstores. Used to spend hours just walking through prior to getting my first Nook and Kindle. The group’s name, Betty’s, after Betty Friedan, seemed so appropriate. All in all, a huge bravo for a look back at a time filled with emotions, angst, and changes. From start to finish, Marie Bostwick does not disappoint.
Margaret Ryan never really meant to start a book club . . . or a feminist revolution in her buttoned-up suburb.
By 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan is living the American woman\'s dream. She has a husband, three children, a station wagon, and a home in Concordia—one of Northern Virginia\'s most exclusive and picturesque suburbs. She has a standing invitation to the neighborhood coffee klatch, and now, thanks to her husband, a new subscription to A Woman\'s Place—a magazine that tells housewives like Margaret exactly who to be and what to buy. On paper, she has it all. So why doesn\'t that feel like enough?
Margaret is thrown for a loop when she first meets Charlotte Gustafson, Concordia\'s newest and most intriguing resident. As an excuse to be in the mysterious Charlotte\'s orbit, Margaret concocts a book club get-together and invites two other neighborhood women—Bitsy and Viv—to the inaugural meeting. As the women share secrets, cocktails, and their honest reactions to the controversial bestseller The Feminine Mystique, they begin to discover that the American dream they\'d been sold isn\'t all roses and sunshine—and that their secret longing for more is something they share. Nicknaming themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan, these four friends have no idea their impromptu club and the books they read together will become the glue that helps them hold fast through tears, triumphs, angst, and arguments—and what will prove to be the most consequential and freeing year of their lives.
The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a humorous, thought provoking, and nostalgic romp through one pivotal and tumultuous American year—as well as an ode to self-discovery, persistence, and the power of sisterhood.
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