Mrs. Everything

Really, this is probably a 3.5 for me. I gave up half way through, but after reading about the rest of it on Goodreads, I came back to finish. I wanted to see how things got worked out. The reason I almost gave up was that it was a lot of sadness. As someone else said here, every bad fate for 20-21st century American women is here. But I have to say, Weiner is making an important point about our choices & “progress.” The references to HRC toward the end were the final punch. I wanted a fun summer read, and this wasn't that. But the female characters are staying with me, and I'm glad I saw them through their journeys.

3.5 stars. Weiner is obviously trying to write her magnum opus here and for the most part it succeeds. The family saga shows the changing role of women (and some things that should have changed but never did, unfortunately) over more than six decades through the eyes of two sisters. At times Weiner tries too hard to shoehorn in every possible issue- sexual abuse, rape, drugs, negative body image, sexual harassment - and she also goes overboard in showing that she has researched the cultural touchstones of each decade (is it really important to mention that they watched “Three's Company” on TV?). But the intimate moments with the two main characters, especially as older sister Jo struggles with her sexual orientation, ring true to life, and the dynamics among sisters, mothers, daughters and friends are incisively portrayed. The book is long but reads quickly. There's less humor than in many of Weiner's previous novels but occasionally she slips in a wry line here and there. I don't know if this is my favorite Weiner book (that's [b:In Her Shoes 14758 In Her Shoes Jennifer Weiner https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1435252471s/14758.jpg 964332]) but it is one I will recommend to my friends. I think everyone will see at least a little bit of themselves in these characters.