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The Other's Gold
Assigned to the same suite during their freshman year at Quincy-Hawthorne College, Lainey, Ji Sun, Alice, and Margaret quickly become inseparable. But they soon find their bonds--forged in joy, and fused by fear--must weather threats that come at them from institutions, from one another, and ultimately, from within themselves.
The Other's Gold follows the four friends as each makes a terrible mistake, moving from their wild college days to their more feral days as new parents. With one part devoted to each mistake--the Accident, the Accusation, the Kiss, and the Bite--this complex yet compulsively readable debut interrogates the way that growing up forces our friendships to evolve as the women discover what they and their loved ones are capable of, and capable of forgiving.
The Other's Gold follows the four friends as each makes a terrible mistake, moving from their wild college days to their more feral days as new parents. With one part devoted to each mistake--the Accident, the Accusation, the Kiss, and the Bite--this complex yet compulsively readable debut interrogates the way that growing up forces our friendships to evolve as the women discover what they and their loved ones are capable of, and capable of forgiving.
335 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2019
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February 1, 2019A sharply-drawn portrait of a lifelong friendship, THE OTHER'S GOLD follows four young women bearing past traumas and navigating unimagined futures. With an uncanny eye for detail, Elizabeth Ames charts the complex, ever-shifting topography of this "chosen family"--and illuminates the ways our closest friends sustain us over the course of our lives.
August 29, 2019
You're either going to love this book or hate it. If you fall in love with its compelling, engaging writing style and care for Alice, Margaret, Ji Sun and Lainey as they move from adolescence of their freshman year in college to adulthood, you will not want the book to end, or at very least hope for regular updates in future to know how they are doing. If you don't connect with the book, the story is going to seem long and unnecessarily detailed. Life on paper...
The four girls were assigned the same suite with a window seat on their first day of college. They thought that they were placed together based on the fact that all of them were second daughters and only later noticed that their last names started with an R, an S and two Ts. As Elizabeth Ames spells her story you see the magic of becoming friends as powerful (if not more) as falling in love. There are people around them: boyfriends, acquaintances, professors, parents, siblings, some of them more important than others, some failing to make anything but a very fleeting impression. It is clear, though, that for Alice, Margaret ,Ji Sun and Lainey, their friendship is in part something that defines them. Perhaps, even more than their families, because it might have begun as a random decision of a housing officer, but it continued by choice, which is evident in how they continued to love and care for each other despite their worst deeds, their shameful mistakes.
We are told at the very beginning when the mistakes were made: Alice's before the college, when she was twelve, Ji Sun's in the sophomore year, Margaret's after the graduation and Lainey's already as a mother to her own child. Four mistakes, four parts of the book, one life that led to that moment and one life in which to make sense of what happened and live it down however much it changes you and people around you.
Don't think you are not going to judge them- you will. Because, to be honest, they are really inexcusable, those deeds. But you will judge them not as a stranger, but as an invisible friend, trying to see all the reasons and circumstances that led to their lapse of judgement. Reasons they might not be aware of themselves.
Are the characters relatable? yes, they are. I could see bits of myself and my own friends in the girls. The characters are unique and wonderfully complex, and go through intense changes moving from one part of the book to another. You know, you feel it in your bones, they will continue evolving long after the book because this is life, and what we've just read is just a glimpse.
The issues it deals with are not the easiest. Don't go into the book thinking it will be a light summer read: infertility, sexual harrassment and abuse, miscarriage, depression, adoption are here, among the other topics discussed. But the way the author talks about them is both painfully honest and sensitive.
A wonderful debut novel, lyrical, beautifully-written and emotional.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Viking (Penguin Publishing Group) for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
The four girls were assigned the same suite with a window seat on their first day of college. They thought that they were placed together based on the fact that all of them were second daughters and only later noticed that their last names started with an R, an S and two Ts. As Elizabeth Ames spells her story you see the magic of becoming friends as powerful (if not more) as falling in love. There are people around them: boyfriends, acquaintances, professors, parents, siblings, some of them more important than others, some failing to make anything but a very fleeting impression. It is clear, though, that for Alice, Margaret ,Ji Sun and Lainey, their friendship is in part something that defines them. Perhaps, even more than their families, because it might have begun as a random decision of a housing officer, but it continued by choice, which is evident in how they continued to love and care for each other despite their worst deeds, their shameful mistakes.
We are told at the very beginning when the mistakes were made: Alice's before the college, when she was twelve, Ji Sun's in the sophomore year, Margaret's after the graduation and Lainey's already as a mother to her own child. Four mistakes, four parts of the book, one life that led to that moment and one life in which to make sense of what happened and live it down however much it changes you and people around you.
Don't think you are not going to judge them- you will. Because, to be honest, they are really inexcusable, those deeds. But you will judge them not as a stranger, but as an invisible friend, trying to see all the reasons and circumstances that led to their lapse of judgement. Reasons they might not be aware of themselves.
Are the characters relatable? yes, they are. I could see bits of myself and my own friends in the girls. The characters are unique and wonderfully complex, and go through intense changes moving from one part of the book to another. You know, you feel it in your bones, they will continue evolving long after the book because this is life, and what we've just read is just a glimpse.
The issues it deals with are not the easiest. Don't go into the book thinking it will be a light summer read: infertility, sexual harrassment and abuse, miscarriage, depression, adoption are here, among the other topics discussed. But the way the author talks about them is both painfully honest and sensitive.
A wonderful debut novel, lyrical, beautifully-written and emotional.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Viking (Penguin Publishing Group) for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
August 21, 2019
I'm finding it difficult to figure out what I want to say in this review because I thought this was just an okay read. I think if I would have connected more with the four main characters, this could have been a more meaningful read like it was for other readers. I just feel like whatever point(s) the author was trying to get across just flew right over my head or something.
