On to the book!
I loved it. And I'm not going to write any spoilers here in case you haven't finished it yet.
I really enjoy most books about female friendships- whenever asked my favorite book I always say Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. It kind of has the same structure to it as Commencement- with chapters devoted to each character's perspective. Oh and I loved Firefly Lane that some of us read last year. I guess I sometimes crave that intense, undying friendship, and even some of the drama, that the characters in these books have, and I wonder if that truly occurs in real life.
I just kept thinking throughout the book that these girls led such exciting lives, and I have to admit I was a teeny bit jealous of them. Not that I want to become a radical feminist lesbian or anything, but sometimes I just think my life is really boring (even pre-baby). I never did anything crazy in college, haven't ever had a super-exciting job, and live in a 4 bedroom house in suburbia. Woop di doo.
I was thinking- what would my life look like now if I had gone to a school like Smith? Would I have been influenced by feminism? What would I have chosen as a profession? Would I be married with a baby right now? I guess I think about this because in high school I really wanted to go out of state for school, specifically in the Northeast. It didn't work out (athletically) and I ended up at A&M, just about the whitest, most conservative public school you can think of. We didn't have girls streaking across the quad, and certainly had no Coming Out celebrations.
I love my life, boring and traditional as it is. I can just live vicariously through these fictional characters and get my drama fix from them!
I love your picture, Elizabeth, and I love hearing your thoughts on the book. I know what you mean. And those are interesting questions... I'm going to ponder how my life would be different had I gone to a Smith-like school too.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Elizabeth. Drafting my post soon. I loved Summers Sisters and Firefly Lane, I could always read those books over and over.. Sex and City was one of my favorite shows because of the close bond of friendship the girls had. They would do anything for each other and always had each others backs.. I miss that show..
ReplyDeleteLove the pics, so cute! If others post pics too, I will put together into a much cuter banner then we have now on top. Either with kids or without, just us reading. :o)
ReplyDeleteLove your post, and I agree with a lot of your comments. I too like an unremarkable life in suburbia, but I am pretty ok with that. I am not a thrill seeker and am happy with this conventional norm. I am actually not terribly feminist, I certainly believe that we can do and should be able to do anything we want, but part of me wishes I lived in the 1950's, with traditional men/women roles. I am sure we will talk about that further as it was also a central theme in the book, so I'll save that for then.