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The Four Ms. Bradwells
Meg Waite Clayton’s national bestseller The Wednesday Sisters was a word-of-mouth sensation and book club favorite. Now the beloved author is back with a page-turning novel that explores the secrets we keep, even from those closest to us, and celebrates the enduring power of friendship.
Mia, Laney, Betts, and Ginger, best friends since law school, have reunited for a long weekend as Betts awaits Senate confirmation of her appointment to the Supreme Court. Nicknamed “the Ms. Bradwells” during their first class at the University of Michigan Law School in 1979—when only three women had ever served full Senate terms and none had been appointed to the Court—the four have supported one another through life’s challenges: marriages and divorces, births and deaths, career setbacks and triumphs large and small. Betts was, and still is, the Funny One. Ginger, the Rebel. Laney, the Good Girl. And Mia, the Savant.
But when the Senate hearings uncover a deeply buried skeleton in the friends’ collective closet, the Ms. Bradwells retreat to a summer house on the Chesapeake Bay, where they find themselves reliving a much darker period in their past—one that stirs up secrets they’ve kept for, and from, one another, and could change their lives forever.
Once again, Meg Waite Clayton writes inspiringly about the complex circumstances facing women and the heartfelt friendships that hold them together. Insightful and affecting, The Four Ms. Bradwells is also a captivating tale of how far people will go to protect the ones they love.
Mia, Laney, Betts, and Ginger, best friends since law school, have reunited for a long weekend as Betts awaits Senate confirmation of her appointment to the Supreme Court. Nicknamed “the Ms. Bradwells” during their first class at the University of Michigan Law School in 1979—when only three women had ever served full Senate terms and none had been appointed to the Court—the four have supported one another through life’s challenges: marriages and divorces, births and deaths, career setbacks and triumphs large and small. Betts was, and still is, the Funny One. Ginger, the Rebel. Laney, the Good Girl. And Mia, the Savant.
But when the Senate hearings uncover a deeply buried skeleton in the friends’ collective closet, the Ms. Bradwells retreat to a summer house on the Chesapeake Bay, where they find themselves reliving a much darker period in their past—one that stirs up secrets they’ve kept for, and from, one another, and could change their lives forever.
Once again, Meg Waite Clayton writes inspiringly about the complex circumstances facing women and the heartfelt friendships that hold them together. Insightful and affecting, The Four Ms. Bradwells is also a captivating tale of how far people will go to protect the ones they love.
321 pages, Hardcover
First published March 22, 2011
227 people are currently reading
2445 people want to read
About the author
Meg Waite Clayton
12 books1,601 followersMeg Waite Clayton is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of 9 novels, including the forthcoming TYPEWRITER BEACH (Harper, July 1) — on Publishers Weekly’s list of 12 fiction “Hot Books of Summer,” which they call, in a starred review, “irresistible… Readers will be riveted.”
Her THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS was a Good Morning America Buzz pick, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, Costco Book Club pick, People Magazine, IndieNext booksellers, LoanStars librarians, USA Today, Book of the Month Club and Amazon Editors’ pick and Publishers Weekly notable book the San Francisco Chronicle calls "gripping … an evocative love story layered with heroism and intrigue — the film ‘Casablanca’ if Rick had an artsy bent … powerful.”
Her National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON was praised by Kristin Hannah as “An absolutely fascinating, beautifully rendered story of love, loss, and heroism … A glowing portrait of women rising up against impossible odds.”
Prior novels include the #1 Amazon fiction bestseller BEAUTIFUL EXILES, the Langum-Prize honored national bestseller THE RACE FOR PARIS- and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly's "25 Essential Best Friend Novels" of all time. Her THE LANGUAGE OF LIGHT was a finalist for the Bellwether Prize (now PEN/Bellwether Prize).
Her novels have been published in 24 languages throughout the world.
She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio. She has participated in the Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman sponsored The Writers Lab for screenwriting, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com
Her THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS was a Good Morning America Buzz pick, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, Costco Book Club pick, People Magazine, IndieNext booksellers, LoanStars librarians, USA Today, Book of the Month Club and Amazon Editors’ pick and Publishers Weekly notable book the San Francisco Chronicle calls "gripping … an evocative love story layered with heroism and intrigue — the film ‘Casablanca’ if Rick had an artsy bent … powerful.”
Her National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON was praised by Kristin Hannah as “An absolutely fascinating, beautifully rendered story of love, loss, and heroism … A glowing portrait of women rising up against impossible odds.”
Prior novels include the #1 Amazon fiction bestseller BEAUTIFUL EXILES, the Langum-Prize honored national bestseller THE RACE FOR PARIS- and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly's "25 Essential Best Friend Novels" of all time. Her THE LANGUAGE OF LIGHT was a finalist for the Bellwether Prize (now PEN/Bellwether Prize).
Her novels have been published in 24 languages throughout the world.
She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio. She has participated in the Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman sponsored The Writers Lab for screenwriting, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 374 reviews
April 12, 2011
The Four Ms. Bradwells was a book I wanted to like but, sadly, fell short of its mark for me. I read through this story of four women on the plane ride to and from California and I deliberately made sure I would have no other distractions and still I had a rough time getting through it.
I think the biggest problem was that it was just plain confusing to me. I felt as if Meg Waite Clayton were jumping around all over the place and I couldn't keep track of what time this or that was happening and if it was the present or the past and it took about 100 pages before I finally started to make sense of things. I also felt as if I was thrown into the story without given much info at all about the characters and, while I know who a few of them are (such as Mia and Laney) the other two remained a mystery for a long time.
I was really saddened that I just couldn't get into this one. I really wanted to like it and I'm all about the sisterhood, strong women type books but.. like I said, this one fell sadly short of the mark.
I think the biggest problem was that it was just plain confusing to me. I felt as if Meg Waite Clayton were jumping around all over the place and I couldn't keep track of what time this or that was happening and if it was the present or the past and it took about 100 pages before I finally started to make sense of things. I also felt as if I was thrown into the story without given much info at all about the characters and, while I know who a few of them are (such as Mia and Laney) the other two remained a mystery for a long time.
I was really saddened that I just couldn't get into this one. I really wanted to like it and I'm all about the sisterhood, strong women type books but.. like I said, this one fell sadly short of the mark.
April 16, 2012
This book was such a disappointment to me - I had such higher expectations from Meg Waite Clayton after having really enjoyed "The Wednesday Sisters". I found each of the four "Ms. Bradwells" completely unlikeable; as the story droned on and on, I found myself caring less and less what happened to them. Then, there were parts of the book that were so ridiculous and derisory that it became difficult to do anything but roll my eyes at the plot's absurdity. Plus, I ended up having to scan through portions because I was becoming so uninterested in the relentless retelling of the murder/suicide on Cook Island - enough already! I guess the biggest disappointment was the artificial, conniving relationship of four supposed "forever friends" who appeared to me to be backbiting, deceitful and disdainful. How I wished for the consequences of hubris to rain down on these ladies! With friend possibilities like these, I'll take the enemies. I wished that I would have followed my first impression to abandon this book instead of giving it too many chances to redeem itself. Lesson learned.
March 31, 2011
Meg Waite Clayton's The Four Ms. Bradwells is about four best friends who find themselves pursued by a horror from their past - a mysterious death that happened almost 30 years ago. Ginger, Laney, Betts and Mia have been close friends from their law school days. They have stood by each other through all their individual adversities and celebrated each others' happiness. At the moment the story begins, Betts is at her Supreme Court appointment hearing, when a senator asks her about her involvement in the murder. This opens up a can of worms as Betts denies having anything to add to the public record on that matter and the four friends make a getaway to Ginger's summer house, which was where the whole tragedy happened. There they spend the next few days reminiscing over their friendships, the good and bad decisions they made, their relationships with each other, all in the context of finally talking about what happened that fateful night.
