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The Wednesday Sisters
by
Meg Waite Clayton (Goodreads Author)
Five women, one passion, and the unbreakable bond of friendship
When five young mothers–Frankie, Linda, Kath, Ally, and Brett–first meet in a neighborhood park in the late 1960s, their conversations center on marriage, raising children, and a shared love of books. Then one evening, as they gather to watch the Miss America Pageant, Linda admits that she aspires to write a no...more
When five young mothers–Frankie, Linda, Kath, Ally, and Brett–first meet in a neighborhood park in the late 1960s, their conversations center on marriage, raising children, and a shared love of books. Then one evening, as they gather to watch the Miss America Pageant, Linda admits that she aspires to write a no...more
Paperback, 306 pages
Published
May 5th 2009
by Ballantine Books
(first published June 1st 2008)
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What drew me to this book was that I had read it was set in Palo Alto, California, my old stomping grounds. It was fun to read about familiar places: Stanford University, Stanford Mall, University Avenue, Winchester Mystery House, the Linear Accelerator, etc., and even Menlo Park, my home town...
The story is about 5 young mothers who meet in a park in the late sixties. They discover their shared love for reading and writing. They decide to meet once a week in the park to read and critique ...more
The story is about 5 young mothers who meet in a park in the late sixties. They discover their shared love for reading and writing. They decide to meet once a week in the park to read and critique ...more
Here's what I believe: we need The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton.
Clayton's stories will help third- and fourth-wave feminists avoid political matricide. The pungent stench of fear and powerlessness that Clayton's characters face at critical junctures in their lives are--in a large part--history because of the work of second wave feminists.
I offer the following in a desperate attempt to convince high-school and college-aged women to read this scandalous book.* With ...more
Clayton's stories will help third- and fourth-wave feminists avoid political matricide. The pungent stench of fear and powerlessness that Clayton's characters face at critical junctures in their lives are--in a large part--history because of the work of second wave feminists.
I offer the following in a desperate attempt to convince high-school and college-aged women to read this scandalous book.* With ...more
They're not sisters and they don't meet on Wednesdays,; not anymore. The Wednesday Sisters...Frankie, Allie, Linda, Kath and Brett...are five women who meet in the park in 1968. Strong, smart and talented, they grew up in the 1950s when women became wives and mothers, not realizing it was possible to do anything else. In the following decades, the women continue to meet and realize that they each have an interest in writing. They become a writing group, reading, critiquing and supporting eac...more
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I really liked this book. It made me think of my best friends and the bond of friendship among women. Meg captures all of that beautifully. The other thing I really appreciated about this book is it wasn't a male bashing - woman's power sort of book. There are good men in it, great men and a crappy man. I am so sick of books that make women perfect and men the root of all evil. Loved that.
I hated that the author spanned nearly 10 years -- presumably to fit in more historically-significant events? Unfortunately, I read The Help before reading this and loved how that author treated some of the same theme in a more compelling way. I struggled to find a theme I could latch on to and rally for in The Wednesday Sisters, and I suppose it's supposed to be feminism and sisterhood. I just wasn't feeling it. I might have loved the story if it wasn't written solely from Frannie's point of vi...more
The Perfect Gift…
For anyone who’s ever dreamed of becoming a writer, The Wednesday Sisters is a book you must read. I loved it! It beautifully captured both the possibilities and pitfalls of writing groups – often in laugh-out-loud moments that I wanted to immediately share. Above all, I love this book for its uplifting story of the redemptive and healing power of women’s friendships, particularly those friendships forged by mothers when their children are young. Go and get a ...more
I wouldn't have picked this novel up on my own. It was a book club selection, so I started it with rather low expectations. (Not that my book club chooses bad books, but I get more enthused about some than others.) I'm happy to say that it pleasantly surprised me. The novel is set in the early 1970s, when I was a little girl, and is about a group of young mothers, so the characters would be about my own mother's age now. I enjoyed some of the cultural references to that time: the "new"...more
This book, the story of five women friends living "conventional" lives while much of the U.S. is engaged in radical debates and history-changing activities, touched me deeply for two specific reasons. The first is that my mother was one of those women. My brother was born in 1967, me in 1971. I always used to press her on how she never ended up caught up in the "free love/hippie/women's & civil rights movements." She always said something to the effect of, "Well I wa...more
The Wednesday Sisters, by Meg Waite Clayton, narrated by Julie Bretzin, produced by Recorded Books, downloaded from audible.com.
