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Gloria
Gloria, a recent college graduate, class of '57, has everything a girl could want. Expected to make a brilliant marriage to a wealthy but conventional man, Gloria finds herself torn between society's expectations and her own search for a future that is both passionate and fulfilling. Her quest uncovers the intensity of desires, the gift of intellectual accomplishment, and the surprising power of friendship.
Gloria is a vivid and intimate portrayal of a privileged yet claustrophobic world, where conflicting expectations for women foreshadow an impending revolution. Gloria Cotter, in her last summer at home before setting out for the larger world, must find her way into an unimaginable future.
Gloria is a vivid and intimate portrayal of a privileged yet claustrophobic world, where conflicting expectations for women foreshadow an impending revolution. Gloria Cotter, in her last summer at home before setting out for the larger world, must find her way into an unimaginable future.
656 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 80 reviews
May 4, 2019
It's rare that I find a book that strikes such a deep note in me. This was like a ten-fingered chord on an organ. It's a hefty tome—it weighs pounds. I'd put off reading it because of its size but once I started, I could not stop. It just blew me away. The story, the characters, the attention to detail, the social and cultural minutiae of 1950s America against the beautiful literary references...
And above all, Gloria.
Gloria. Her mental flooding. Her anxieties. Her raw desires. Her fears. Her joy. Her pain.
I truly identified with Gloria. Tears dripping on the page as she said or thought what I always did. I loved her. I felt her. I wanted to talk to her.
I loved this book. And I went on to love Clarinet Polka, too.
And above all, Gloria.
Gloria. Her mental flooding. Her anxieties. Her raw desires. Her fears. Her joy. Her pain.
I truly identified with Gloria. Tears dripping on the page as she said or thought what I always did. I loved her. I felt her. I wanted to talk to her.
I loved this book. And I went on to love Clarinet Polka, too.
March 18, 2010
OK, before we start, I think it should be made clear that I want to BE Gloria Cotter...her blend of beauty, perspicacity, wit and emotional depth is the template for everything I strive to be. Like Gloria, I was a precocious child; like Gloria, I found that being a small adult thrown in with a pack of near-feral kids who seemed hellbent on either assimilating or crushing all in their path necessitated adaptive behavior from a young age; and, like Gloria Cotter, I have a heart and head that are often at odds. Throw in a mess of crinoline and a penchant for memorizing long passages of Spenser, and we might as well be sisters.
Of all Maillard's mid-century character-ensemble novels, Gloria is by far his best (with The Clarinet Polka a close second). Maillard's grasp of not only the things that make a character live and breathe, but the things that make us give a damn about them, makes this book a delight. His refusal to pander to the LCD, his dedication to showing us ALL the facets of his young heroine and not just the shiny, perfect for mass-consumption tidbits, made me a lifelong fan. As I traveled through Gloria's life with her, I came to understand how powerful the will and the human spirit are, and how even the smartest of us can be as dumb as a bag of hammers when it comes to problems our brains aren't wired to solve.
A summary of Gloria's plot - Girl meets boy, Girl loves boy, Girl bucks convention, discovers her own path in life, and encounters the early edges of self-enlightenment - might turn to mush in the hands of someone less skilled, but as I said before, Maillard's insistence on presenting his characters as true individuals and not mere stick figures gives the whole book heft, and the urbane, unceasingly clever (but never emotionless) prose makes Gloria a friend you'll want to visit again and again.
Of all Maillard's mid-century character-ensemble novels, Gloria is by far his best (with The Clarinet Polka a close second). Maillard's grasp of not only the things that make a character live and breathe, but the things that make us give a damn about them, makes this book a delight. His refusal to pander to the LCD, his dedication to showing us ALL the facets of his young heroine and not just the shiny, perfect for mass-consumption tidbits, made me a lifelong fan. As I traveled through Gloria's life with her, I came to understand how powerful the will and the human spirit are, and how even the smartest of us can be as dumb as a bag of hammers when it comes to problems our brains aren't wired to solve.