The moment I read the synopsis of this book, I was sure that this was not a book for me. I don't usually read about women friendships, mostly because they've always sounded fake to me. Any girl or woman who's been in a close friendship with another girl/woman knows fully well how complex that relationship is. Besides, this book sounded like chick-lit to me. Not the funny/hilarious chick-lit, but the more serious kind. But I still went ahead and accepted this book for review, because I know how much Meg Clayton's The Wednesday Sisters was loved. I haven't yet come across someone who didn't recommend that book to me, so with some expectation and plenty of trepidation, I started reading this book.
The first 50 pages of this book were really slow. There was a lot of background buildup, and surprisingly, even flashbacks (which I've never felt to be a strong writing tool in the first few pages) that really confused me even more because I was yet to get invested in the characters. However, the rest of the book was simply awesome. I have to say that even I'm surprised to admit it, but this book was really nothing like I expected. For one thing, this is not chick-lit at all. Sure it's about women, and it's about women relationships and their whining and complaints, but the way it's all packaged is very different and powerful. The first thing that appealed to me was that this friendship was about the most realistic that I've ever read. These women had issues, they bickered about each other - not in a childish way though. There were times they didn't believe in each other and times when they felt insecure or left out. Each envied another for something they didn't have - be it a child, a lover, or attention from the male population. And yet, they stuck together - not with blind faith, but very humanly. They had issues and they were very adult about it, or rather very women about it. And you know what? I identified very strongly with the four friends and with their issues and non-issues.
When you have four women together - especially very ambitious ones like these four, you can expect there to be a lot of feminism and never-say-die attitude. There are so many women issues that Meg weaves into the story, without it ever feeling like a lecture on the worldly problems of the female gender. The four friends earn the nickname Ms. Bradwells in their first lecture class in law school where they analyze the case of Myra Bradwell's application to the Illinois bar after having passed the exam. Myra's admission was denied by the court because she was a woman.
These friends have very high ambitions for themselves. When they share their dreams with each other, there is no "do you think it's a practical goal" talk. There's only sharing of strategies and important network contacts. Encouraging their efforts is Ginger's mother, Faith, a lawyer and staunch advocate for women issues, who also strives hard to upkeep her public profile. Never once did she stop pushing the girls to achieve more and dream higher.
There are several strong powerful messages spread through this book. Most are positions we (probably) believe in or would stand for. I myself must have dictated similar messages a hundred times in my life, but what sets this book apart is how very articulately they are expressed. Women equality is something that many have fought for, for ages. As a woman, I assume or like to believe that being women, we do not show any bias against other women, and yet The Four Ms. Bradwells shows how very untrue that is. Even the strongest supporter of women welfare can squash a woman's right to freedom in the interest of promoting the women rights matter in general. It's like accepting a bribe to push forward an anti-corruption bill faster to the voting stage. Haven't we women been our biggest stumbling block sometimes? If all this sounds very dense, let me assure you that the book is hardly that. My point is to express how very powerfully Meg puts forward a message or sentiment. Even I had several eyebrow-raising moments especially when I was clinging to my prejudices.
I was however not too blown by the ending itself, although I loved the manner in which it was written. I saw it coming much earlier, but instead of making it still appear anticlimactic, Meg gradually weaves it into the story, almost as if she too expected us to have come to the same conclusion by then. I thought this manner of writing the ending was smartly done by the author, since she doesn't underestimate her reader and lets it slip that she knows we already know what the ending might be. I am a big fan of writers who can do that. What I didn't like much was how the ending suddenly became too comical, keeping in mind that these were 50+ year old women, each having lived under the public eye for a really long time. Other than this jarring note in the ending and the slow start, I thought this book was plain awesome. It did take me a long time to finish this book, but halfway through I realized that I didn't want to finish the book - the journey was just so rewarding!
The moment I read the synopsis of this book, I was sure that this was not a book for me. I don't usually read about women friendships, mostly because they've always sounded fake to me. Any girl or woman who's been in a close friendship with another girl/woman knows fully well how complex that relationship is. Besides, this book sounded like chick-lit to me. Not the funny/hilarious chick-lit, but the more serious kind. But I still went ahead and accepted this book for review, because I know how much Meg Clayton's The Wednesday Sisters was loved. I haven't yet come across someone who didn't recommend that book to me, so with some expectation and plenty of trepidation, I started reading this book.
The first 50 pages of this book were really slow. There was a lot of background buildup, and surprisingly, even flashbacks (which I've never felt to be a strong writing tool in the first few pages) that really confused me even more because I was yet to get invested in the characters. However, the rest of the book was simply awesome. I have to say that even I'm surprised to admit it, but this book was really nothing like I expected. For one thing, this is not chick-lit at all. Sure it's about women, and it's about women relationships and their whining and complaints, but the way it's all packaged is very different and powerful. The first thing that appealed to me was that this friendship was about the most realistic that I've ever read. These women had issues, they bickered about each other - not in a childish way though. There were times they didn't believe in each other and times when they felt insecure or left out. Each envied another for something they didn't have - be it a child, a lover, or attention from the male population. And yet, they stuck together - not with blind faith, but very humanly. They had issues and they were very adult about it, or rather very women about it. And you know what? I identified very strongly with the four friends and with their issues and non-issues.
When you have four women together - especially very ambitious ones like these four, you can expect there to be a lot of feminism and never-say-die attitude. There are so many women issues that Meg weaves into the story, without it ever feeling like a lecture on the worldly problems of the female gender. The four friends earn the nickname Ms. Bradwells in their first lecture class in law school where they analyze the case of Myra Bradwell's application to the Illinois bar after having passed the exam. Myra's admission was denied by the court because she was a woman.
The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life...The paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator.
~ US Supreme Court Justice Joseph P. Bradley in the Bradwell v. Illinois.
These friends have very high ambitions for themselves. When they share their dreams with each other, there is no "do you think it's a practical goal" talk. There's only sharing of strategies and important network contacts. Encouraging their efforts is Ginger's mother, Faith, a lawyer and staunch advocate for women issues, who also strives hard to upkeep her public profile. Never once did she stop pushing the girls to achieve more and dream higher.
There are several strong powerful messages spread through this book. Most are positions we (probably) believe in or would stand for. I myself must have dictated similar messages a hundred times in my life, but what sets this book apart is how very articulately they are expressed. Women equality is something that many have fought for, for ages. As a woman, I assume or like to believe that being women, we do not show any bias against other women, and yet The Four Ms. Bradwells shows how very untrue that is. Even the strongest supporter of women welfare can squash a woman's right to freedom in the interest of promoting the women rights matter in general. It's like accepting a bribe to push forward an anti-corruption bill faster to the voting stage. Haven't we women been our biggest stumbling block sometimes? If all this sounds very dense, let me assure you that the book is hardly that. My point is to express how very powerfully Meg puts forward a message or sentiment. Even I had several eyebrow-raising moments especially when I was clinging to my prejudices.
I was however not too blown by the ending itself, although I loved the manner in which it was written. I saw it coming much earlier, but instead of making it still appear anticlimactic, Meg gradually weaves it into the story, almost as if she too expected us to have come to the same conclusion by then. I thought this manner of writing the ending was smartly done by the author, since she doesn't underestimate her reader and lets it slip that she knows we already know what the ending might be. I am a big fan of writers who can do that. What I didn't like much was how the ending suddenly became too comical, keeping in mind that these were 50+ year old women, each having lived under the public eye for a really long time. Other than this jarring note in the ending and the slow start, I thought this book was plain awesome. It did take me a long time to finish this book, but halfway through I realized that I didn't want to finish the book - the journey was just so rewarding!