Lainey, Ji Sun, Alice, and Margaret are all assigned to the same suite during their freshman year in college. They become fast friends and the story will follow them thru their school years as well as what life has in store for them after college. The book includes four parts with each part dealing with a mistake made by one of the women. The titles of the mistakes are the Accident, the Accusation, the Kiss, and the Bite.
I'll give the author credit, even though I knew the titles ahead of time, I still was caught off guard with the direction the last two parts went in. Even though I didn't really enjoy much of what happened in the second half of the book, I guess I can award points for creativity.
My main issue with the book is the four women actually felt like a clique in the sense that I felt like an outsider and therefore never truly understood them completely. I've read many other books about friendships, and this is one of the few times I actually questioned why the characters were friends with one another. I just didn't 100% buy it and I guess that's why the story as a whole didn't really work for me.
There's nothing I hated about the book, but there also isn't anything I really loved either. So I guess this goes in the okay but nothing special category.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
Lainey, Ji Sun, Alice, and Margaret are all assigned to the same suite during their freshman year in college. They become fast friends and the story will follow them thru their school years as well as what life has in store for them after college. The book includes four parts with each part dealing with a mistake made by one of the women. The titles of the mistakes are the Accident, the Accusation, the Kiss, and the Bite.
I'll give the author credit, even though I knew the titles ahead of time, I still was caught off guard with the direction the last two parts went in. Even though I didn't really enjoy much of what happened in the second half of the book, I guess I can award points for creativity.
My main issue with the book is the four women actually felt like a clique in the sense that I felt like an outsider and therefore never truly understood them completely. I've read many other books about friendships, and this is one of the few times I actually questioned why the characters were friends with one another. I just didn't 100% buy it and I guess that's why the story as a whole didn't really work for me.
There's nothing I hated about the book, but there also isn't anything I really loved either. So I guess this goes in the okay but nothing special category.
I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
October 24, 2019
The bond formed between four young women in college continues to grow as they become adults. I had trouble relating to these women, neither actively liking nor disliking them. This had nothing to do with the writing, which I found quite good and the characterizations were finely drawn. It held my interest enough to keep reading, but in the end, I just couldn't sync up with the story. Kudos for the original title.
February 7, 2020
The Other’s Gold is the story of four girls who meet in college, and become fast friends. Lainey, Ji Sun, Margaret, and Alice are each from different backgrounds, and despite their varied upbringings, interests, and taste in men, they grow close, quickly.
The story follows the group through college and beyond, with each of the four sections revealing a defining moment for one of the women. Some were more pivotal than others, which is, I guess, true in real life as well. I did not care for the last section of the book - It felt too bizarre and I didn’t understand why that was the defining moment. Didn’t necessarily love any of the four characters either, yet the book held my interest enough to see it through.
I would categorize The Other’s Gold as more of a character study than a plot-driven novel and maybe that’s part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it more — The characters didn’t have enough depth for me. I didn’t like them more because outside of also being a millennial woman, I felt a disconnect from them. Not a bad book but not my favorite — The premise was more intriguing than the execution.
The story follows the group through college and beyond, with each of the four sections revealing a defining moment for one of the women. Some were more pivotal than others, which is, I guess, true in real life as well. I did not care for the last section of the book - It felt too bizarre and I didn’t understand why that was the defining moment. Didn’t necessarily love any of the four characters either, yet the book held my interest enough to see it through.
I would categorize The Other’s Gold as more of a character study than a plot-driven novel and maybe that’s part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it more — The characters didn’t have enough depth for me. I didn’t like them more because outside of also being a millennial woman, I felt a disconnect from them. Not a bad book but not my favorite — The premise was more intriguing than the execution.
September 3, 2019
2.5 stars, rounding up. Two reasons: 1)It's a debut 2) I don't think what I disliked about this was the author's fault.
This is another book that I have been anxiously awaiting for most of the year. Four girls who become friends their first day of college and that friendship transcends throughout the rest of it and continues on? Hell yeah, sign me up. There couldn't have been a more perfect book description for me. I also really dug the layout. The book is split up into four sections that surround an "event" that all four girls deal with differently. Again, I thought this sounded really cool. The first two sections cover college and the last two cover after.
So now that I've given you enough information regarding the layout and what it's loosely about I guess I should tell you why I gave it the rating I did. I think Ms. Ames has a real talent. Her writing took me a little while to get used to (I had to pay closer attention at the beginning, but seemed to adapt just fine once I got further into the book) and she tackled some tough issues with a voice that was spot on. There are some trigger warnings for: sexual harassment/assault, childhood sexual abuse, miscarriage/fertility issues and postpartum depression. I will be honest and say that the one issue I identified with was not traumatic to read about in here to me personally, but because I had no idea it was coming and just didn't think it would be something covered in the book as much as it was. If I had known I might have skipped the book altogether. (Despite how well and accurately portrayed it was.)
I am also disappointed because I was expecting this book to really move me and it didn't. I desperately wanted it to, but I felt disconnected to the characters. I don't quite understand what made them such fast and everlasting friends. Maybe that's the whole point? Maybe we as readers were like everyone else that surrounded them? Background players who could even read their thoughts, but never were close enough to understand their bond and feel what they felt as closely as they did. I wonder if each section that corresponded with that character's "event" would have been better served coming solely from that person's perspective? It's possible then I could have gotten closer and connected more.
I will almost certainly read the author's next work, however I will be sure to adjust my expectations down a bit and not hold so close in my mind the book summary. Maybe that will serve me better in the future.
