Hi all, thanks for book club last night. I really enjoyed our discussion of Mary McCarthy's The Group. This novel is a little different, almost strange. But it revolves around a group of women, recent graduates from Vassar in the 30s. It seemed everyone found the book at time slow-moving, too detailed, and yet, we all found it fascinating despite any criticisms. The book apparently was rather controversial in its time. No wonder as it actually touches on many subjects that might be considered controversial even today - sexuality, birth control, lesbianism, domestic abuse, sexual assault, mental illness, baby-rearing, and financial struggles. One of our members noted that the author is known for writing short stories and that seems evident in this book. While many novels incorporate multiple protagonists and voices, this book did it chapter by chapter and each story felt very separate. At the end of each chapter we were left wishing for more - what happened to this story about this character. Although in some ways the stories joined together towards the end of the book, they mostly felt unfinished. As I said, despite any criticism, we were left with overall good feelings about the book and would read Mary McCarthy again.Next month, The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson!
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