A summary of Gloria's plot - Girl meets boy, Girl loves boy, Girl bucks convention, discovers her own path in life, and encounters the early edges of self-enlightenment - might turn to mush in the hands of someone less skilled, but as I said before, Maillard's insistence on presenting his characters as true individuals and not mere stick figures gives the whole book heft, and the urbane, unceasingly clever (but never emotionless) prose makes Gloria a friend you'll want to visit again and again.
February 4, 2014
I don't even know what to say besides that I wish I was Gloria Cotter.
This book is pure heaven if you like to read coming of age novels. It's 600+ pages so it's not a fast read, but I honestly prefer it that way. You get so deep inside Gloria's mind you forget who you are.
I can't believe this was written by a man. It was just..perfect. I love Gloria's flaws, and how she had to be someone other than herself to fit in. I loved that she was an English major in a sorority full of girls that weren't even close to as nerdy as she was. I loved all the references to famous poets and authors, I loved that her Mother called her "Miss Priss" and the tension/jealousy between them. I loved every single perspective in this book.
Now that it's over, I'm going to go slowly walk away from it so I don't try to start it again already.
Highly recommend. 5+ stars.
This book is pure heaven if you like to read coming of age novels. It's 600+ pages so it's not a fast read, but I honestly prefer it that way. You get so deep inside Gloria's mind you forget who you are.
I can't believe this was written by a man. It was just..perfect. I love Gloria's flaws, and how she had to be someone other than herself to fit in. I loved that she was an English major in a sorority full of girls that weren't even close to as nerdy as she was. I loved all the references to famous poets and authors, I loved that her Mother called her "Miss Priss" and the tension/jealousy between them. I loved every single perspective in this book.
Now that it's over, I'm going to go slowly walk away from it so I don't try to start it again already.
Highly recommend. 5+ stars.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Gloria - Nevisande : Keith Maillard - ISBN : 60935979 - ISBN13 : 9780060935979 - Dar 656 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 1998
October 7, 2020
This is one of the most brilliant books I’ve ever read. For every woman who’s felt the need to hide her intelligence, to make a man feel a certain way, to put on the mask...that message alone was inspiring. The addition of the poetry and metaphor and the little stories within the story make this one of the most personally meaningful and awe-inspiring books of my life.
May 5, 2009
The author did a great job of capturing period details, but the book was much much wordier than it needed to be. Also, he spent so much time emphasizing Gloria's great ability to "play the game" and act like a perfect society girl that it was easy to lose sight of what was supposed to make her interesting, which was her love of poetry and desire for a PhD. I didn't end up liking her as much as I'd expected to.
January 27, 2012
One of the best books I've ever read. Gloria's voice & world are wholly absorbing & I felt everything she did. I was sad when it ended but I know I'll enjoy visiting her again one day.
August 24, 2008
Coming of age story of Gloria Cotter during the 1950's and 60's before the women's movement--well written, developed and believable characters. One of the best books with a female protagonist written by a man that I've ever read.
I wasn't constantly thinking, "she wouldn't do/think/be that way."
Long, but enjoyable easy read. More of a character study than anything else, so if you love a fast moving plot, Gloria isn't for you. Only three stars because tho I'll always think of Gloria fondly, she isn't a character that will really stick with me.
Reading of this book will be enhanced if you're familiar with pre-Shakespearian English literature (I'm not), especially with Spenser's "Faerie Queen" and/or the poetry of Wyatt :o)
I wasn't constantly thinking, "she wouldn't do/think/be that way."
Long, but enjoyable easy read. More of a character study than anything else, so if you love a fast moving plot, Gloria isn't for you. Only three stars because tho I'll always think of Gloria fondly, she isn't a character that will really stick with me.
Reading of this book will be enhanced if you're familiar with pre-Shakespearian English literature (I'm not), especially with Spenser's "Faerie Queen" and/or the poetry of Wyatt :o)
January 5, 2011
Probably my favorite novel of all-time. I read it again every summer and have since I was fifteen.