Thank you to Edelweiss, Viking and Elizabeth Ames for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.
Review Date: 9/2/19
Publication Date: 8/27/19
This is another book that I have been anxiously awaiting for most of the year. Four girls who become friends their first day of college and that friendship transcends throughout the rest of it and continues on? Hell yeah, sign me up. There couldn't have been a more perfect book description for me. I also really dug the layout. The book is split up into four sections that surround an "event" that all four girls deal with differently. Again, I thought this sounded really cool. The first two sections cover college and the last two cover after.
So now that I've given you enough information regarding the layout and what it's loosely about I guess I should tell you why I gave it the rating I did. I think Ms. Ames has a real talent. Her writing took me a little while to get used to (I had to pay closer attention at the beginning, but seemed to adapt just fine once I got further into the book) and she tackled some tough issues with a voice that was spot on. There are some trigger warnings for: sexual harassment/assault, childhood sexual abuse, miscarriage/fertility issues and postpartum depression. I will be honest and say that the one issue I identified with was not traumatic to read about in here to me personally, but because I had no idea it was coming and just didn't think it would be something covered in the book as much as it was. If I had known I might have skipped the book altogether. (Despite how well and accurately portrayed it was.)
I am also disappointed because I was expecting this book to really move me and it didn't. I desperately wanted it to, but I felt disconnected to the characters. I don't quite understand what made them such fast and everlasting friends. Maybe that's the whole point? Maybe we as readers were like everyone else that surrounded them? Background players who could even read their thoughts, but never were close enough to understand their bond and feel what they felt as closely as they did. I wonder if each section that corresponded with that character's "event" would have been better served coming solely from that person's perspective? It's possible then I could have gotten closer and connected more.
I will almost certainly read the author's next work, however I will be sure to adjust my expectations down a bit and not hold so close in my mind the book summary. Maybe that will serve me better in the future.
Thank you to Edelweiss, Viking and Elizabeth Ames for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.
Review Date: 9/2/19
Publication Date: 8/27/19
February 25, 2026
***NO SPOILERS***
(Full disclosure: Book abandoned on page 50, out of 335 pages.)
Academic settings offer so much built-in drama that it's puzzling that The Other's Gold can be so bland. This could just be a case of trying too hard, though: Elizabeth Ames has that passive, overly contemplative style of an MFA student, a style professors and fellow students praise and encourage but that readers rightly roll their eyes at. Sinking into this story is impossible, and the characters, although different from one another, are... characters. They're indistinct and not true-to-life.
The Other's Gold is centered on four "mistakes," one for each character. If interested, please read Virginia's review for detailed spoilers about each "mistake." I'm positive I would have become increasingly enraged as I read deeper into a novel so uninformed and flat-out wrong, on so many levels. Ames wasted her time in an MFA program when what she really needs is an education in life.
NOTE: I received this as an Advance Reader Copy from Goodreads in September 2019.
(Full disclosure: Book abandoned on page 50, out of 335 pages.)
Academic settings offer so much built-in drama that it's puzzling that The Other's Gold can be so bland. This could just be a case of trying too hard, though: Elizabeth Ames has that passive, overly contemplative style of an MFA student, a style professors and fellow students praise and encourage but that readers rightly roll their eyes at. Sinking into this story is impossible, and the characters, although different from one another, are... characters. They're indistinct and not true-to-life.
The Other's Gold is centered on four "mistakes," one for each character. If interested, please read Virginia's review for detailed spoilers about each "mistake." I'm positive I would have become increasingly enraged as I read deeper into a novel so uninformed and flat-out wrong, on so many levels. Ames wasted her time in an MFA program when what she really needs is an education in life.
NOTE: I received this as an Advance Reader Copy from Goodreads in September 2019.
October 26, 2019
"The Other's Gold" examines the relationships between 4 young women as they enter adulthood at a small private, Northeastern college and develop their personalities and their identities. Though they are dissimilar in background, heritage and goals, they are determined to have each other's back no matter what. This promise is tested time and again as they pursue their dreams and romantic relationships and become parents. This story had a lot of strengths for a debut novel.
Ms. Ames is a talented author. Her words are carefully chosen. Her dialogue is interesting and the storyline was smooth, especially as the four characters transition throughout the book each woman sharing her perceptions, motivations and actions. As the blurb states that each has a secret to hide, the others must decide if they can stifle her negative reaction to support her friend as she works through her trauma. None are perfect and each shows her weakest moment with her "sisters". This exposure leads to legal and ethical challenges and the others' responsibility in support of immoral behaviors. These challenges cause each to evaluate what her obligation is the others.
This story held my interest throughout. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with any of the characters. They were all pretty narcissistic particularly Lainey and Ji Sun. Thus, the author wanted to expose to us, our own narcissistic behaviors. This is portrayed with insightful authenticity. It is particularly accurate for Millennials (as this story starts around 2002 or so). My own observations among my peer group 20 years prior, was fueled by extreme levels of jealousy. I personally avoided these struggles with my peers and see this challenge fought valiantly by these women. That said, I still found them really annoying, selfish and off putting. I am not sure if I would have compromised my ethics to support what some actual had done. I do not think I would remained silent especially in regard to Margaret's actions, which deeply disturbed me .
Though I avoid awarding half points, this was possibly a 3.5 stars for me as a whole but due to the lack of redeeming qualities in the characters, I think I will stay at 3 stars. I liked that Ms. Ames gives the reader things to ponder rather than just a superficial read and that the characters were imperfect. However, none would have been people that I would see myself every being friends with in real life. I am definitely open to reading her future works.
Thank you to Viking Press, Goodreads and Author Elizabeth Ames for providing me with a copy of this story in return for an honest review.