May 20, 2015
I wish the ending would have revealed that Faith killed Trey that would have been more interesting. This could have been a better book if the way it was written wasn't so damn confusing
May 13, 2011
It's probably wrong to claim that I've read this book because I gave up about 120 pages into it. I wanted to like it and I tried...but the characters just wouldn't let me! I could neither relate to any of the four main characters nor find anything terribly likable about them. The friendship they share is presumably special but other than some loyalty, there are a lot of questions about why they are still friends. The writing style is so herky jerky that one could blame it on that. Fading from the current to the past and everywhere in between the author does try to give the reader opportunities to evoke emotion towards her characters. However, I found it difficult to develop any empathy towards these seemingly overachieving yet slightly vapid women. I gave it two stars because there are other readers who apparently liked it and maybe I'm just not the target audience...
April 29, 2016
I gave it over 100 pages and just couldn't stand it anymore. It was just so boring. It was hard to distinguish one character from another. Four equally inane characters who apparently excel in skinny dipping, their favorite pastime. There are many references to this and maybe it ties in to some horrible event that may derail the chance of becoming a Supreme Court Justice for one of the characters, but I no longer care.
I had read and liked The Wednesday Sisters by this author and had great hopes for this book. I'll probably skip future books by this author, now that I know how badly she can write.
I had read and liked The Wednesday Sisters by this author and had great hopes for this book. I'll probably skip future books by this author, now that I know how badly she can write.
August 16, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. I did not. The author took too long to tell her story. The short chapters with change of narrator each chapter did not work for me. I love books about lawyers but, frankly, I did not like any of the four main characters and the story that was eventually told seemed farfetched. This author can write which is the reason for the three stars. Oherwise, I would not have finished . I plan to read at least one more of her books.
March 14, 2024
2.5 stars rounded up
September 16, 2025
Terribly long and drawn-out book that left me with so many unanswered questions. This novel was a huge disappointment.
couldn-t-finish
March 13, 2017After reading nearly only true crime books in 2017 I am really in the mood for something else. A fiction book that manages to capture me and brings me to another world. A book that when I end it I am sad because I want more. That is not so much to ask is it now? 
So when I began reading this book I was really looking forward to it. I knew it was about the lives of 4 women and I love books about women meeting as girls and growing up, or women and their friendships with other women.
Well I am not going to finish it. I do not like the writing this time, the way the women interacted.
Yes,I have read 10% or so but then decided I loved one of her other books but this one is not for me.
No rating
So when I began reading this book I was really looking forward to it. I knew it was about the lives of 4 women and I love books about women meeting as girls and growing up, or women and their friendships with other women.
Well I am not going to finish it. I do not like the writing this time, the way the women interacted.
Yes,I have read 10% or so but then decided I loved one of her other books but this one is not for me.
No rating
August 11, 2011
I really had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book about four friends who meet in law school. It's not that I necessarily expected anything frilly, but I didn't realize the profundity it would have or the thought it would inspire.
The book starts out when the four friends, in their fifties, are at the senate confirmation hearing for Betts, who has been nominated for the supreme court. All is going well and her appointment to the bench is expected when a senator throws out one last question. He asks her about a potential scandal from her past that, in itself, has the ability to change the trajectory of her career and that of her friends'. After spitting out a prepared answer, Betts and her friends hop in the car and, with a change of their original plans which included dinner and a Broadway musical in Manhattan, head off to Ginger's secluded summer home on Cook Island to escape the tenacious press. As the women hole up in the home over the weekend, they are confronted with the truths of their past, their secrets, some of which the've all shared and others that they've kept to themselves. And in the meantime, the readers are presented with the complexities inevitable in female friendships.
This book was almost equally about 1) the dynamics of the friendship, 2) about the scandal that's first alluded to in the senate confirmation hearing, and 3) about what it means to be a woman in today's society and workforce. The chapters alternate among the four women: Betts, Ginger, Laney, and Mia. Some people find this type of narration confusing, but I found it valuable, especially based on the feministic content of the book, to hear each of these characters on that more personal level. The scandal was what incited the main plot but otherwise remained somewhat of a background to the story. As the women spend the weekend at the home thinking back on the past, the narration looks back in the character's lives through the years starting from how they met and then focusing largely on the one weekend that will come to haunt them so many years later.
Another focus of this book was the discussion about women and double standards. There was discussion about the hypocrisy of society, about women in the workforce, female victims of violence, etc. The four Ms. Bradwells (as the four women are referred to) met in law school in 1979 when women were still often demeaned or looked down upon. Each of the women in the book was portrayed, despite their individual faults, as strong, independent women. There were great points made that would make this book great for book clubs. By the time I finished it I felt a sort of renewed and increased desire to achieve some of the goals I've laid out for myself and assert my independence as a woman.
There was also a lot to think about in terms of friendships. There were many times throughout when I wondered to myself how these women stayed friends throughout the years. It's pretty admirable, I think, to overcome the fights and the bad feelings that are bound to happen and to maintain that closeness they had in college. It may be that I can't relate because I don't feel I have those close bonds with anyone, but that could also be because I wouldn't put up with a lot of what these women dealt each other. So the concept of their friendship was an interesting one for me.
The Four Ms. Bradwells packed a punch that I truly wasn't expecting. Some readers may be turned away by the heaviness in the plot or the lack of fast pace. But I felt the author did a great job of pacing everything to provide the back story, allowing us to get to know these women, revealing bits of the scandal here and there, and realistically fitting this all into less than a week in the Ms. Bradwells' lives.
Definitely a read that made me feel Girl Power! ;)
Taken from my blog at www.takemeawayreading.com
The book starts out when the four friends, in their fifties, are at the senate confirmation hearing for Betts, who has been nominated for the supreme court. All is going well and her appointment to the bench is expected when a senator throws out one last question. He asks her about a potential scandal from her past that, in itself, has the ability to change the trajectory of her career and that of her friends'. After spitting out a prepared answer, Betts and her friends hop in the car and, with a change of their original plans which included dinner and a Broadway musical in Manhattan, head off to Ginger's secluded summer home on Cook Island to escape the tenacious press. As the women hole up in the home over the weekend, they are confronted with the truths of their past, their secrets, some of which the've all shared and others that they've kept to themselves. And in the meantime, the readers are presented with the complexities inevitable in female friendships.
This book was almost equally about 1) the dynamics of the friendship, 2) about the scandal that's first alluded to in the senate confirmation hearing, and 3) about what it means to be a woman in today's society and workforce. The chapters alternate among the four women: Betts, Ginger, Laney, and Mia. Some people find this type of narration confusing, but I found it valuable, especially based on the feministic content of the book, to hear each of these characters on that more personal level. The scandal was what incited the main plot but otherwise remained somewhat of a background to the story. As the women spend the weekend at the home thinking back on the past, the narration looks back in the character's lives through the years starting from how they met and then focusing largely on the one weekend that will come to haunt them so many years later.
Another focus of this book was the discussion about women and double standards. There was discussion about the hypocrisy of society, about women in the workforce, female victims of violence, etc. The four Ms. Bradwells (as the four women are referred to) met in law school in 1979 when women were still often demeaned or looked down upon. Each of the women in the book was portrayed, despite their individual faults, as strong, independent women. There were great points made that would make this book great for book clubs. By the time I finished it I felt a sort of renewed and increased desire to achieve some of the goals I've laid out for myself and assert my independence as a woman.
There was also a lot to think about in terms of friendships. There were many times throughout when I wondered to myself how these women stayed friends throughout the years. It's pretty admirable, I think, to overcome the fights and the bad feelings that are bound to happen and to maintain that closeness they had in college. It may be that I can't relate because I don't feel I have those close bonds with anyone, but that could also be because I wouldn't put up with a lot of what these women dealt each other. So the concept of their friendship was an interesting one for me.