February 4, 2020
Simply put, my all-time favorite book.
March 23, 2024
Well I think I'm just not cut out for 600+ page books. It was odd.... much of it was too existential for my taste..... but I loved the relationship between Gloria and Susie..... I was sad that they didn't reconnect in person before the end.... loved her grandmother! But my favorite was Professor Bolton. I pictured him like the banker at Gringots from Harry Potter. I wish there would have been a glimpse into her future maybe in an epilogue.... if you like Madmen you'd probably love this one. It could have been about a younger different version of Betty.... overall 3.5 stars....I wanted to quit it several times but glad I didn't. I think a more sophisticated reader would appreciate it.
August 11, 2019
Loved the atmosphere, the exquisite rendition of the 1950's. Everything was about to change drastically, but hadn't yet. Gloria is a very smart girl but her personality is a construct created after brutal mistreatment at boarding school. She has a "secret watcher" who tells her what to do and say in stressful situations. She wears her beautiful clothes and make up to create illusion. She is very successful in many ways. The last year of college and the summer after she graduates from college are very difficult times for her. She betrays the young man who loves her, she puts herself in danger repeatedly, she fails to confide in her parents when doing so would have made sense. Her inner world is dreamy and confusing, it is hard to know who is real and who is made up to protect Gloria's fragile personality. She has to decide if she is going to take the easy route of marriage to a rich suitor or if she is going to fulfill her academic goals by going to Columbia for post graduate work.
My favorite character was her thesis professor, I loved what he had to say about disguises. I was also able to relax when Gloria was with him as he was a safe person and his mind matched hers so well. See, I spent a lot of time worrying about Gloria. When she finally gets the courage to defeat Mr. Dougherty, her method of doing so and the link to the poetry; well that was pretty magnificent.
It took me a long time to read this book, I was often upset by Gloria's decisions or something that happened to her and I would have to put the book down so I could relax away from Gloria. The author succeeds in making Gloria more than a character in a book; whatever the reader's personality, the places of likeness between reader and character make Gloria live in her reader.
My favorite character was her thesis professor, I loved what he had to say about disguises. I was also able to relax when Gloria was with him as he was a safe person and his mind matched hers so well. See, I spent a lot of time worrying about Gloria. When she finally gets the courage to defeat Mr. Dougherty, her method of doing so and the link to the poetry; well that was pretty magnificent.
It took me a long time to read this book, I was often upset by Gloria's decisions or something that happened to her and I would have to put the book down so I could relax away from Gloria. The author succeeds in making Gloria more than a character in a book; whatever the reader's personality, the places of likeness between reader and character make Gloria live in her reader.
February 26, 2010
Ahhhhh … this book is special to me for so many reasons. First off, I read parts of it on a bus trip from Düsseldorf to Paris. It speaks volumes for the power of a good book that I, many times, chose to read rather than look out the window at the gorgeous unfamiliar countryside. Even though I was in college in the late 90s, I could totally relate to the main character Gloria’s emotions as she traversed her journey as a college girl in 1950s Virginia. The author not only captured what it was like to come of age in that time, but he also provided detailed flashbacks to the adolescent events that shaped Gloria into the person she became while in college. It’s really hard for me to explain in words the perfection of this novel, but if you have some spare time to bite off this big “chunk o’book,” you should do so. If you ever felt the magic of visiting a college friend’s hometown, adoring your English professor, or just spending sunny days at the pool with your best friend, you can revisit those feelings in this book. I’d reread it again in a heartbeat (if only I had time). Thank you, Keith Maillard! I’ll forever think of Gloria Cotter whenever I hear the word “crinoline.”
October 6, 2010
I really liked this book initially and wanted it to be the book I was hoping it would be. Premise follows a steel heiress and her plight to 'find herself'. Author does a good job really placing you in the characters' shoes, he changes the point of view periodically. The book was going swimmingly until around the 200pg mark and it took hard right. The author introduces characters that are verbally and sexually abusive/manipulative. It goes away for a little while and returns with force. Ifthe author had just left or really really toned down those aspects, it would have been a really interesting book. I'd like to take a mental cleanse from some of the scenes. Barf.
