Book Review
Mrs. Everything
Jennifer Weiner
Book Description:
From Jennifer Weiner, the
#1 New York Times bestselling author of Who Do You
Love and In Her Shoes comes a smart, thoughtful, and
timely exploration of two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the present as they
struggle to find their places—and be true to themselves—in a rapidly evolving
world. Mrs. Everything is an ambitious, richly textured
journey through history—and herstory—as these two sisters navigate a changing
America over the course of their lives.
Do we change or does the world change us?
Jo and Bethie Kaufman were born into a world full of promise.
Growing up in 1950s Detroit, they live in a perfect “Dick and Jane” house, where their roles in the family are clearly defined. Jo is the tomboy, the bookish rebel with a passion to make the world more fair; Bethie is the pretty, feminine good girl, a would-be star who enjoys the power her beauty confers and dreams of a traditional life.
But the truth ends up looking different from what the girls imagined. Jo and Bethie survive traumas and tragedies. As their lives unfold against the background of free love and Vietnam, Woodstock and women’s lib, Bethie becomes an adventure-loving wild child who dives headlong into the counterculture and is up for anything (except settling down). Meanwhile, Jo becomes a proper young mother in Connecticut, a witness to the changing world instead of a participant. Neither woman inhabits the world she dreams of, nor has a life that feels authentic or brings her joy. Is it too late for the women to finally stake a claim on happily ever after?
In her most ambitious novel yet, Jennifer Weiner tells a story of two sisters who, with their different dreams and different paths, offer answers to the question: How should a woman be in the world?
Do we change or does the world change us?
Jo and Bethie Kaufman were born into a world full of promise.
Growing up in 1950s Detroit, they live in a perfect “Dick and Jane” house, where their roles in the family are clearly defined. Jo is the tomboy, the bookish rebel with a passion to make the world more fair; Bethie is the pretty, feminine good girl, a would-be star who enjoys the power her beauty confers and dreams of a traditional life.
But the truth ends up looking different from what the girls imagined. Jo and Bethie survive traumas and tragedies. As their lives unfold against the background of free love and Vietnam, Woodstock and women’s lib, Bethie becomes an adventure-loving wild child who dives headlong into the counterculture and is up for anything (except settling down). Meanwhile, Jo becomes a proper young mother in Connecticut, a witness to the changing world instead of a participant. Neither woman inhabits the world she dreams of, nor has a life that feels authentic or brings her joy. Is it too late for the women to finally stake a claim on happily ever after?
In her most ambitious novel yet, Jennifer Weiner tells a story of two sisters who, with their different dreams and different paths, offer answers to the question: How should a woman be in the world?
Release Date: June
11, 2019
Women’s Fiction
My 4-Star Review:
When
I first started reading this book, I wondered if I even wanted to finish it.
Having grown up in the 1960s and 1970s, I knew the drill. Cold mother, loving
but hardworking father, no one understands you, everything is changing around
you. Those of us who experienced those turbulent times can certainly identify
with how difficult life was for women in those days and the limited choices we
had then compared to now. I did continue to read it because I wanted to know
what happened to Jo and Bethie as they went through their transformations.
As
expected, the book is well-written, the time period is realistic, and the
characters were intriguing. Ms. Weiner is a talented writer, no doubt. But I
thought that maybe these sisters went through too many changes, had a few too
many tragedies, and the story came off as a bit too unrealistic to me. Any one
or two of the tragedies they suffered seemed plausible, but all of it? I guess
the book does give the reader a lot of drama for their money. All in all,
though, it was an interesting read and I did enjoy how it followed the family
for generations.
A
good story for those who love the fifties, sixties, and seventies time period and books
with a lot of family drama.
About the Author:
Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New
York Times bestselling author of fourteen books, including Good in Bed, The
Littlest Bigfoot, and her memoir Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and
Writing. A graduate of Princeton University and contributor to the New York
Times Opinion section, Jennifer lives with her family in Philadelphia. Visit
her online at JenniferWeiner.com
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