Addendum - spoiler alert
This is the kind of book, I think is written to be read by other "writers" and academics. Her premise, that we don't always chose who is best for us, instead we select those can forward our agenda. Instead of being inspired to be better, some chose those who will validate us when we do wrong.
Each person had questionable moral character in some aspect of her life. Each person coped by minimizing her behavior and its impact to soothe her conscious, some had more of a conscious to start than others. I really disliked these characters, especially the pedophile...I think that was the author's point. That people with bad behaviors hang with others with bad behaviors, that they make this choice to affiliate with those equal or worse than themselves to seem less immoral. It goes along with the psychology of "group think", which was operational in several situations. I agree with this perception but that consensus on my part alone did not make this book more appealing. However, it did make it an interesting read.
Her technique and objectives were well executed but some of the things these women did were utterly despicable.
Ms. Ames is a talented author. Her words are carefully chosen. Her dialogue is interesting and the storyline was smooth, especially as the four characters transition throughout the book each woman sharing her perceptions, motivations and actions. As the blurb states that each has a secret to hide, the others must decide if they can stifle her negative reaction to support her friend as she works through her trauma. None are perfect and each shows her weakest moment with her "sisters". This exposure leads to legal and ethical challenges and the others' responsibility in support of immoral behaviors. These challenges cause each to evaluate what her obligation is the others.
This story held my interest throughout. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with any of the characters. They were all pretty narcissistic particularly Lainey and Ji Sun. Thus, the author wanted to expose to us, our own narcissistic behaviors. This is portrayed with insightful authenticity. It is particularly accurate for Millennials (as this story starts around 2002 or so). My own observations among my peer group 20 years prior, was fueled by extreme levels of jealousy. I personally avoided these struggles with my peers and see this challenge fought valiantly by these women. That said, I still found them really annoying, selfish and off putting. I am not sure if I would have compromised my ethics to support what some actual had done. I do not think I would remained silent especially in regard to Margaret's actions, which deeply disturbed me .
Though I avoid awarding half points, this was possibly a 3.5 stars for me as a whole but due to the lack of redeeming qualities in the characters, I think I will stay at 3 stars. I liked that Ms. Ames gives the reader things to ponder rather than just a superficial read and that the characters were imperfect. However, none would have been people that I would see myself every being friends with in real life. I am definitely open to reading her future works.
Thank you to Viking Press, Goodreads and Author Elizabeth Ames for providing me with a copy of this story in return for an honest review.
Addendum - spoiler alert
This is the kind of book, I think is written to be read by other "writers" and academics. Her premise, that we don't always chose who is best for us, instead we select those can forward our agenda. Instead of being inspired to be better, some chose those who will validate us when we do wrong.
Each person had questionable moral character in some aspect of her life. Each person coped by minimizing her behavior and its impact to soothe her conscious, some had more of a conscious to start than others. I really disliked these characters, especially the pedophile...I think that was the author's point. That people with bad behaviors hang with others with bad behaviors, that they make this choice to affiliate with those equal or worse than themselves to seem less immoral. It goes along with the psychology of "group think", which was operational in several situations. I agree with this perception but that consensus on my part alone did not make this book more appealing. However, it did make it an interesting read.
Her technique and objectives were well executed but some of the things these women did were utterly despicable.
August 27, 2019
I had such high hopes for this debut. Unfortunately I was left feeling underwhelmed and quite confused. I’m perplexed as to what the point was of it all. It clearly went over my head. The 4 very unique mistakes presented didn’t leave me with any emotional connection to the characters and felt a bit over the top. In fact, I don’t quite understand the friendships in the story. It might be because we are presented with a group of ladies that have forged instant bonds even before they have embarked on life. I understand college friendships are often ones we carry through life but they aren’t necessarily instant. These felt very forced and ingenious. Really, I felt like most of these women would dislike one another in real life. I also think the author missed the opportunity to explore some deeper topics. I’m rambling on right now and may circle back with more clarity. Until then I would unfortunately recommend passing on this one.
July 3, 2019
This book was all kinds of crazy, in the best ways possible. Four women who become a close unit of friends in college each make one terrible mistake in this beautifully written book. These characters are unbelievably well drawn. Each one of them leaps off the page with vivacity and creative energy. I would read 3 more novels with these women featured, their flaws and fierce love for one another were addictive.
Perfect summer to fall read for those who need more punchy characters in their lives.
Perfect summer to fall read for those who need more punchy characters in their lives.
April 26, 2021
I'm not really sure about what I'm supposed to say right now because I probably I didn't fully understand the story.
In a review, I've read this is a book that you love or hate, but I feel I’m more in a grey area right now.
What's the meaning of all this? Tell the story of four young girls becoming women in the world or the one mistake they’ve all made during the years?
The author wasn’t very clear in the prologue about this but in this way, she pushed the reader to find something shocking in every chapter and, in my opinion, ruined the real nature of the story.
I've never read a book about friendship like this one, and I found out I love the genre.
Four is the perfect number for a group of friends - if two isn’t available -, and the girls here can't be more different but at the same time more perfect for each other.
Ji Sun, Alice, Margaret, and Lainey are far away from perfection and you'll find out how, but at the beginning - when they have just arrived at college and real-life is ready to start - there is this aura of new experiences and adult life. Everything is still possible.
Yes, the college years are the best, they’re everything I've ever imagined on the college experience that you can have only in American ones.
But from that moment on, the tone changes. The girls are adults now, it’s a normal thing but reading it became more difficult somehow.
The proper word is probably “heavy”.
While you're trying to catch up with everyone, the pages start to being too long and with all these tough words. It’s starting to feel less like a novel and more like an essay.