July 5, 2022
Wow, this book takes so long but so good. It perfectly captures the feeling of having a lazy, languid summer.
I love, love Susie and Professor Bolton (Chapter 18 is my favorite because we get to spend a day and a night at Professor Bolton’s house and eat all the delicious food he cooks). I want a Susie in my life!
I also really enjoyed how the writing feels like it could have been written during the 50s, the time the book is set in. Not that I know what they wrote like back then but the author says in the acknowledgments that he read and took heavy inspiration from books published in the 50s (and it did have a very specific vibe)
Mr. Dougherty was DISGUSTING. Every time he was on the page, I felt sick and on edge. I think I put the book down for a while at the point when Gloria and he are in the car together (or it could have been another point he’s harassing and gas-lighting her, there were so many).
As a reader, I fully got into Gloria’s head and felt what she felt. I really loved how the English courses she took in college were incorporated into the book and Gloria’s thoughts. Now I want to read all the books and poems that were discussed… hehehe
I’m always wanting to read seasonally (like read scary books for Halloween, wintry books around Christmas, books set in the spring during spring, etc), but since I already have so many tbr books waiting for me that never ends up happening. So yay to reading Gloria during my summer vacation, it was quite the summery novel!
I love, love Susie and Professor Bolton (Chapter 18 is my favorite because we get to spend a day and a night at Professor Bolton’s house and eat all the delicious food he cooks). I want a Susie in my life!
I also really enjoyed how the writing feels like it could have been written during the 50s, the time the book is set in. Not that I know what they wrote like back then but the author says in the acknowledgments that he read and took heavy inspiration from books published in the 50s (and it did have a very specific vibe)
Mr. Dougherty was DISGUSTING. Every time he was on the page, I felt sick and on edge. I think I put the book down for a while at the point when Gloria and he are in the car together (or it could have been another point he’s harassing and gas-lighting her, there were so many).
As a reader, I fully got into Gloria’s head and felt what she felt. I really loved how the English courses she took in college were incorporated into the book and Gloria’s thoughts. Now I want to read all the books and poems that were discussed… hehehe
I’m always wanting to read seasonally (like read scary books for Halloween, wintry books around Christmas, books set in the spring during spring, etc), but since I already have so many tbr books waiting for me that never ends up happening. So yay to reading Gloria during my summer vacation, it was quite the summery novel!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2025
Gloria is a long read, but I loved it. I didn’t want it to end❤️
July 2, 2016
I picked this book up at the Bargain Books one day because it was a brick--I love long complicated books as a rule--and because I was intrigued by the hardcover version of cover art, and now I only wish I'd purchased multiple copies, as mine is starting to tip and sway as the spine crumbles. The first time through, I thought I'd made a mistake, even at half price but finished it anyway...and promptly read it all again as I'd been sucked into the book and its premise. I've been hooked since...and people who know me can attest to the fact that I don't like much recent mainstream fiction. Tastes vary--I don't promise everyone will like this book, but the best way I can describe it is: well-written enough that I slip into the book as I read to the point of feeling that I've been transported physically into the events of the book, and into the characters' thoughts.
The framework story is set in the summer of 1957, between Gloria's graduation from college and beginning graduate school at Columbia; no one she knows, from her wealthy father and society mother to the country club set her age, can understand why she'd rather get a PhD in English than marry the extremely eligible young man whom she's been dating through college. No woman in her circle works, though most have gone to college. This framework alternates between her father's experience moving into the CEO position at Raysburg Steel, her mother's struggle with middle age and the death of her own mother and Gloria's own thoughts and self-doubts, and her struggle with one of her father's subordinates. The bulk of the book, however, is Gloria's flashbacks to her childhood and adolescence, struggling to fit in to a society which has no place for intellectual women. By the book's end, she's learned how to act the role well enough that she's elected sorority president and chosen May Queen, but has not truly become the young woman she appears to be.