Five women come together in a small park in Palo Alto across the street from the houses where they live. Frankie, the main narrator, is married to an engineer who is involved in a new company, eventually the beginning of Intel Corporation. Linda is married to a resident in internal medicine. Kath is married to another resident doctor, an obstetrician. Br...more
Five women come together in a small park in Palo Alto across the street from the houses where they live. Frankie, the main narrator, is married to an engineer who is involved in a new company, eventually the beginning of Intel Corporation. Linda is married to a resident in internal medicine. Kath is married to another resident doctor, an obstetrician. Br...more
I wanted to like this book. It seemed to have all the ingredients that would attract someone like me: the book primarily takes place from 1967-1975 and I graduated from high school in 1970; the women meet to encourage each others' writing efforts and become friends in the process; and there is a lot in here about women juggling children, marriage and sometimes a career. But this was not a sweeping novel of five women's lives. The later years are rushed through and tacked on at the end. The women...more
The Wednesday Sisters was ultimately a light read – but one with a surprising amount of substance. From the start, I was intrigued by the idea of the sisters who weren’t really sisters. I also enjoyed the fact that Meg Waite Clayton added an interesting twist in making the women budding writers (although with varying degrees of commitment) instead of readers. There have been quite a few books about persons forming book clubs, but this is the first I have read in which they are writers.
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I typically wouldn’t give this type of book four stars but there was definitely something unique about the story of a group of women who become friends and encourage each other to write. I guess I liked that it started with them meeting in a park and then they started talking about books but they didn’t just become a book club but decided to start writing and critiquing each other’s work. I really liked the time period of the late sixties and setting in Palo Alto, California just as the women’s ...more
The story was enjoyable, but there was far too much backstory. The main speaker jumped around a lot from past events, to referencing present times or what she knows now, then going back to the past event. It disrupted the story a lot; it probably would have been a more enjoyable read if it was straight-forward chronological.
There was also a bit too much history, and that took away from the story. I found myself getting caught up in the story, then the next chapter would start by announ...more
There was also a bit too much history, and that took away from the story. I found myself getting caught up in the story, then the next chapter would start by announ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I really enjoyed this book. Set in the late 1960s-early 1970s, the story takes place at a time when societal views of what women could and should do were rapidly changing. Five young women come together in a park in Palo Alto, California, first as they watch their children play and then as friends who meet each week to critique each others writing. The stories of each of their lives are interesting and compelling. I grew to care for each of them and to respect the way their views changed in c...more
This was a quick read which was nice for me right now. My brain is in overload at times and Pilgrim's Progress is not a book you can read quickly. This was not a book that I would say is a must read. I liked it. The women were real and had real problems but were able to find peace with them. Here is what I thought.
1. Women need each other. Good friends are gold, they get us through the roughest parts of life. I wouldn't be where I am now without my own set of "sisters". The...more
1. Women need each other. Good friends are gold, they get us through the roughest parts of life. I wouldn't be where I am now without my own set of "sisters". The...more
Not a bad read, not glowingly great either but it filled a few hours and I was able to finish it.
From back cover:
"When five young mothers-Frankie, Linda, Kath, Ally, and Brett-first meet in a neighborhood park in the late 1960's, their conversations center on marriage, raising children, and a shared love of books. Then one evening, as they gather to watch the Miss America Pageant, Linda admits that she aspires to write a novel herself, and the Wednesday Sisters Writi...more
From back cover:
"When five young mothers-Frankie, Linda, Kath, Ally, and Brett-first meet in a neighborhood park in the late 1960's, their conversations center on marriage, raising children, and a shared love of books. Then one evening, as they gather to watch the Miss America Pageant, Linda admits that she aspires to write a novel herself, and the Wednesday Sisters Writi...more
The Wednesday Sisters meet by chance on a Wednesday morning at a park near their homes in the late 1960s. The women soon discover a shared love of literature, and begin to meet frequently to discuss their favorite works. The friendships that begin that morning carry them through illness, longing, financial burden, infidelity, failure, and success. As their bond strengthens, so do their resolves to try writing themselves. Soon all five of the Wednesday sisters are writing, encouraging and critiqu...more
The quick synopsis: 5 women meet in a neighborhood park in the late 1960's in Palo Alto, California. It's not too long before they begin meeting weekly (on wednesdays), they watch the Miss America pageant together every year, and soon form a writing society. Over the years they become a loyal, supportive, tell-you-how-it-is, be-there-when-you-fall group of women . . . . friends.
