A brave and strong book indeed.

The characters within this book are privileged women who resided in NYC approximately 90 years ago. It delves into their lives subsequent to graduating from Vassar and the various problems they encounter. What truly strikes me is the fact that the problems they face are precisely the same as those that women still grapple with today, regardless of their privileged status. In fact, it is quite a depressing realization.

However, what is not depressing is the remarkable quality of this book in terms of its writing and the bravery it exhibits. Moreover, considering that the situation for women has not changed significantly over the years, this book remains highly relevant. It serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggles and challenges that women continue to face, while also highlighting the power of literature to shed light on these important issues.

Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the experiences of women, both past and present.

My 5-Question Review

Share a one sentence synopsis, please?
While the Great Depression persists, eight college-educated women deal with various aspects of life such as career, marriage, sex, and more, showing that little has changed in nearly a century.

What did you like?
I truly relished the style of narration. It was as if I was an unseen observer of these women's lives. The book was lengthy, and their lives weren't overly spectacular or thrilling, but it felt authentic, which is likely why I could relate to so much. Normal people experience love and heartbreak, make mistakes, receive unwanted advice, question themselves, have inappropriate liaisons, and argue with their spouses. This list is endless. My point is that reading about these women felt very natural. All eight members of the titular Group were financially stable and not severely affected by the Depression. This is interesting as it seems that when women have money, they can lead more liberal and modern lives. Their daily experiences aren't too different from ours today. I'll discuss this further shortly.

Dislike?
The chapters were extremely long. For some reason, this bothered me a great deal in this book. Maybe it's because each chapter mainly focused on a different member of the group, and I didn't want to stop reading in the middle. But I really had to be committed to finish it in one sitting.

Why this book?
It was recommended by a friend.

Did anything stick?
Back to the concept of the modern woman! It's easy to assume that young women before 1970 were all virgins or housewives. This book, set in the 30s and written in the 60s, presents ideas like both husbands and wives working outside the home or a young woman having a one-night stand and then going to a clinic the next day for birth control, which seem shocking. But perhaps it's not as it seems. Maybe we've been misled into thinking that women 40, 50, or 60 years ago were more restricted than they actually were. Measuring society's progress regarding women's rights is usually a comparison between now and the beginning of the last century. So, if our grandmothers or even great-grandmothers were exploring sexual freedoms and ambitious careers, why do we still have to fight for these things? I can't determine if this novel was highly progressive or if we've been stagnant for decades. I don't have any answers, but I have a lot to contemplate.

The more things change, the more they stay the same... This profound thought ultimately lingers after one finishes McCarthy's remarkable 1960s novel set in the 1930s.

The eight Vassar girls, dissected in full within these pages, may have been subject to certain, relatively slight societal differences. However, in some mysterious way, the book they inhabit feels astonishingly relevant to the current reality of the female condition.

We first encounter the strategically organized clique at the wedding (for one of the 8) that opens the novel. They come to us as a bit of a blur, with quick glances of their characters, much like in the whirlwind of a wedding celebration. Subsequently, the individual character studies unfold, and these characters essentially become the plot.

As the book progresses, you begin to sense its undertow, which soon gives way to a more pronounced locomotive feel. Each chapter is predominantly used to focus on hot-button issues that hold sway, depending on what each woman is personally experiencing.

As a means of illuminating personal growth and the passage of time, we are treated to in-depth explorations of: body awareness, sex outside of marriage, infidelity, masturbation, mother/daughter bonds, child rearing, social ranking, societal expectations, political/religious trends, mental health, self-examination, loyalty/disloyalty among women, homosexuality, and more.

We also get an abundance of almost-microscopic descriptions of clothing.

I suppose it's because the book is so female-centric that practically no time is allotted to the male characters. Most of them here are shadowy figures; some are ineffectual, some benign, but mostly of little consequence. However, one male character of some importance is presented (refreshingly) as an example of what can be immensely admirable in a man, while one major male character (the one given the most space) is seen as the polar opposite and leaning towards neanderthal.

Female friends have often told me that women can be very hard (and, at times, brutal) towards other women. What makes McCarthy's POV so intriguing is how compassionate she seems to be in her portraits of not only the 8 women in 'the group' but also in her presentation of all the women we encounter in her story (even a few who are a bit less savory). Her aim, if nothing else, appears to be clear-eyed objectivity (alongside some welcome wit and humor) in viewing these women as human beings.

She has truly succeeded. This is a very satisfying and (without intending to be) educational novel. It offers a deep and nuanced look into the lives and experiences of women, both then and now.

**Sei matrimoni e un funerale**

In 1933, a group of eight American girls, all strictly belonging to the upper class, emerged from the highly prestigious Vassar College with numerous dreams, ambitions, and illusions.

They are all more or less introduced in the first chapter, at the wedding of Kay (a member of the group) and Harold. Then their stories are followed episodically: each chapter of the novel captures a fundamental event in the life of one or the other. Meanwhile, time continues to pass, and the girls in the group who are not in the spotlight in the chapter dedicated to them still remain in the background.

Dreams, ambitions, work, love, marriage, motherhood, sex, friendship, betrayal, death, sexual orientation - all these themes are addressed with a clear, ironic, and very disillusioned gaze.

McCarthy, both pitiless and tender (think of Dottie and her first sexual relationship, think of Dottie at the gynecologist for the insertion of the IUD, think of Dottie talking about Dick with her mother), portrays these girls who struggle to find their own dimension.

As if the commands addressed to them - Study! Assert yourself! Find a fulfilling job! - then came into inevitable conflict with the other commands of society, namely - Well, but you haven't gotten married yet? - Be careful because it is necessary for you to have a child! - And for the care of the children, you must follow the trends of the moment!

McCarthy's old photo on the theme of breastfeeding is curious. Breastfeeding was prohibited for the ladies of high society. Those who practiced it were seen as poor women, so the only motivation could be that doing it "would help her develop her breasts." Almost a circus case worthy of being portrayed as a unique specimen to which a scandalous journalistic report could be dedicated.

The butler Hatton and Polly's father are delightful and funny.

Rather than a novel, it is a collection of stories of characters who know each other. The sharp and clear irony, "with wrinkles of humor like curtains at the windows," the bitterness but at the same time the tenderness of the resulting portrayal, distinguish it.

A novel that perhaps men should read to enter (assuming they want to) into typically female thought dynamics. Because "We women, you know, we all look a bit alike," right Mary?