The Four Ms. Bradwells packed a punch that I truly wasn't expecting. Some readers may be turned away by the heaviness in the plot or the lack of fast pace. But I felt the author did a great job of pacing everything to provide the back story, allowing us to get to know these women, revealing bits of the scandal here and there, and realistically fitting this all into less than a week in the Ms. Bradwells' lives.
Definitely a read that made me feel Girl Power! ;)
Taken from my blog at www.takemeawayreading.com
October 13, 2011
Gifted, Entertaining, and Mysterious—A GEM of a Novel!
Summary: On the eve of Betts potential confirmation as a Supreme Court justice, she retreats with three of her former law-school classmates—and best friends—to their popular Chesapeake island getaway. Along with the summer house, they also revisit their memories of a tragic spring weekend spent there that changed their lives completely. Their memories of that weekend—some shared and some withheld—and the decisions they will make this weekend will be just as life-changing as the last time they were there. As they share secrets they’ve kept for over 30 years, the mystery of what really occurred comes to light. Told from the alternating points of view of these four friends, the narrative also flashes back and forth from the present to that fateful spring break in 1982. Although the time and perspective transitions are well-marked, readers must stay on their toes not to miss them.
Characters: I love a good “girlfriend” novel—and “Bradwells”, like its predecessor, “The Wednesday Sisters” did not disappoint. The main characters are the four former law students: Mia “the Savant”—an unemployed journalist, Betts “the funny one”–a college professor and Supreme Court nominee, Laney “the good girl”—an attorney and candidate for the Georgia state senate, and Ginger “the rebel”—an attorney turned poet. In addition, their mothers and daughter play strong supporting roles. In particular is Ginger’s mother, Faith, (an attorney in an era when most women didn’t even work—much less hold professional positions) who enjoyed playing mentor to all of the “Ms. Bradwells”. Don’t be put-off by all of the lawyers running around—that element does provide intelligence to the characters—but they still walk around with both feet on the ground.
Themes: In addition to Friendship—and all of the jealousies, complexities and tenderness that implies, the Mother/Daughter theme is strong throughout. The author skillfully juxtaposes the daughter in one generation, later playing the mother in the next, and through this role reversal she gains insight into her own mother’s motivations and sacrifices. Also the theme of Feminism is strong—sexual politics, gender power, and the abuse and discrimination that can result from the same. Love and Loneliness, and Secrets and Truth are explored as well.
Why Book Clubs Will Love it: In addition to the very discussable themes already outlined, at its core the novel is also a page-turning mystery—with suspense continuing to build until the very end. It almost has a vibrant “Who shot JR-type” thread running throughout—without the trashy melodrama—making it a compelling read.
It is also an intelligent novel—without trying to be too high-brow, and it’s clever without trying to be overly “wink, wink”. Meg is witty with her details such as: the way in which the women are dubbed “Ms. Bradwells” their first day in law school; the name of Faith’s boat: the Roe v. Wade; and the alumni news that she inserts as an epigraph in many of the chapters, e.g.: “Law Quadrangle Notes, Spring 1992: Ms. Helen Weils (JD ’82) and her husband Will Robeson are happy to announce the birth of their third child: Ginger Elsbieta Mary Robeson, a.k.a. Ms. Gem Robeson-Bradwell.” (She was named after the other three Ms. Bradwells: Ginger, Betts, and Mia)
There was only one small scene at the end that I found to be over-the-top (this from the queen of over-the-top) and not in sync with how the characters would respond—but that was a small distraction from on overwhelming enjoyable read.
I predict this will be a popular book club title—pick up a copy when it releases tomorrow, March 22!
Cheers!
BCC
Summary: On the eve of Betts potential confirmation as a Supreme Court justice, she retreats with three of her former law-school classmates—and best friends—to their popular Chesapeake island getaway. Along with the summer house, they also revisit their memories of a tragic spring weekend spent there that changed their lives completely. Their memories of that weekend—some shared and some withheld—and the decisions they will make this weekend will be just as life-changing as the last time they were there. As they share secrets they’ve kept for over 30 years, the mystery of what really occurred comes to light. Told from the alternating points of view of these four friends, the narrative also flashes back and forth from the present to that fateful spring break in 1982. Although the time and perspective transitions are well-marked, readers must stay on their toes not to miss them.
Characters: I love a good “girlfriend” novel—and “Bradwells”, like its predecessor, “The Wednesday Sisters” did not disappoint. The main characters are the four former law students: Mia “the Savant”—an unemployed journalist, Betts “the funny one”–a college professor and Supreme Court nominee, Laney “the good girl”—an attorney and candidate for the Georgia state senate, and Ginger “the rebel”—an attorney turned poet. In addition, their mothers and daughter play strong supporting roles. In particular is Ginger’s mother, Faith, (an attorney in an era when most women didn’t even work—much less hold professional positions) who enjoyed playing mentor to all of the “Ms. Bradwells”. Don’t be put-off by all of the lawyers running around—that element does provide intelligence to the characters—but they still walk around with both feet on the ground.
Themes: In addition to Friendship—and all of the jealousies, complexities and tenderness that implies, the Mother/Daughter theme is strong throughout. The author skillfully juxtaposes the daughter in one generation, later playing the mother in the next, and through this role reversal she gains insight into her own mother’s motivations and sacrifices. Also the theme of Feminism is strong—sexual politics, gender power, and the abuse and discrimination that can result from the same. Love and Loneliness, and Secrets and Truth are explored as well.
Why Book Clubs Will Love it: In addition to the very discussable themes already outlined, at its core the novel is also a page-turning mystery—with suspense continuing to build until the very end. It almost has a vibrant “Who shot JR-type” thread running throughout—without the trashy melodrama—making it a compelling read.
It is also an intelligent novel—without trying to be too high-brow, and it’s clever without trying to be overly “wink, wink”. Meg is witty with her details such as: the way in which the women are dubbed “Ms. Bradwells” their first day in law school; the name of Faith’s boat: the Roe v. Wade; and the alumni news that she inserts as an epigraph in many of the chapters, e.g.: “Law Quadrangle Notes, Spring 1992: Ms. Helen Weils (JD ’82) and her husband Will Robeson are happy to announce the birth of their third child: Ginger Elsbieta Mary Robeson, a.k.a. Ms. Gem Robeson-Bradwell.” (She was named after the other three Ms. Bradwells: Ginger, Betts, and Mia)
There was only one small scene at the end that I found to be over-the-top (this from the queen of over-the-top) and not in sync with how the characters would respond—but that was a small distraction from on overwhelming enjoyable read.
I predict this will be a popular book club title—pick up a copy when it releases tomorrow, March 22!
Cheers!
BCC
January 12, 2022
WOW, this book was awful. Narrative passages about nothing clutter several books lately. Have them -be- about something, not just a character Thinking Deep Thoughts of uselessness! This was stuffed full of characters -ruminating- and -brooding- and there was NO emotion behind it. I wonder if it was there to pad word count or something. Even the passages where I am clearly meant to feel something inspired boredom and irritation. The little chapter intros were not as cute or clever as the author wanted them to be. They were meant to emulate, I think, announcements in society pages or school papers. It didn't work. Not only is this multiple POVs written with the exact same voice minus word choices, this flips between timelines of forty years or more for no reason and I couldn't stand it. It was so hard to follow! Laney is a Southern gal stereotype, and most of the time I wished she'd shut up. The author made her too much of a stereotype, is why. Betts needed to be cut entirely. She added nothing, although I found out what a zhaleika was and that's interesting. I watched a clip on youtube. Mia was probably there to balance out the sadness and deep issues of everyone else's stories, and it kind of worked. None of these women had any real character once they got older. Their characterization was barely there to begin with.