What I love about this book:
*They push (sometimes demand), inspire, and give each other permission to...more
What I love about this book:
*They push (sometimes demand), inspire, and give each other permission to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This will be a mixed review. I was hoping it would be a chronicle of life in what is now called Silicon Valley (don't get me started on that!) in the 60's-70's. I was there from '59 to'95 so i know it pretty well. It is hard to believe that the writer had a broad experience there. Furthermore, it doesn't appear to be a special interest of hers. It is sort of like a backdrop which, in retrospect, may have appeal. But I found her experience limited. The husbands of these five women probably...more
This book spans several years and several friends’ lives in the 60’s. Against the backdrop of major events (“women’s lib” protests, the first moon walk, Nixon), it describes the lives of 5 women friends and the lives of their families, and how they all interact and overlap with each other. They meet at the local park, and first they talk about starting a book group but eventually it morphs into a writing group. Through their writing, they get to know each other, as well as to better get to know ...more
Frankie, Linda, Kath, Brett, and Ally. Five women this book focuses on during the late '60s and into the early '70s. The Wednesday Sister's doesn't break new ground, as far as the subject matter goes. Each woman is distinctly different and has her own strengths and they bond together over a period of time through writing and critiquing each others work.
Frankie is the "main" character of a sort. Smart woman, gave up college to marry and support her brothers going to coll...more
Frankie is the "main" character of a sort. Smart woman, gave up college to marry and support her brothers going to coll...more
This book is intriguing on several levels: it is set in Palo Alto and the action takes place from about 1968-1974. Since I was about the same age as these five women in that time frame and moved to the Bay Area in the early 70s, I really appreciate the cultural, political, and geographical elements of the story.
If you write or ever thought about writing, you will enjoy reading about these women who chose to support each other in learning to write stories.
Women of al...more
If you write or ever thought about writing, you will enjoy reading about these women who chose to support each other in learning to write stories.
Women of al...more
Race, sickness, marital dissatisfaction, gender roles, education, insecurity, war, infidelity combined with friendship, love, dreams, parenting, literature - this book has it all! At the center of the changing world of the 1960's are five friends brought together by their weekly visits to the local park. They each come with a history and with a past; they each have certain things about themselves they preferred would stay hidden from the eyes of the others. The five friends united behind one goa...more
Anita Kelley
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I had high hopes for The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. (Maybe I had such high hopes that I had raised the bar too high?) I had read somewhere that Ms. Clayton used to be a corporate transaction attorney at a large law firm. After she ceased practicing law, she wrote this book. As a lawyer and aspiring writer, I was drawn to it from that angle. Then there was the fact that the book is about a group of aspiring writers, who form a writing group and try to publish. That sounds like ...more
I can't bring myself to say this was good... but I can't bring myself to say it was terrible. For this review, I'm going to tell you how I think a book SHOULD look, and this one ACTUALLY looked.
First: The narrative
In most stories, the narrative starts and the beginning and moves toward the end. Sometimes, there are flashbacks. Sometimes those are brief, sometimes they are lengthy (think of Rosalie and Jasper in Eclipse). However, those flashbacks tell us something about the ch...more
First: The narrative
In most stories, the narrative starts and the beginning and moves toward the end. Sometimes, there are flashbacks. Sometimes those are brief, sometimes they are lengthy (think of Rosalie and Jasper in Eclipse). However, those flashbacks tell us something about the ch...more
On the surface, this book may seem trite - how many other stories of women's friendship are out there, right? But the 5 ladies who become writing partners and friends in this novel stand out to me! Perhaps it's the pregnancy hormones, but I cried when the book ended.... I wanted to learn more about their lives.
I like that the book is set in late-60s/early-70s Bay Area (Palo Alto to be exact, but I had to look that up on a map since I didn't know where it was). The author does a fine j...more
I like that the book is set in late-60s/early-70s Bay Area (Palo Alto to be exact, but I had to look that up on a map since I didn't know where it was). The author does a fine j...more
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Nationally bestselling author of THE FOUR MS. BRADWELLS, THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, and THE LANGUAGE OF LIGHT, which was a finalist for the Bellwether Prize. Stories and essays in Runner’s World, Writer’s Digest, the Huffington Post, and elsewhere, and on public radio. Meg loves to read, and to chat with book groups. If you'd like her to join your group for a book group chat or other event, you can c...more
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“...we could hurt each other even when we weren't trying to, and that none of us was as perfect as we liked to pretend.”
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“Mommies can't look gross!' J.J. protested.”
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