I was born ten years after this book was set, so can't speak to how accurately Maillard portrays 1950s society, but it's an enthralling read, packed with detail to the point of tediousness...if they didn't all serve to expand on Gloria's character and her relationships with friends and family. The text's structure is a trifle confusing upon first reading, as Maillard slides so smoothly between 'now' and 'then', dreams and reality, that it's not always clear at first that he has shifted. I, like many readers, wonder what happened to Gloria in later years, although I don't want Maillard to bow to reader preference! I'd rather be left with my own imaginings than struggle through something created out of obligation to readers/publishers/financial need.
The framework story is set in the summer of 1957, between Gloria's graduation from college and beginning graduate school at Columbia; no one she knows, from her wealthy father and society mother to the country club set her age, can understand why she'd rather get a PhD in English than marry the extremely eligible young man whom she's been dating through college. No woman in her circle works, though most have gone to college. This framework alternates between her father's experience moving into the CEO position at Raysburg Steel, her mother's struggle with middle age and the death of her own mother and Gloria's own thoughts and self-doubts, and her struggle with one of her father's subordinates. The bulk of the book, however, is Gloria's flashbacks to her childhood and adolescence, struggling to fit in to a society which has no place for intellectual women. By the book's end, she's learned how to act the role well enough that she's elected sorority president and chosen May Queen, but has not truly become the young woman she appears to be.
I was born ten years after this book was set, so can't speak to how accurately Maillard portrays 1950s society, but it's an enthralling read, packed with detail to the point of tediousness...if they didn't all serve to expand on Gloria's character and her relationships with friends and family. The text's structure is a trifle confusing upon first reading, as Maillard slides so smoothly between 'now' and 'then', dreams and reality, that it's not always clear at first that he has shifted. I, like many readers, wonder what happened to Gloria in later years, although I don't want Maillard to bow to reader preference! I'd rather be left with my own imaginings than struggle through something created out of obligation to readers/publishers/financial need.
February 24, 2022
Nominated for Canada's Governor General's Award
We’re heading back to West Virginia today! Last week I reviewed a great memoir–Dimestore by Lee Smith (read it here)–that reflects more traditional life in state born in the Civil War. Today we’re looking at a sliver of life in the top echelon of the state in the 1950s–Keith Millard’s extraordinary novel, Gloria.
I devoured this book when it came out for a simple reason–it was so much my Mom’s story. Like my mom (Purdue ’57), Gloria Cotter, was sent off to college to be “finished” and expected to marry an up-and-coming career man. In the parlance of the day she was to earn her “Mrs. Degree” cum laude. The novel features Gloria’s final summer at home she endures the country club world of the small West Virginia steel town dominated by her parents’ “set.” She’d like graduate school, but there’s a suitable prospect at hand for marriage. Which will it be?
This is the generation who went crazy at home in the suburbs and raised the banner of Women’s Liberation. After reading this novel of that time and its claustrophobic atmosphere (funny just how many reviews use that word!) it’s easy to see why. Maillard perfectly captures the lack of oxygen in a young women’s life in that set and in that era. As I read, I could feel my stockings start to bag, my girdle pinch and I began to wonder if I’d ever get the Club waitress’s attention to have her discreetly bring me a second Tom Collins so I could endure what Mr. Bank Vice President was droning on about while the son of my Dad’s golf buddy tried to instigate a round of footsy with me under the table.
This is one women’s novel not to be missed. Book Clubs will devour it even now. I have recommended it far and wide over the years. While it is, sadly, out-of-print, it is still readily available used (buy the paperback–the hardback is getting ridiculous prices) and in many libraries. I wish it would come out on Kindle. Perfect Book Club book.