They're called the four Ms Bradwells because a professor they had thought he was being clever. He called one Ms Bradwell a drug dealer and I raised my eyebrows. If I hadn't had professors who had been as proud of using shock value as he was, I would have been aghast. But no, some professors absolutely do this. It's inappropriate. Stop. One student is proficient in Latin due to practicing a branch of Catholicism that uses it a lot, and the professor is delighted. The others struggle and a nonsensical phrase emerges that they still use thirty years later. It's--a thing--but it comes off as odd and annoying. The book insists it takes place in 2011, but for all intents and purposes, takes place thirty years earlier, when they're all in their twenties and the horrible stuff is happening. As far as 2011, there's a brief mention of a blog. We never get to see the blog. Not a single entry, just a mention. There's no references to 2011 technology, societal messages, or thought patterns. This is solidly early 1980s, late 70s. Sooo much of the book could have been cut and just focused on that. The rest was just padding. No characterization, no action, no connection between the timelines, just padding.
This was a poorly done character study, not a thriller. I think the reason there's the nonsense about two timelines, with one thirty years into the future, was so all the women could be shown as grown with children the ages they were when the dramatic stuff happened, and how they adjust to it and what they teach their daughters. It's useless. Ginger's mom is a terrible, terrible parent. Most parents would be screaming and plotting murder if their daughter were being sexually assaulted at the age of thirteen by a twenty-year-old, and a family member at that. Ginger's mom just whispers and stares at the friend who told her. Then, she...writes a poem and sticks it in a poetry book...for her daughter to find after she dies. CUT THE MELODRAMA, YOU ASSHOLE. I'd yell at her to protect her kid but...child abuse and sexual assault weren't crimes until the 1970s. There's realistically not a lot that would have been done. The acts are seen as crimes now, but it's still really recent and it's a huge part of why people blame victims and especially brush child sexual assault by family members under the rug. Or joke about it. It's become a joke since the 90s I think. So, back in the 70s, "seduction at thirteen by a cousin" would have been...seen as exactly that, as opposed to "he groomed her for sexual assault". It's still awful all around, and I desperately wish things had been different for Ginger.
This trope always goes one of two ways: survivor becomes withdrawn, dislikes everyone and lots of "cry for help" stuff, which I've never seen portrayed realistically in books outside of "Speak." Or, survivor becomes promiscuous, rebellious, and someone everyone blames and makes fun of. It's never realistic, there's no nuance, and do these authors ever -speak- to survivors? Ugh. Ginger becomes the second one. The phrase "gawky slut" is used in reference to her by someone who's supposed to be her friend. Her cousin assaulted her over a period of years, and she...became a rebel because he wasn't in love with her? WHAT?! You're gawky unless someone falls in love with you?! WHAT THE FUCK. This makes no sense! The "Ginger is a gawky slut" friend later reveals Ginger's rapist is also her rapist. He called her a racist slur and a misogynist slur as well, while assaulting her. Ginger argues, years later when they're adults, that Trey couldn't have raped or been racist to her friend because...he was assaulting -her- all along so blahblah stupid. I HATE THOUGHT PROCESSES LIKE THIS.
Ginger keeps referring to the period of seven years where her cousin repeatedly assaulted and groomed her as "an affair." NO NO NO. Again, counseling for this wouldn't have been around then really. This...is realistic to the 1970s. So have the book take place maaaybe in the 1990s if you want them to reflect reasonably! Mental health services and methods haven't really changed since the 1960s in America. The 1990s had particular types of misogyny still, that could have been an interesting social commentary when compared to the 1970s. The author missed that opportunity and so many others. Trey, her assailant, kills himself later and--each woman flaps her jaws about this, but has no emotion about it. The attitude is "ooh, suicide, let's be both surprised and horribly fascinated by it as well." UGH. I've known people whose assailants died, and their emotions and reflections on it -that they felt comfortable sharing with others- do not reflect what this book said at all. There's a wide variety of emotions and circumstances, and this book did -nothing-. And there were weird journalists? There was no foreshadowing or reason, and no--it felt randomly placed to stretch out the story. It wasn't done well at all.
Whyyyy did Ginger strip down naked on the boat at the end? Why did the book end on that note? Was it poorly done symbolism? Was it an act of rebellion to end the book? What? Ugh. Before I forget: a black pearl necklace was repeatedly referred to in the book. Why does the cover have a double strand of white pearls?.
Trey, the assailant, was nothing but a wind-up rape machine. The author made him a cartoon villain and little more than set dressing. He wasn't even a plot device, that's how poorly this book was written. If the audience wasn't upset that he raped a child, and one he was related to, they would surely be upset that he raped a woman in a way that's seen as unusually degrading, while using racist and misogynist slurs! Be angry, readers! BEEEEEE ANNNNNGRRRYYYY IT'S MYYYY BOOK AND I SHALL CHAAAANNNNELLLLL EMOOOOTIONNSSS FROM YOUUUUU. In response to what the author was doing, I think of Smosh's catchphrase, "SHUT. UP.!"
Books that do a much better job examining sexual assault that actually -have- the rapist in them, thus drawing emotion from the audience and are plot, not set dressing, are "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson. "Speak" has the survivor who is withdrawn, and does -excellent- with the portrayal. "Luckiest Girl Alive" by Jessica Knoll has the promiscuous rebel survivor. Please read those and skip this one.
They're called the four Ms Bradwells because a professor they had thought he was being clever. He called one Ms Bradwell a drug dealer and I raised my eyebrows. If I hadn't had professors who had been as proud of using shock value as he was, I would have been aghast. But no, some professors absolutely do this. It's inappropriate. Stop. One student is proficient in Latin due to practicing a branch of Catholicism that uses it a lot, and the professor is delighted. The others struggle and a nonsensical phrase emerges that they still use thirty years later. It's--a thing--but it comes off as odd and annoying. The book insists it takes place in 2011, but for all intents and purposes, takes place thirty years earlier, when they're all in their twenties and the horrible stuff is happening. As far as 2011, there's a brief mention of a blog. We never get to see the blog. Not a single entry, just a mention. There's no references to 2011 technology, societal messages, or thought patterns. This is solidly early 1980s, late 70s. Sooo much of the book could have been cut and just focused on that. The rest was just padding. No characterization, no action, no connection between the timelines, just padding.
This was a poorly done character study, not a thriller. I think the reason there's the nonsense about two timelines, with one thirty years into the future, was so all the women could be shown as grown with children the ages they were when the dramatic stuff happened, and how they adjust to it and what they teach their daughters. It's useless. Ginger's mom is a terrible, terrible parent. Most parents would be screaming and plotting murder if their daughter were being sexually assaulted at the age of thirteen by a twenty-year-old, and a family member at that. Ginger's mom just whispers and stares at the friend who told her. Then, she...writes a poem and sticks it in a poetry book...for her daughter to find after she dies. CUT THE MELODRAMA, YOU ASSHOLE. I'd yell at her to protect her kid but...child abuse and sexual assault weren't crimes until the 1970s. There's realistically not a lot that would have been done. The acts are seen as crimes now, but it's still really recent and it's a huge part of why people blame victims and especially brush child sexual assault by family members under the rug. Or joke about it. It's become a joke since the 90s I think. So, back in the 70s, "seduction at thirteen by a cousin" would have been...seen as exactly that, as opposed to "he groomed her for sexual assault". It's still awful all around, and I desperately wish things had been different for Ginger.
This trope always goes one of two ways: survivor becomes withdrawn, dislikes everyone and lots of "cry for help" stuff, which I've never seen portrayed realistically in books outside of "Speak." Or, survivor becomes promiscuous, rebellious, and someone everyone blames and makes fun of. It's never realistic, there's no nuance, and do these authors ever -speak- to survivors? Ugh. Ginger becomes the second one. The phrase "gawky slut" is used in reference to her by someone who's supposed to be her friend. Her cousin assaulted her over a period of years, and she...became a rebel because he wasn't in love with her? WHAT?! You're gawky unless someone falls in love with you?! WHAT THE FUCK. This makes no sense! The "Ginger is a gawky slut" friend later reveals Ginger's rapist is also her rapist. He called her a racist slur and a misogynist slur as well, while assaulting her. Ginger argues, years later when they're adults, that Trey couldn't have raped or been racist to her friend because...he was assaulting -her- all along so blahblah stupid. I HATE THOUGHT PROCESSES LIKE THIS.