And while the author is too focus on telling you what is going on in that moment, there are these blank spaces of their life that we read - because she told us about - but we don’t fully know: how is now Alice’s brother? What’s the story behind Ji Sun’s family? Did Lainey and her sister made peace? Why Margaret always seems so foolish?
I truly think that the story could have been explained better, but I got the concept.
I just don’t think it’s the new great American novel.
↠ 3.8 stars
In a review, I've read this is a book that you love or hate, but I feel I’m more in a grey area right now.
What's the meaning of all this? Tell the story of four young girls becoming women in the world or the one mistake they’ve all made during the years?
The author wasn’t very clear in the prologue about this but in this way, she pushed the reader to find something shocking in every chapter and, in my opinion, ruined the real nature of the story.
I've never read a book about friendship like this one, and I found out I love the genre.
Four is the perfect number for a group of friends - if two isn’t available -, and the girls here can't be more different but at the same time more perfect for each other.
Ji Sun, Alice, Margaret, and Lainey are far away from perfection and you'll find out how, but at the beginning - when they have just arrived at college and real-life is ready to start - there is this aura of new experiences and adult life. Everything is still possible.
Yes, the college years are the best, they’re everything I've ever imagined on the college experience that you can have only in American ones.
But from that moment on, the tone changes. The girls are adults now, it’s a normal thing but reading it became more difficult somehow.
The proper word is probably “heavy”.
While you're trying to catch up with everyone, the pages start to being too long and with all these tough words. It’s starting to feel less like a novel and more like an essay.
And while the author is too focus on telling you what is going on in that moment, there are these blank spaces of their life that we read - because she told us about - but we don’t fully know: how is now Alice’s brother? What’s the story behind Ji Sun’s family? Did Lainey and her sister made peace? Why Margaret always seems so foolish?
I truly think that the story could have been explained better, but I got the concept.
I just don’t think it’s the new great American novel.
↠ 3.8 stars
June 15, 2019
4.5 stars
The Other’s Gold is the story of four young women’s path to adulthood, with ordinary ups and downs elevated through lyrical prose, containing current political and social events seamlessly woven in, making the reader feel like they could have been part of this lucky quartet.
Ames has a lovely way of writing, presenting everyday life as a magical secret that she’s willing to share, if you listen closely to her whispered tale…
She balances so much- family drama, sisterhood, sexual harassment, feminist ideals, disappointments, triumphs, and more. One can’t help but fall in love with the characters, share in their celebrations, and mourn their mistakes and loses.
This debut was top rate, and I highly recommend it!
This ARC was provided by Viking/Penguin, in exchange for an honest review.
The Other’s Gold is the story of four young women’s path to adulthood, with ordinary ups and downs elevated through lyrical prose, containing current political and social events seamlessly woven in, making the reader feel like they could have been part of this lucky quartet.
Ames has a lovely way of writing, presenting everyday life as a magical secret that she’s willing to share, if you listen closely to her whispered tale…
She balances so much- family drama, sisterhood, sexual harassment, feminist ideals, disappointments, triumphs, and more. One can’t help but fall in love with the characters, share in their celebrations, and mourn their mistakes and loses.
This debut was top rate, and I highly recommend it!
This ARC was provided by Viking/Penguin, in exchange for an honest review.
July 8, 2020
I found this character-driven novel about the intense friendships between four young women very compelling, especially as they became older. I really like the way Ames writes and found myself re-reading many sentences. I didn't feel much of a connection with these four women - but I was fascinated enough to keep turning the pages.
June 27, 2019
A 2019 favorite and one of the best adult fiction books this mostly YA readers has read in a while! Elizabeth Ames' writing style completely sucked me in, and I just loved this story so much!
September 2, 2019
zero stars! I work at a book store so I get to read ARCs. Sometimes they are good and sometimes they are not. I do not understand how this book ever was published. It is about 4 girls who ended up being roommates in college and become fast friends. "Each of the girls will make a terrible mistake" That is what the blurb says. They do not make "mistakes." They should all be in jail! These are not mistakes, they are choices that each person made with no repercussions except that they feel guilt. That is it! I feel guilty because I ate an extra slice of cake, not because I committed a crime! I have read 2/3 of this book and I am finished so I will never know the fourth "mistake." Once pedophilia was excused, I’m out. I do not like writing bad reviews but I am a worse person for having read what I read of this book.
September 19, 2019
This was one of those books I got hooked on the story and kept reading compulsively to find what happened. But I hated three of the four main characters. The four girls started college the same time I did, so the pop culture references were not lost on me and I experienced the events referenced in the book at the same ages/life stages. Ji Sun is an amoral liar who was fine with potentially ruining a man’s life with her false allegations. Even if he was guilty (and he was), lying about harassment makes it that much harder for the real victims to come forward. And sleeping with her best friend’s husband while her friend is in a mental institution? Seriously horrible. Being molested as a child doesn’t excuse Margaret kissing a 13 year old boy as a 27 year old woman. Lainey’s participation in Occupy Wall Street is incongruous since she mooches off of her 1% friend and doesn’t move out of her fancy Manhattan apartment. Alice isn’t that horrible but just kinda meh. The “accident” seemed slightly contrived. I think she turned out to be a decent human being after all - she eventually did the right thing with Lainey and she adopted a child.
The ending was dissatisfying and anticlimactic. It was very abrupt and very little resolution to anything - what was the point of all of that?