We’re heading back to West Virginia today! Last week I reviewed a great memoir–Dimestore by Lee Smith (read it here)–that reflects more traditional life in state born in the Civil War. Today we’re looking at a sliver of life in the top echelon of the state in the 1950s–Keith Millard’s extraordinary novel, Gloria.
I devoured this book when it came out for a simple reason–it was so much my Mom’s story. Like my mom (Purdue ’57), Gloria Cotter, was sent off to college to be “finished” and expected to marry an up-and-coming career man. In the parlance of the day she was to earn her “Mrs. Degree” cum laude. The novel features Gloria’s final summer at home she endures the country club world of the small West Virginia steel town dominated by her parents’ “set.” She’d like graduate school, but there’s a suitable prospect at hand for marriage. Which will it be?
This is the generation who went crazy at home in the suburbs and raised the banner of Women’s Liberation. After reading this novel of that time and its claustrophobic atmosphere (funny just how many reviews use that word!) it’s easy to see why. Maillard perfectly captures the lack of oxygen in a young women’s life in that set and in that era. As I read, I could feel my stockings start to bag, my girdle pinch and I began to wonder if I’d ever get the Club waitress’s attention to have her discreetly bring me a second Tom Collins so I could endure what Mr. Bank Vice President was droning on about while the son of my Dad’s golf buddy tried to instigate a round of footsy with me under the table.
This is one women’s novel not to be missed. Book Clubs will devour it even now. I have recommended it far and wide over the years. While it is, sadly, out-of-print, it is still readily available used (buy the paperback–the hardback is getting ridiculous prices) and in many libraries. I wish it would come out on Kindle. Perfect Book Club book.
January 16, 2010
I didn't love it as much as Maillard's near-perfect Clarinet Polka, but I didn't expect to. Nonetheless, it's pretty incredible. And is it just me, or can this guy write some fantastic non-sex scenes?!
February 4, 2011
One of my favorite books ever!
May 21, 2013
I absolutely LOVED this book. The writing is so lush, you can see the setting perfectly in your mind. The story was very captivating. Highly recommend. Definitely in my 10% of favorite books.
April 25, 2013
This was dark chocolate: rich, delicious, decadent, and turns out, it's good for you. Loved it.
September 13, 2014
I felt like Gloria was a live person and if I could just turn a corner somehow I could sit by the pool with her....
September 14, 2020
This is a book that I really enjoyed even though I didn’t read it straight through. It was a book better read in small sections.
"Let me know who I really am." This is what Gloria Cotter wants to know. Gloria is trying to find out who she is. It's hard to believe that this book was written by a man as he understands the mind of the girl/young woman. He certainly did a lot of research,
The novel is very stylistic. The author slides you back and forth in time so effortlessly that often I found myself several pages into a scene before I realized that the time frame had shifted.
One amazing part of the book is the research notes at the end. The author explains what his sources of information were, and I enjoyed seeing the background work required by this novel
The daughter of a wealthy upper middle class family, Gloria spent her junior and high school days in fear of "not fitting in", and trying to disguise her above average. The book pretty much starts even before Gloria is born. Her mom is rich, her dad is not. He works very hard to become worthy to the eyes of her family, and slowly starts climbing the corporate ladder. Gloria is sent to boarding school from an early age.
Gloria joins a sorority and develops wonderful friendships. Having finished college with an excellent degree, she now intends to take her Masters at Columbia with a view to teaching poetry at college level. Her socialite mother is urging her to marry and to lead the normal life of the young American woman, I would like to be able to read further into her future life to see what happens next.
I did not like her mother. It is difficult to see a mother who is jealous of her daughter even at a young age.
"Let me know who I really am." This is what Gloria Cotter wants to know. Gloria is trying to find out who she is. It's hard to believe that this book was written by a man as he understands the mind of the girl/young woman. He certainly did a lot of research,
The novel is very stylistic. The author slides you back and forth in time so effortlessly that often I found myself several pages into a scene before I realized that the time frame had shifted.