Ginger keeps referring to the period of seven years where her cousin repeatedly assaulted and groomed her as "an affair." NO NO NO. Again, counseling for this wouldn't have been around then really. This...is realistic to the 1970s. So have the book take place maaaybe in the 1990s if you want them to reflect reasonably! Mental health services and methods haven't really changed since the 1960s in America. The 1990s had particular types of misogyny still, that could have been an interesting social commentary when compared to the 1970s. The author missed that opportunity and so many others. Trey, her assailant, kills himself later and--each woman flaps her jaws about this, but has no emotion about it. The attitude is "ooh, suicide, let's be both surprised and horribly fascinated by it as well." UGH. I've known people whose assailants died, and their emotions and reflections on it -that they felt comfortable sharing with others- do not reflect what this book said at all. There's a wide variety of emotions and circumstances, and this book did -nothing-. And there were weird journalists? There was no foreshadowing or reason, and no--it felt randomly placed to stretch out the story. It wasn't done well at all.
Whyyyy did Ginger strip down naked on the boat at the end? Why did the book end on that note? Was it poorly done symbolism? Was it an act of rebellion to end the book? What? Ugh. Before I forget: a black pearl necklace was repeatedly referred to in the book. Why does the cover have a double strand of white pearls?.
Trey, the assailant, was nothing but a wind-up rape machine. The author made him a cartoon villain and little more than set dressing. He wasn't even a plot device, that's how poorly this book was written. If the audience wasn't upset that he raped a child, and one he was related to, they would surely be upset that he raped a woman in a way that's seen as unusually degrading, while using racist and misogynist slurs! Be angry, readers! BEEEEEE ANNNNNGRRRYYYY IT'S MYYYY BOOK AND I SHALL CHAAAANNNNELLLLL EMOOOOTIONNSSS FROM YOUUUUU. In response to what the author was doing, I think of Smosh's catchphrase, "SHUT. UP.!"
Books that do a much better job examining sexual assault that actually -have- the rapist in them, thus drawing emotion from the audience and are plot, not set dressing, are "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson. "Speak" has the survivor who is withdrawn, and does -excellent- with the portrayal. "Luckiest Girl Alive" by Jessica Knoll has the promiscuous rebel survivor. Please read those and skip this one.
September 19, 2012
This is more of a 3.5 for me - I liked the premise, I liked the setting, and I liked Ms. Clayton's writing, but it could have used some tightening up. At its heart, it is a mystery, but it sometimes veered off-course.
What's alternately great and awful about this book is that it perfectly captures what it is like to have gone to law school: how the competitive environment colors every interaction, even with people you consider friends, well after graduation. Thirty years later, these women are still trying to figure out who is the smartest, who is most accomplished, who has the best life. Despite their sisterly bonds, this friendship is based on a tension that permeates everything.
For that reason, this book was hard for me to read - but still compelling. I hated the competitive aspect of law school, and the way it interfered with friendships. The book poked at my insecurities all over again (am I doing enough? Is my career more or less impressive than my peers? Should I be happy with what I have, or should I try to look better on paper?).
If you want to know, on a personal level, what it's like to be a lawyer, read this - especially if you're a feminist and enjoy a mystery. It has flaws, but I ultimately liked what Ms. Clayton was getting at.
And their boat is named Row v. Wade.
What's alternately great and awful about this book is that it perfectly captures what it is like to have gone to law school: how the competitive environment colors every interaction, even with people you consider friends, well after graduation. Thirty years later, these women are still trying to figure out who is the smartest, who is most accomplished, who has the best life. Despite their sisterly bonds, this friendship is based on a tension that permeates everything.
For that reason, this book was hard for me to read - but still compelling. I hated the competitive aspect of law school, and the way it interfered with friendships. The book poked at my insecurities all over again (am I doing enough? Is my career more or less impressive than my peers? Should I be happy with what I have, or should I try to look better on paper?).
If you want to know, on a personal level, what it's like to be a lawyer, read this - especially if you're a feminist and enjoy a mystery. It has flaws, but I ultimately liked what Ms. Clayton was getting at.
And their boat is named Row v. Wade.
May 13, 2017
This book is the intertwined tale of four women who became friends when they went to law school together. The book opens as one of them is a contender for the Supreme Court, and someone asks a question about a death that took place 20+ years earlier, so she and her friends flee to the remote island where it all happened.
I was curious about what happened that night and why. I kept reading to find out. I liked that part. But other than that, I didn't like this book much. The pacing is slow, and I didn't really like the characters much. They didn't really have their own distinct voices--if I didn't read the labels at the beginning of each chapter, I didn't know who was the voice of the chapter, with one exception: Laney constantly quoted Latin and used the word "fella." Another character had a similar poetry tick that was almost as annoying, but Laney was the one I wanted to punch every time she came back to center stage.
I guess a lot of the details and quirks about this book are highly entertaining if you're a lawyer? They didn't do much for me.
I was curious about what happened that night and why. I kept reading to find out. I liked that part. But other than that, I didn't like this book much. The pacing is slow, and I didn't really like the characters much. They didn't really have their own distinct voices--if I didn't read the labels at the beginning of each chapter, I didn't know who was the voice of the chapter, with one exception: Laney constantly quoted Latin and used the word "fella." Another character had a similar poetry tick that was almost as annoying, but Laney was the one I wanted to punch every time she came back to center stage.
I guess a lot of the details and quirks about this book are highly entertaining if you're a lawyer? They didn't do much for me.
April 2, 2011
Well, I had mixed feelings about the book, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. For one thing, it's really a book mostly for female readers, but I was attracted to the story line, what with the deep dark secrets, always a lure for me. On the other hand, if I can make an analogy, let's say this were a novel about a relay team that ran a race with some sort of extraordinary outcome. The novel would be narrated from the voice of each of four runners, switching narrators from chapter to chapter seemingly at random, and other characters such as bad friends or family members would be brought in too, to explain why, say, the second runner was hungover for the race, and fell down or whatever. Such a novel would seem to really meander. Such is this book. But, the ending of THIS book is very strong, and very effective. And it's not just the ending that works. So, being moved, I am compelled to give it that fourth star.
June 10, 2011
Four college girlfriends experience a traumatic weekend at a family lake house. 30 years later, one girl needs the others support and they return and have to deal with the emotions and dig up the truth about what did really happen that weekend so long ago.
I love Clayton's books about the power of friendship which leave me dying to call my own best friends from school, even though its 2am. This book, however, jumped between points of view and time periods so often that it became hard to keep the characters straight and identify with any of them. Her attempts to foreshadow and leave you hooked only confuse the reader further.
This book had potential, but I would never read it again.
I love Clayton's books about the power of friendship which leave me dying to call my own best friends from school, even though its 2am. This book, however, jumped between points of view and time periods so often that it became hard to keep the characters straight and identify with any of them. Her attempts to foreshadow and leave you hooked only confuse the reader further.
This book had potential, but I would never read it again.
January 24, 2017
At first I was bummed, a group of 4 intelligent & accomplished women in their 50s who still weren't satisfied with themselves. But the book was Unlike anything I've read, slowly the plot unwinds the secret of the group of four college friends. Interesting how events in our youth shadow us for life no matter how accomplished, successful, or intelligent. A person has to own their past to move on and needs friends who keep it real to do that. Not an easy read, but a worthwhile one that reminds us there is still a need for women to stick together.
