Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Wednesday Sisters

Title: The Wednesday Sisters
Author: Meg Waite Clayton
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Five women - Frankie, Kath, Linda, Brett, and Ally - meet in their neighborhood park starting in the late 1960s. Together they write, read each others' writing, and weather all that life has in store for them.

Author Meg Waite Clayton hit the nail on the head with this one! I know I'm not saying much, but that's because I'm trying not to squee, which I know is not conducive to reviews. What can I say about The Wednesday Sisters without squeeing? The Wednesday Sisters really touched something in me - both their experiences writing and their experiences outside of writing. I had never really thought about what life was like for women just older than my mother, who was in junior high at the time of this novel. I knew that women have made strides forward in the last forty years, but I had no idea just how large those strides have been - imagine not being allowed in the New York Marathon simply because of your plumbing!

As an aspiring writer myself, this book is a treasure. It reminds me that writing is not just making one draft, and that even if you get sixty-two rejections, send it out again; number sixty-three could be an acceptance. That I don't have to write a great first draft, or even second draft - that's what revision and editing is for. That even though I'm just me, I can and should write and aspire to be published.

The Wednesday Sisters is a gem. I highly recommend it to all women, to aspiring writers, and to friends, or anyone with friends. So, everyone, basically. In fact, I've already asked my mother to read it, and believe that her book club will love this book.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to get hold of a copy of this one - so many good reviews and I know I'll like it!