One amazing part of the book is the research notes at the end. The author explains what his sources of information were, and I enjoyed seeing the background work required by this novel
The daughter of a wealthy upper middle class family, Gloria spent her junior and high school days in fear of "not fitting in", and trying to disguise her above average. The book pretty much starts even before Gloria is born. Her mom is rich, her dad is not. He works very hard to become worthy to the eyes of her family, and slowly starts climbing the corporate ladder. Gloria is sent to boarding school from an early age.
Gloria joins a sorority and develops wonderful friendships. Having finished college with an excellent degree, she now intends to take her Masters at Columbia with a view to teaching poetry at college level. Her socialite mother is urging her to marry and to lead the normal life of the young American woman, I would like to be able to read further into her future life to see what happens next.
I did not like her mother. It is difficult to see a mother who is jealous of her daughter even at a young age.
October 30, 2022
I saw this big book on a shelf at my downtown library. It caught my eye, so I read the blurb. It seemed interesting, so I checked it out. It was a great read.
You can tell how well researched and well developed the characters are. Though they are works of fiction, the characters are fleshed out as if they were real people during the period.
You truly explore Gloria experiencing this summer and growing into the discovery of her own values and abilities. She has her faults and uncertainties, as do all of us. Some points were so spot on that they were thoughts I had had at times in my life, nearly word for word. Maybe they resonate so deeply because I'm also in that lull between having graduated undergrad and waiting for the next interval of activity (for me, my start at a job out of state, not further education) to begin in a couple months.
It's a well paced, work of art. Among my favorite novels.
You can tell how well researched and well developed the characters are. Though they are works of fiction, the characters are fleshed out as if they were real people during the period.
You truly explore Gloria experiencing this summer and growing into the discovery of her own values and abilities. She has her faults and uncertainties, as do all of us. Some points were so spot on that they were thoughts I had had at times in my life, nearly word for word. Maybe they resonate so deeply because I'm also in that lull between having graduated undergrad and waiting for the next interval of activity (for me, my start at a job out of state, not further education) to begin in a couple months.
It's a well paced, work of art. Among my favorite novels.
January 21, 2024
This book is 400 pages too long and predictable. I don't understand why it has such high ratings. It didn't leave me feeling good. It didn't bring anything new to the table. It's been written before many times.
July 31, 2020
Why did I let this fabulous gem of a book sit on my to read like for so long? Fabulous book find..
July 18, 2023
4.5*. I will have to sit with this reading experience before describing it — this is a long book.
August 9, 2025
Good story but just too much - of everything. I would have liked this book better at 400 + or - pages.
May 3, 2016
Set in the summer of 1957, this story follows Gloria Cotter, a wealthy and beautiful young college graduate who finds herself home after college graduation and floundering at finding her next step. Although beautiful, privileged, and intellectually accomplished, Gloria feels stifled and trapped in her insular world. Expected to make a good marriage to a man from a similar background, Gloria feels trapped at the thought of falling into marriage and then motherhood and instead considers pursuing a PhD and teaching English. Set on the cusp of cultural change, Gloria's dilemma beautifully and eloquently illustrates the conflicting expectations for women and is an intimate portrait of life for college educated women in the 1950s.
To the world, Gloria appears as a wealthy, well-heeled young woman with every advantage; "she felt like the stereotype of the utterly, utterly bored society girl in some big, sloppy, popular, pointless novel - maybe John O'Hara. [...] And then, finally, there was the subtle and quite intense pleasure in knowing that, if she appeared to be the perfect, stereotypical country club girl, she had succeeded in fooling everyone" (23). Although Gloria is skillful at playing her part socially, her diary and reflections reveal that she feels it as an act and she is simply a consummate actress. Or as her advisor tells her, "I must admit, dear Gloria, that you did fool me for a while. But the truth of the matter is that you have never been one of those girls - no matter how well you have learned to disguise yourself as one of them" (545). Gloria is a restless soul on the brink of making a momentous decision - whether or not to break away from the mold that her country club setting expects of her and following her own path. Ironically, despite the tension between her mother, Marcelaine, and Gloria, the two are more alike than they realize, something the reader learns through flashbacks that show an uncertain and lost Marcelaine as a college student herself.