October 31, 2010
Meg deals with the growth of the feminist movement over the past thirty years. She tackles the sensitive issues of mother-daughter relationships. Most of all, she looks at female friendships... their bonds, their secrets, and what friends do to protect each other. Above all is what makes us human, caring and understanding about each other and those we love. This should be a good read for many bookclubs.
October 17, 2010
They establish a bond & their shared name in their first class in law school. The bond grows over the years & because of or in spite of the repeated rape of one of them & the rape of another & then the mysterious death of the rapist. One of them is running for the US Senate & the black one is in hearings after being nominated for the Supreme Court when the book opens. I liked the ending.
May 16, 2011
i din't really like the first book i read of hers. why am i reading another?
June 9, 2011
Absolutely insipid. Our book club book and we all hated it!
September 21, 2019
The strong themes of “The Four Ms. Bradwells” for me were the re-examining of past choices and their consequences and the mother/daughter relationship seen in a new light as the daughter becomes a mother as well.
These four women, Mia, Laney, Betts and Ginger, have a decades long friendship – filled with wonderful memories…as well as a few terrible ones that haunt them to this day. Choices were made whose consequences are truly only now coming to light.
The book plays out over a long weekend – but constantly jumps back to the past. For much of the beginning of the book, this made it difficult for me to follow – it seems like the story went back in time practically mid-sentence and I kept getting lost. Because the same people are involved and the incidents happen mostly in the same place, I was confused as to what events happened when.
This review is difficult for me to write because I very much enjoyed “The Wednesday Sisters” and have Meg Waite Clayton on my list of writers to follow – but I just couldn’t fully enjoy this book. Beyond the time confusion, I kept having to flip back to the beginning of the chapter I was on to see which of the women’s perspective we were in. The voices just weren’t different enough for me to keep track.
And yet – there were such lovely scenes and such beautiful turns of phrase. “Lonely. I feel it worse here at Mother’s empty house, even with Laney’s arm warm against mine, with Max beside me and Mia on the other side of him. Was Mother ever lonely like this? Behind the frantic activism she lived and breathed for all the world to see, did she ever feel anyone knew her? Did she ever wonder if the person she’d grown up to be was the person she meant to become?”
And, “I’m not sure which surprises me more: Laney lashing out at Ginger, or the fact that our friendship has survived so many years of this boiling under the surface, all this second guessing about the choices we never did really agree upon.”
I think there are a few very strong stories in the book. They just didn’t come across as clearly or as powerfully as I expected.
These four women, Mia, Laney, Betts and Ginger, have a decades long friendship – filled with wonderful memories…as well as a few terrible ones that haunt them to this day. Choices were made whose consequences are truly only now coming to light.
The book plays out over a long weekend – but constantly jumps back to the past. For much of the beginning of the book, this made it difficult for me to follow – it seems like the story went back in time practically mid-sentence and I kept getting lost. Because the same people are involved and the incidents happen mostly in the same place, I was confused as to what events happened when.
This review is difficult for me to write because I very much enjoyed “The Wednesday Sisters” and have Meg Waite Clayton on my list of writers to follow – but I just couldn’t fully enjoy this book. Beyond the time confusion, I kept having to flip back to the beginning of the chapter I was on to see which of the women’s perspective we were in. The voices just weren’t different enough for me to keep track.
And yet – there were such lovely scenes and such beautiful turns of phrase. “Lonely. I feel it worse here at Mother’s empty house, even with Laney’s arm warm against mine, with Max beside me and Mia on the other side of him. Was Mother ever lonely like this? Behind the frantic activism she lived and breathed for all the world to see, did she ever feel anyone knew her? Did she ever wonder if the person she’d grown up to be was the person she meant to become?”
And, “I’m not sure which surprises me more: Laney lashing out at Ginger, or the fact that our friendship has survived so many years of this boiling under the surface, all this second guessing about the choices we never did really agree upon.”
I think there are a few very strong stories in the book. They just didn’t come across as clearly or as powerfully as I expected.
March 24, 2023
I wanted to love this book. I expected to fly through it and I did not. Typically, I get immersed and finish a book in 2 days. This one took me 5.
THINGS I LIKED:
1- the true representation of female friendships. They are complex and layered. We see the competition, comfort, bitterness held together by love.
2- the discussion of woman’s issues. It shows the very real double standards that women face in the world.
3- the depiction of early sexualization resulting in promiscuity was well done.
4- the role of motherhood and how time makes us see things differently as we grow older. The author gives us a glimpse into 4 young women and the roles their mother played in shaping them. These 4 women grow, some choose motherhood for themselves, and we see how they navigate long held “truths” under the microscope of empathy.
5- the writing is good. It’s compelling.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
1- in the first few pages there is a white woman stroking her Black friend’s (Laney) hair. NOPE. I don’t buy it that Laney is ok with that. This hair thing is repeated several times in the book by two characters. It’s one mentioned toward the end of the book that Laney found it soothing. NOPE NOPE and NOPE. I can respect the fact that the author has a racially diverse set of friends. If you’re going to do that, don’t be contrary to the things white people need to know. Don’t be touching Black women’s hair.
2- there’s just so much happening here. All good stuff, but just. So. Much. A book about feminist characters? Great! But does it have to deal with everything all at once? Incest. Date rape. Work place harassment? Promiscuity? These are all important topics in their own right. But everything all at once makes it hard to follow.
3- geez. Enough with the Latin and the poetry. I get it’s central to the two characters, but just stop. It’s too much.
4- the great writing ability gets lost in the weight of so many topics.
5- normally I like a multiple narrator. Normally I like dual time lines. Pick one. This book has both. With 4 characters to keep track of bouncing around in time is cumbersome.
TL:DR I liked it enough for 3 stars. I didn’t love it.
THINGS I LIKED:
1- the true representation of female friendships. They are complex and layered. We see the competition, comfort, bitterness held together by love.
2- the discussion of woman’s issues. It shows the very real double standards that women face in the world.
3- the depiction of early sexualization resulting in promiscuity was well done.
4- the role of motherhood and how time makes us see things differently as we grow older. The author gives us a glimpse into 4 young women and the roles their mother played in shaping them. These 4 women grow, some choose motherhood for themselves, and we see how they navigate long held “truths” under the microscope of empathy.
5- the writing is good. It’s compelling.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
1- in the first few pages there is a white woman stroking her Black friend’s (Laney) hair. NOPE. I don’t buy it that Laney is ok with that. This hair thing is repeated several times in the book by two characters. It’s one mentioned toward the end of the book that Laney found it soothing. NOPE NOPE and NOPE. I can respect the fact that the author has a racially diverse set of friends. If you’re going to do that, don’t be contrary to the things white people need to know. Don’t be touching Black women’s hair.
2- there’s just so much happening here. All good stuff, but just. So. Much. A book about feminist characters? Great! But does it have to deal with everything all at once? Incest. Date rape. Work place harassment? Promiscuity? These are all important topics in their own right. But everything all at once makes it hard to follow.
3- geez. Enough with the Latin and the poetry. I get it’s central to the two characters, but just stop. It’s too much.
4- the great writing ability gets lost in the weight of so many topics.
5- normally I like a multiple narrator. Normally I like dual time lines. Pick one. This book has both. With 4 characters to keep track of bouncing around in time is cumbersome.
TL:DR I liked it enough for 3 stars. I didn’t love it.
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May 9, 2022This title has been sitting on my TBR since its publication in early 2011. At least now it's been moved off of my TBR list. *shrug*
The premise is interesting. How the four Ms. Bradwells met and became the four Ms. Bradwells is interesting. But Clayton was taking entirely too long to get to the conflict and resolution of the story. One of the four Ms. Bradwells is in the midst of being confirmed for a Supreme Court appointment. The other three are there for moral and emotional support and on one of the final days of the hearing, one of the Senators asks Betts about a death during a Spring Break many, many years ago. Betts gives her answer and the four take off for Cook Island, the scene of the death from those many years ago and a place the press can't find them easily. Each chapter is told from the POV of one of the four Ms. Bradwells. And it got super tedious. Some remembering and backstory are always appreciated but Clayton was drawing it out so much and providing story details that I just didn't care about and I knew wouldn't ultimately impact the conflict and resolution, i.e the death the Senator asked Betts about. When I started dreading picking up the book to read some more I knew it was time to give up the title. The build-up Clayton created took too long and I just didn't care about the resolution.
