Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

Commencement
Author: J. Courtney Sullivan
Publisher: Knopf
Published: June 16, 2009
Paperback: 416 pages
Source: purchased at Borders


My Rating: 4 stars


Synopsis (from goodreads.com): A sparkling debut novel: a tender story of friendship, a witty take on liberal arts colleges, and a fascinating portrait of the first generation of women who have all the opportunities in the world, but no clear idea about what to choose. Assigned to the same dorm their first year at Smith College, Celia, Bree, Sally, and April couldn’t have less in common. Celia, a lapsed Catholic, arrives with her grandmother’s rosary beads in hand and a bottle of vodka in her suitcase; beautiful Bree pines for the fiancé she left behind in Savannah; Sally, pristinely dressed in Lilly Pulitzer, is reeling from the loss of her mother; and April, a radical, redheaded feminist wearing a “Riot: Don’t Diet” T-shirt, wants a room transfer immediately. Together they experience the ecstatic highs and painful lows of early adulthood: Celia’s trust in men is demolished in one terrible evening, Bree falls in love with someone she could never bring home to her traditional family, Sally seeks solace in her English professor, and April realizes that, for the first time in her life, she has friends she can actually confide in. When they reunite for Sally’s wedding four years after graduation, their friendships have changed, but they remain fiercely devoted to one another. Schooled in the ideals of feminism, they have to figure out how it applies to their real lives in matters of love, work, family, and sex. For Celia, Bree, and Sally, this means grappling with one-night stands, maiden names, and parental disapproval—along with occasional loneliness and heartbreak. But for April, whose activism has become her life’s work, it means something far more dangerous.

Written with radiant style and a wicked sense of humor, Commencementnot only captures the intensity of college friendships and first loves, but also explores with great candor the complicated and contradictory landscape facing young women today.

My Thoughts: For so long, I have been searching for a book written for young women in their 20s. When you think about it, there aren't many books that speak to women this age. And it's a difficult time to go through. Many have graduated college and are starting on their careers, trying to find love and get married, becoming a true independent, and learning who they are. J. Courtney Sullivan realizes what a tumultuous period this is in a woman's life and chronicles how four women each go through this phase of their lives.

There are four characters who narrate this story: Celia, Sally, April, and Bre. They meet their freshman year at Smith College, an all-girls school in New England. They come from different walks of life: Bre is a Georgian girl with a fiance; Sally just lost her mother and is growing up without an older woman to help her; April is the rebel, promoting equality for all; and Celia is the most normal of the girls, coming with no boyfriend, no baggage (well, she has the vodka in her suitcases, but not much else). They seem so different from one another but they become best friends. 

As usual, I don't want to give away too much of the plot. Each chapter is told by one of the girls, so you get to know each of them as individuals and also understand who they are and what they mean to the other girls. They recap how they met at Smith and how they grew through college. Sullivan seamlessly meshes the past and present in each chapter. It feels as if each girl is just talking to you over coffee. And each girl has something that you can relate to. For some people, it might be Sally planning her wedding. For others, it might be Celia, grappling with her relationships with men. Each has something that you can relate to as a woman.

I could gush about this book for hours. I have already recommened it to several friends! It's a great book for a young 20-something girl, or anyone who remembers that time and all the changes that come with it. Sullivan perfectly captures the joy and uncertainty of that age in her debut novel.

Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

Maine
Author: J. Courtney Sullivan
Publisher: Knopf
Published: June 14, 2011
Hardcover: 388 pages
Source: purchased at Borders


My Rating: 3.5 stars


Synopsis (from goodreads.com): In her debut novel Commencement, J. Courtney explored the relationships of four women during and after their college years. In this much-anticipated second book, she probes into four very different women connected only by family. Alice is the alcoholic, mass-going matriarch burdened by festering guilt; Maggie, her daughter, is single, pregnant, and at a crossroads. Ann Marie, related by marriage, seems obsessed by dollhouses and unattainable love and her black sheep daughter Kathleen is only searching for the nearest exit. One earlier reviewer described Maine "as a summer spritzer that's equal parts family drama, white wine, and Hail Marys." Stirred to a perfect turn.


My Thoughts: Set on the coastline of Maine at an Irish family's summer house, J. Courtney Sullivan tells the story of four women. All of these women are different but they have one thing in common: they are all family. Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of these four women. You have Alice, the matriarch of the family. Her daughter Kathleen, who is the black sheep of the family and has finally found happiness in her life by moving 3,000 miles away to California. There is Ann Marie, who has married into the family but acts more like a daughter to Alice than her own daughters. And Maggie, Kathleen's daughter who just discovered that she is pregnant and broke up with her boyfriend. All have relationship with one another and the house in Maine and each of them shares their stories through the summers that they have spent there.


I don't want to go into too much detail on the story, but it was very engrossing. A story focused on the women of a family isn't new, but Sullivan writes it in such a way that it is fresh. It isn't slow or boring or predictable. Instead, you truly understand where each woman is in her life and her relationship with the rest of the family. When reading Kathleen's chapters, it's easy to hate Alice. But then you read an Alice chapter and you understand why she does the things that she does (you may not agree with them, but you understand her actions). I also really liked how Ann Marie is a part of this family by marriage, the wife to Kathleen's brother, and how her story is told. I didn't think that I would like Ann Marie when I first started reading this book, but I appreciated her and what she did for this family that isn't actually hers. If you are looking for one more book to squeeze in this summer before it ends, I would recommend Maine. Sullivan's writing is fantastic and the story is easy to read and engaging and will leave you wanting to travel to the coastline of Maine for your next summer vacation.

Waiting on Wednesday (6-1-11)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Each week, you highlight and upcoming release that you are waiting for. This week, my pick is Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan (expected release date: June 14, 2011). After reading a few reviews of this book on other blogs, I really cannot wait to read it for myself!

Synopsis (from bn.com): For the Kellehers, Maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old Irish songs are sung around a piano. Their beachfront property, won on a barroom bet after the war, sits on three acres of sand and pine nestled between stretches of rocky coast, with one tree bearing the initials “A.H.” At the cottage, built by Kelleher hands, cocktail hour follows morning mass, nosy grandchildren snoop in drawers, and decades-old grudges simmer beneath the surface.

As three generations of Kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.

By turns wickedly funny and achingly sad, Maine unveils the sibling rivalry, alcoholism, social climbing, and Catholic guilt at the center of one family, along with the abiding, often irrational love that keeps them coming back, every summer, to Maine and to each other.

So, what are you waiting on this Wednesday?