Jul 19 2009
Women On the Edge — or Off the Hook
A couple of books that sort of resonate a common theme of complicated, and not always complementary female friendship:
Kate Christensen’s Trouble is loosely centered around the friendship of three women: Josie, Raquel, and peripherally, Indrani. Josie has almost spontaneously decided to leave her husband, and is seemingly bursting with the desire to experiment with new men. When she receives word that semi-has been rock star, Raquel is in the midst of a personal and public relations crisis, she takes advantage of her new personal freedom to fly to Mexico City and lend support. Their experience there takes “girls weekend” to a new level. The novel isn’t overly compelling, but the characters are interesting and it’s a good, elevated chick lit offering.
More complex (read, “difficult to follow”) is The Generosity of Women, by Courtney Eldridge. This is not a traditional novel, written in the now common style of showing the overlap of multiple characters’ lives by shifting perspective from chapter to chapter. Near as I can figure, the closest to a central figure is Bobbie, a gynecologist. Around her revolve her best friend, her daughter, and several patients, one previously employed by the best friend. Men make guest appearances. It’s an awkward assemblage, frankly, and I’m still not quite sure why I kept going back to it. But I did. So you’ll have to decide for yourself.
