Book Review: The Reading Group

Author: Elizabeth Noble
Title: The Reading Group
Publisher: Perennial
Publish Date: Jan 2005
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: A bestseller in the UK, THE READING GROUP is about a group of women who meet regularly to read and discuss books, and how their lives become intertwined, both with the books they read and with each other's lives.

What starts out as a good idea born from a glass of wine and the need to socialize, turns into much more. Over the span of a year, Clare, Harriet, Nicole, Polly and Susan -- five women of different ages, backgrounds and contrasting dilemmas -- transform themselves through the shared community of a book group.


Their reading group becomes a forum for each of the women's views, expressed initially by the book they're reading and increasingly openly as the bonds of friendship cement. As the months pass, these women's lives become more and more intertwined.


In the THE READING GROUP, Nobel reveals the many complicated paths in life we all face as well as the power and importance of friendship.

Review: I'm glad I don't know any of these women. This book was hard for me to finish, and I love chick lit, no matter what age the chick's are.

These women were depressing and they made it hard for me to want to continue reading. Polly has a daughter who gets pregnant by an older man who happens to be the husband of one of the other Reading Group members.

Harriet thinks she married for the wrong reasons...and isn't sure she wants to stay married to Tim, who is an absolute sweety.

Clare is the wife of the guy who knocked up Polly's daughter. The worst part of it is...she's infertile, so the whole thing with Elliot and Cressida is like a slap in the face.

Susan is dealing with a mother who has dementia from a series of mini strokes and has to be put in a nursing home.

Nicole's husband Gavin is a serial cheater.

Did I miss anyone?

All I can say about this book is that it is totally depressing. I appreciate the strong friendships between these women. I also appreciate that in reality life isn't all peaches and creme, but lordy, when I read a book, I want to be happy about it. This book did not do that for me, even though the cover is exquisite and promises great discussions about books. Those are there but not enough.

In the game of hits and misses, this book was a big ole miss for me.

Rating 2 flowers