The ending was dissatisfying and anticlimactic. It was very abrupt and very little resolution to anything - what was the point of all of that?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 22, 2019Celeste Ng blurbed this and i am not okay
October 24, 2019
This one was a struggle to get through and one I should have DNF-ed at about page 50. Naively, I thought it might get better or the storyline might come together. But this book was about... nothing. There was no plot. There are a lot of words (the author is VERY wordy when it comes to writing sentences) but they don't go anywhere.
The plot? Four girls meet in college, become instant friends and each make a bordering-on-illegal mistake. Do they learn from those mistakes? Nope. Do they support each other and this is about the bonds of friendship going above and beyond? Nope. Does this come to a resolution where they end up paying for those mistakes? Nope. Nothing. The book describes each mistake and then continues on to the next one.
I didn't connect with the characters. I found myself re-reading sentences just trying to wade through all of the words to get to the point and I kept waiting for something to happen. It didn't.
The plot? Four girls meet in college, become instant friends and each make a bordering-on-illegal mistake. Do they learn from those mistakes? Nope. Do they support each other and this is about the bonds of friendship going above and beyond? Nope. Does this come to a resolution where they end up paying for those mistakes? Nope. Nothing. The book describes each mistake and then continues on to the next one.
I didn't connect with the characters. I found myself re-reading sentences just trying to wade through all of the words to get to the point and I kept waiting for something to happen. It didn't.
August 29, 2019
My favorite book of 2019! The Other's Gold is must-read, un-put-down-able, absolutely triumphant debut novel by a major new literary voice. Narrated in spectacular prose with breathtaking emotional intimacy and insight, Ames' big-hearted, character-driven book left me in awe. Simultaneously funny and heartbreaking, joyous and mournful, hopeful and devastating, this profoundly honest exploration of friendship, family, endurance, and forgiveness chronicles the lives four unforgettable female friends: Alice, Lainey, Ji Sun, and Margaret. In four intricately interlaced sections, we watch their multidimensional friendship begin, evolve, falter, strengthen, and transform as each lovingly-rendered character makes a momentous mistake, and endeavors to navigate its aftermath, together and alone, for better and worse. For anyone who loves Lorrie Moore's humor and wit, Meg Wolitzer's leap-off-the-page characters, George Saunders' bottomless empathy, Johnathan Franzen's insight into families and foibles (or, more simply, for anyone who loves thematic richness, riveting drama, intimate characterization, and beautiful, inventive prose), I cannot recommend Elizabeth Ames' bravura debut highly enough - each page is worth far more than its own weight in gold.
Addendum: It also has the best blurbs, and the most beautiful cover known to man. Read it!
Addendum: It also has the best blurbs, and the most beautiful cover known to man. Read it!
August 25, 2021
(2.5) Make new friends but keep the old, / One is silver and the other’s gold. Do you know that little tune? We would sing it as a round at summer camp. It provides a clever title for this story of four college roommates whose lives are marked by the threat of sexual violence and ambivalent feelings about motherhood. Alice, Ji Sun, Lainey and Margaret first meet as freshmen in 2002 when they’re assigned to the same suite (with a window seat! how envious am I?) at Quincy-Hawthorn College.
They live together for the whole four years – a highly unusual situation – and see each other through crises at college and in the years to come as they find partners and meander into motherhood. Iraq War protests and the Occupy movement form a turbulent background, but the friends’ overriding concerns are more personal. One girl was molested by her brother as a child and has kept secret her act of revenge; one has a crush on a professor until she learns he has sexual harassment charges being filed against him by multiple female students. Infertility later provokes jealousy between the young women, and mental health issues come to the fore.
As in Expectation by Anna Hope, the book starts to be all about babies at a certain point. That’s not a problem if you’re prepared for and interested in this theme, but I love campus novels so much that my engagement waned as the characters left university behind. Also, the characters seemed too artificially manufactured to inject diversity (Ji Sun is a wealthy Korean; adopted Lainey is of mixed Latina heritage, and bisexual; Margaret has Native American blood) and embody certain experiences. And, unfortunately, any #MeToo-themed read encountered in the wake of My Dark Vanessa is going to pale by comparison.
Part One held my interest, but after that I skimmed to the end. I’ve read lots of fiction about groups of female friends this summer, partly by accident and partly by design, and will likely do a feature on it in an upcoming month. For now, I’d recommend Lara Feigel’s The Group instead of this.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
They live together for the whole four years – a highly unusual situation – and see each other through crises at college and in the years to come as they find partners and meander into motherhood. Iraq War protests and the Occupy movement form a turbulent background, but the friends’ overriding concerns are more personal. One girl was molested by her brother as a child and has kept secret her act of revenge; one has a crush on a professor until she learns he has sexual harassment charges being filed against him by multiple female students. Infertility later provokes jealousy between the young women, and mental health issues come to the fore.
As in Expectation by Anna Hope, the book starts to be all about babies at a certain point. That’s not a problem if you’re prepared for and interested in this theme, but I love campus novels so much that my engagement waned as the characters left university behind. Also, the characters seemed too artificially manufactured to inject diversity (Ji Sun is a wealthy Korean; adopted Lainey is of mixed Latina heritage, and bisexual; Margaret has Native American blood) and embody certain experiences. And, unfortunately, any #MeToo-themed read encountered in the wake of My Dark Vanessa is going to pale by comparison.
Part One held my interest, but after that I skimmed to the end. I’ve read lots of fiction about groups of female friends this summer, partly by accident and partly by design, and will likely do a feature on it in an upcoming month. For now, I’d recommend Lara Feigel’s The Group instead of this.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
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April 27, 2020(#gifted @pushkin_press) When I say female, you say friendship! Female! Friendship! Female! Friendship! In case you didn't know, I LOVE books that explore friendships between women, in all their forms: wholesome, toxic, loving, cruel, anything, gimme it, I'll read it. So it was inevitable that I would enjoy The Other's Gold to some extent, as we follow a group of four women from college through to their early 30s, seeing their friendship grow, blossom, and be put to the test. It sounds like my dream book, but unfortunately, it was quite an uneven reading experience for me.