Although I typically dislike efforts of authors to narrate from the opposite gender, Maillard did an excellent job of writing from the perspective of a young woman in the 1950s. In the notes, he reveals that he was consciously striving to emulate the style of novels of that time period and I believe he succeeded. Gloria is a product of her time and age, the expectations of which shape every character and action in the novel. For instance, Gloria's father Ted, a vice president at a steel company, is clear about his expectations for fellow executives: "Raysburg Steel was not interested in a single man over thirty (what was wrong with him?), a divorced man, a man with personal problems or screwy opinions, a man who runs around on his wife - or whose wife runs around on him" (94). It is this rigid social structure has both created and imprisoned Gloria.
Maillard takes on multiple themes in the over 600 pages that make up this novel: religious faith, family ties, limitations on female scholars, societal expectations, sexual purity and exploration, alcoholism, issues of class and social rank, the perils of boarding schools, fashion and materialism, homosexuality, and female friendship. At heart, this is about a young women who cannot envision her future self and is struggling to find the path to this unknown future; "What she couldn't imagine was who that person would be standing up in front of the classroom and lecturing - certainly not any version of Gloria Cotter she'd ever met" (344). This novel took me by surprise with its quiet power and the complexity of its characters, namely Gloria. A beautiful, complex, and deeply absorbing coming of age story that I felt absolutely immersed in while reading.
4.5 Stars
To the world, Gloria appears as a wealthy, well-heeled young woman with every advantage; "she felt like the stereotype of the utterly, utterly bored society girl in some big, sloppy, popular, pointless novel - maybe John O'Hara. [...] And then, finally, there was the subtle and quite intense pleasure in knowing that, if she appeared to be the perfect, stereotypical country club girl, she had succeeded in fooling everyone" (23). Although Gloria is skillful at playing her part socially, her diary and reflections reveal that she feels it as an act and she is simply a consummate actress. Or as her advisor tells her, "I must admit, dear Gloria, that you did fool me for a while. But the truth of the matter is that you have never been one of those girls - no matter how well you have learned to disguise yourself as one of them" (545). Gloria is a restless soul on the brink of making a momentous decision - whether or not to break away from the mold that her country club setting expects of her and following her own path. Ironically, despite the tension between her mother, Marcelaine, and Gloria, the two are more alike than they realize, something the reader learns through flashbacks that show an uncertain and lost Marcelaine as a college student herself.
Although I typically dislike efforts of authors to narrate from the opposite gender, Maillard did an excellent job of writing from the perspective of a young woman in the 1950s. In the notes, he reveals that he was consciously striving to emulate the style of novels of that time period and I believe he succeeded. Gloria is a product of her time and age, the expectations of which shape every character and action in the novel. For instance, Gloria's father Ted, a vice president at a steel company, is clear about his expectations for fellow executives: "Raysburg Steel was not interested in a single man over thirty (what was wrong with him?), a divorced man, a man with personal problems or screwy opinions, a man who runs around on his wife - or whose wife runs around on him" (94). It is this rigid social structure has both created and imprisoned Gloria.
Maillard takes on multiple themes in the over 600 pages that make up this novel: religious faith, family ties, limitations on female scholars, societal expectations, sexual purity and exploration, alcoholism, issues of class and social rank, the perils of boarding schools, fashion and materialism, homosexuality, and female friendship. At heart, this is about a young women who cannot envision her future self and is struggling to find the path to this unknown future; "What she couldn't imagine was who that person would be standing up in front of the classroom and lecturing - certainly not any version of Gloria Cotter she'd ever met" (344). This novel took me by surprise with its quiet power and the complexity of its characters, namely Gloria. A beautiful, complex, and deeply absorbing coming of age story that I felt absolutely immersed in while reading.
4.5 Stars
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