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The book is structured in four sections, and in each one we discover each woman's deepest secret, biggest mistake, or serious regret. Each of these secrets changes the way the group interacts and thinks of one another, begging the question, does doing one bad thing make you a bad person? If you're a reader who needs clear-cut answers to questions in books, then The Other's Gold is not for you. None of the women get closure, Ames doesn't offer up any answers to the questions she poses. Rather, she lays out these women's lives in meticulous detail, reflecting the messiness of real life.
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I did have a problem with Ames's prose at times. I know I sound hypocritical because I said in a review last week that I love purple prose but apparently I do have a limit. I could practically sense how much the author had agonised over sentences and paragraphs, and the effect was stilted and strained on occasion.
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I also found the choices made by the women INCREDIBLY frustrating at times. Which, you know, is life. People do stupid things. But the final section and the final mistake was like something out of a Lifetime movie.
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And yet, despite its flaws, I still found myself compulsively drawn back into the lives of these characters. Was it like rubbernecking a car crash at times? Certainly. But there is something undeniably fascinating about being such an intimate observer of someone else's (fictional) life. I think if you're a fan of Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings then you will find lots to appreciate in this novel.
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The book is structured in four sections, and in each one we discover each woman's deepest secret, biggest mistake, or serious regret. Each of these secrets changes the way the group interacts and thinks of one another, begging the question, does doing one bad thing make you a bad person? If you're a reader who needs clear-cut answers to questions in books, then The Other's Gold is not for you. None of the women get closure, Ames doesn't offer up any answers to the questions she poses. Rather, she lays out these women's lives in meticulous detail, reflecting the messiness of real life.
.
I did have a problem with Ames's prose at times. I know I sound hypocritical because I said in a review last week that I love purple prose but apparently I do have a limit. I could practically sense how much the author had agonised over sentences and paragraphs, and the effect was stilted and strained on occasion.
.
I also found the choices made by the women INCREDIBLY frustrating at times. Which, you know, is life. People do stupid things. But the final section and the final mistake was like something out of a Lifetime movie.
.
And yet, despite its flaws, I still found myself compulsively drawn back into the lives of these characters. Was it like rubbernecking a car crash at times? Certainly. But there is something undeniably fascinating about being such an intimate observer of someone else's (fictional) life. I think if you're a fan of Meg Wolitzer's The Interestings then you will find lots to appreciate in this novel.
December 14, 2019
I have some mixed emotions about this one. My first read for a book club so I actually took notes- which I haven't done since college. These girls don't seem like they really actually like each other, which made this hard to buy into. I wouldn't treat my friends in the ways these girls did in the book. I could definitely feel some connections especially with Lainey who seemed the most relatable to me- until The Bite. The last two sections (The Kiss and The Bite) were so odd and not what I was expecting. I also had some complicated mixed reactions to The Accusation, since I'm not sure false rape/sexual assault accusations are adding anything to the 2019 scene. Problematic and unhelpful. Overall, I didn't want to put the book down, but I found the characters mostly unlikable and kept wondering why I was supposed to believe their friendship. Did I miss something? Also, the ending left me wanting.
July 30, 2019
I won this book on Goodreads Giveaways. This is the story of four friends who share the same room in college and their friendship continues afterward. They each make mistakes that are very serious and unusual. For a first novel, this book is unbelievable, what a great imagination and writing ability this author has. I kept wondering what would happen next and felt like I really knew the characters because the reader sees their thoughts and feelings.
September 8, 2019
I rarely write a review. This writer used way too many words in most sentences. It became tedious. I’m glad I’m done.
August 27, 2019
Happy Publication Day to Elizabeth Ames for The Other’s Gold! If you’ve been following me for a little while, then you probably already know that I’m a sucker for books about friendship. They are my very favorite and I absolutely adore reading them. The Other’s Gold is a story about four friends who meet in their freshman year of college. The women all share the same suite at Quincy-Hawthorne College, quickly become friends and form instant bonds.
The novel is separated into four parts that center around a mistake that each of the women make - The Accident, The Accusation, The Kiss and The Bite. The reader follows the friends through their college years, as post graduates and then as they enter parenthood. I loved reading about how these four women evolved and still stayed connected throughout the years. They all make questionable choices, say hurtful things and are a tad unlikable at times! It is admirable how they all support one another and stay so close knit as time goes on.
Ames gives the reader the most honest and realistic look at parenthood and the exhausting journey it takes to get there. We read along as the women experience miscarriage, infertility, adoption, and postpartum depression. This joyous and life-changing period in our lives can also be messy, unpredictable and miserable. The parts in the novel revolving around parenthood were my most favorite to read. Thank you to the author and Viking Books for sending me an advance reader’s copy of this fantastic debut. It hits shelves today!
The novel is separated into four parts that center around a mistake that each of the women make - The Accident, The Accusation, The Kiss and The Bite. The reader follows the friends through their college years, as post graduates and then as they enter parenthood. I loved reading about how these four women evolved and still stayed connected throughout the years. They all make questionable choices, say hurtful things and are a tad unlikable at times! It is admirable how they all support one another and stay so close knit as time goes on.
Ames gives the reader the most honest and realistic look at parenthood and the exhausting journey it takes to get there. We read along as the women experience miscarriage, infertility, adoption, and postpartum depression. This joyous and life-changing period in our lives can also be messy, unpredictable and miserable. The parts in the novel revolving around parenthood were my most favorite to read. Thank you to the author and Viking Books for sending me an advance reader’s copy of this fantastic debut. It hits shelves today!
September 12, 2024
Personaggi caratterizzati alla perfezione 🔎👁️
(le quattro compagne di stanza che seguiamo nelle loro vicende dagli anni del college fino alla vita adulta con matrimoni figli e quant'altro), campus vibes piacevolissime🎓🍂 (infatti ho preferito la prima parte del romanzo alla seconda), una prospettiva assolutamente femminile🪡🫀 (e almeno in parte femminista: quando si parla di violenza, maternità, ma anche più semplicemente rapporti umani e gelosie e invidie e piccole meschinità dell'amicizia, comunque venate da un bene profondo e complesso) e insomma un esordio secondo me notevolissimo, anche se non perfetto dal punto di vista stilistico (ho avuto l'impressione che qualche frase non funzionasse del tutto, e che forse potesse dipendere anche dalla traduzione).
(le quattro compagne di stanza che seguiamo nelle loro vicende dagli anni del college fino alla vita adulta con matrimoni figli e quant'altro), campus vibes piacevolissime🎓🍂 (infatti ho preferito la prima parte del romanzo alla seconda), una prospettiva assolutamente femminile🪡🫀 (e almeno in parte femminista: quando si parla di violenza, maternità, ma anche più semplicemente rapporti umani e gelosie e invidie e piccole meschinità dell'amicizia, comunque venate da un bene profondo e complesso) e insomma un esordio secondo me notevolissimo, anche se non perfetto dal punto di vista stilistico (ho avuto l'impressione che qualche frase non funzionasse del tutto, e che forse potesse dipendere anche dalla traduzione).
August 26, 2019
Thanks to Viking Books for an advanced copy of this book.
I was incredibly nervous about this debut novel…the premise is everything I normally love in a character-driven story (campus setting, female friendship, etc), but the intangibles are key to these types of novels working well. I shouldn’t have worried because it was 5 stars for me! The writing style took me a minute to get used to (it has some very long sentences and requires a bit of concentration), but it’s gorgeous and Ames is an astute observer of life. The four friends are each dazzling in their own way and, together, their light shines even brighter, making you want to be in their orbit. And, this extends to their pull on each other, creating intriguing dynamics. Ames’s structure of the four mistakes could have been cliche, but her choices of what those mistakes were were brilliant. They are not ones you’d ever guess (trust me, these are not your run-of-the-mill life screw-ups) and I loved exploring the ripple effects of each one on the group. The Other’s Gold is ultimately a story about these characters’ chosen family seeing each other at their very worst moments and exploring how that impacts their relationships moving forward…and, it reminded me of The Interestings and The Ensemble.
Visit https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com for more reviews.
I was incredibly nervous about this debut novel…the premise is everything I normally love in a character-driven story (campus setting, female friendship, etc), but the intangibles are key to these types of novels working well. I shouldn’t have worried because it was 5 stars for me! The writing style took me a minute to get used to (it has some very long sentences and requires a bit of concentration), but it’s gorgeous and Ames is an astute observer of life. The four friends are each dazzling in their own way and, together, their light shines even brighter, making you want to be in their orbit. And, this extends to their pull on each other, creating intriguing dynamics. Ames’s structure of the four mistakes could have been cliche, but her choices of what those mistakes were were brilliant. They are not ones you’d ever guess (trust me, these are not your run-of-the-mill life screw-ups) and I loved exploring the ripple effects of each one on the group. The Other’s Gold is ultimately a story about these characters’ chosen family seeing each other at their very worst moments and exploring how that impacts their relationships moving forward…and, it reminded me of The Interestings and The Ensemble.
Visit https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com for more reviews.
June 15, 2019
Despite the fact that this is the type of novel that I generally like, I found this book very disappointing. Again, four college roommates bond and become lifelong friends. The women go through college traumas, marriage and motherhood maintaining this relationship.
The characters represented a carefully curated group, even to their diversity of background and hair color. All of this managed to feel very contrived. It seemed like the author found inspiration in books such as THE GROUP, but fell short.
However, the author tends to plod along and focus endlessly on a few incidents. I found the book very formulaic and predictable. I understand the use of foreshadowing, but readers don’t have to be hit over the head to see where some of the characters are going. I found the relationships rather unbelievable and I was left with a lack of closure.
So, I found this novel didn’t live up to my expectations.
The characters represented a carefully curated group, even to their diversity of background and hair color. All of this managed to feel very contrived. It seemed like the author found inspiration in books such as THE GROUP, but fell short.
However, the author tends to plod along and focus endlessly on a few incidents. I found the book very formulaic and predictable. I understand the use of foreshadowing, but readers don’t have to be hit over the head to see where some of the characters are going. I found the relationships rather unbelievable and I was left with a lack of closure.
So, I found this novel didn’t live up to my expectations.
August 12, 2020
3.5 not for readability–it was very readable. I read it in one sitting. I found that, as balanced as the storytelling was amongst the four protagonists, I was still dissatisfied with the initial construction of each character, in part because of my own close college friendship with 3 other girls. But as I continued reading, I appreciated the nuanced development of their characters and relationships.
I especially enjoyed the last section. It was an odd situation, but I think that this gave the novel the excuse and the edge it needed to draw the reader towards introspection on love, forgiveness, and friendship.
I especially enjoyed the last section. It was an odd situation, but I think that this gave the novel the excuse and the edge it needed to draw the reader towards introspection on love, forgiveness, and friendship.
February 16, 2025
Un libro prolisso su 4 persone orribili che fanno cose orribili senza assumersi alcun tipo di responsabilità.
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