The premise is interesting. How the four Ms. Bradwells met and became the four Ms. Bradwells is interesting. But Clayton was taking entirely too long to get to the conflict and resolution of the story. One of the four Ms. Bradwells is in the midst of being confirmed for a Supreme Court appointment. The other three are there for moral and emotional support and on one of the final days of the hearing, one of the Senators asks Betts about a death during a Spring Break many, many years ago. Betts gives her answer and the four take off for Cook Island, the scene of the death from those many years ago and a place the press can't find them easily. Each chapter is told from the POV of one of the four Ms. Bradwells. And it got super tedious. Some remembering and backstory are always appreciated but Clayton was drawing it out so much and providing story details that I just didn't care about and I knew wouldn't ultimately impact the conflict and resolution, i.e the death the Senator asked Betts about. When I started dreading picking up the book to read some more I knew it was time to give up the title. The build-up Clayton created took too long and I just didn't care about the resolution.
September 24, 2017
I enjoyed this book as a light, interesting novel about a long-ago crime. However, I really felt like this book was a missed opportunity. It didn't need the "crime" and the resulting Lifetime movie drama that the author used to drive the plot along. The best parts of the book were the interactions between the women and the moments that the women internally examined their individual and collective decades' long friendship(s). I would have found the book far more compelling if the author had found a way to use the weekend the women spent together following the confirmation hearings as a way to just explore friendship and small secrets (not Lifetime movie secrets), and just stayed away from the cheap plot device of the long-ago crime. The book needed another way to drive the plot--but certainly the characters were well written and interesting, and the book would've just been better if the author had just put those four professional women together for the weekend, no crime, and let the weekend play out.
So yeah, it was a fun and kind of silly little book that I will not read again. But if the author had taken those same women and left out the big crime, this could have been a book about friendship that really went places.
So yeah, it was a fun and kind of silly little book that I will not read again. But if the author had taken those same women and left out the big crime, this could have been a book about friendship that really went places.
October 9, 2021
The rating is more like 2.5 for me.
I had a hard time getting into this book and it took a bit longer than other books for me to finish it. It is ironic that I finished the book on Oct. 8, which is when the story starts.
There are 4 female law school friends and with each character narrating different chapters and each going back and forth between present and 30 years ago, and sometimes somewhere in between, it was hard to follow who was who and what was happening when. I kept having to read the beginning of the book again that describes who each of these 4 ladies are.
None of the characters, including the 4 main characters and all the side characters, were very much likable and I couldn't really emphasize with any one of them. The story moves pretty slowly and it doesn't really get to the meat of it until about 1/3 way into the book. Once that happens, it gets a bit more interesting and I wanted to find out what happens. But it drags on and on again.
The only reason I'd add another half star in my review is because I did liked the last couple chapters and liked the ending.
One minor note: I think it would've been better if the woman on the cover page had a single strand black pearl necklace on as described in the story.
I had a hard time getting into this book and it took a bit longer than other books for me to finish it. It is ironic that I finished the book on Oct. 8, which is when the story starts.
There are 4 female law school friends and with each character narrating different chapters and each going back and forth between present and 30 years ago, and sometimes somewhere in between, it was hard to follow who was who and what was happening when. I kept having to read the beginning of the book again that describes who each of these 4 ladies are.
None of the characters, including the 4 main characters and all the side characters, were very much likable and I couldn't really emphasize with any one of them. The story moves pretty slowly and it doesn't really get to the meat of it until about 1/3 way into the book. Once that happens, it gets a bit more interesting and I wanted to find out what happens. But it drags on and on again.
The only reason I'd add another half star in my review is because I did liked the last couple chapters and liked the ending.
One minor note: I think it would've been better if the woman on the cover page had a single strand black pearl necklace on as described in the story.
July 19, 2017
I must be in a reading slump. The description hooked me right away. I think the idea of the book was great but could have easily been about 100 pages shorter. I wanted to like it, especially a book about 4 strong women in their 50's with a 30 year old secret. A secret that could ruin the appointment of Betts, one of the women.
We don't find out that the secret was a rape of one of the women that led to the death of the rapist until far into the book. We learn of the death straight away but it takes too long to get to the meat of the story.
I love Ginger best and wish I could like the others as much. I felt her character was best expressed and explained throughout. I didn't like Mia because she struck me as a selfish person who was only out for herself.
The ending was ok but open ended. Did he commit suicide or did Faith kill him. Is Laney elected Senator? Does Betts get appointed SCJ? Do Mia and Max get together? Do Ginger and Mia open their own firm? A bit disappointed with the book overall but it had so much potential.
I will recommend this book even though I was disappointed because I understand the point. I just expected and wanted more.
We don't find out that the secret was a rape of one of the women that led to the death of the rapist until far into the book. We learn of the death straight away but it takes too long to get to the meat of the story.
I love Ginger best and wish I could like the others as much. I felt her character was best expressed and explained throughout. I didn't like Mia because she struck me as a selfish person who was only out for herself.
The ending was ok but open ended. Did he commit suicide or did Faith kill him. Is Laney elected Senator? Does Betts get appointed SCJ? Do Mia and Max get together? Do Ginger and Mia open their own firm? A bit disappointed with the book overall but it had so much potential.
I will recommend this book even though I was disappointed because I understand the point. I just expected and wanted more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2017
With friends like these . . .
The old saying, "with friends like these, who needs enemies" couldn't be more true and, at the same time, more false. The Four Ms. Brad wells delves into the truths behind relationships - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautifully resurrected that glow with the patina of reverence and polish. Friends do occasionally hurt each other. People are jealous, hide their fears behind sarcastic comments, fail to speak the truth, or simply jus don't speak at all. But behind a good friendship is a heart of gold, one that's pure and full of love. And that truth comes clear with shining splendor through the lovely prose of Ms. Clayton. I have never desired to be a lawyer - way too much work. But I have (as most of us have) desired good friends, friends like these, friends who will love and support and stand up for me despite my/our failings. As much as this is a story about women's rights, the deeper story is about the intermingling of our lives. Bravo, Ms. Clayton.
The old saying, "with friends like these, who needs enemies" couldn't be more true and, at the same time, more false. The Four Ms. Brad wells delves into the truths behind relationships - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautifully resurrected that glow with the patina of reverence and polish. Friends do occasionally hurt each other. People are jealous, hide their fears behind sarcastic comments, fail to speak the truth, or simply jus don't speak at all. But behind a good friendship is a heart of gold, one that's pure and full of love. And that truth comes clear with shining splendor through the lovely prose of Ms. Clayton. I have never desired to be a lawyer - way too much work. But I have (as most of us have) desired good friends, friends like these, friends who will love and support and stand up for me despite my/our failings. As much as this is a story about women's rights, the deeper story is about the intermingling of our lives. Bravo, Ms. Clayton.
December 24, 2024
This is a good book. But it could have been a great book if Clayton had been both less heavy-handed in her feminist discussions and less coy in her descriptions of her characters.
This book is not chick-lit by any means; it's themes are far too serious. But it's true, I suspect, that most of it's readers will be women. And most of those women will not need the kind of tutorial on feminism in the early 1980s that Clayton seems determined to provide. Not that we should forget the sacrifices made and hardships endured by our mothers and grandmothers, but a lighter touch might have better served the narrative here.
In contrast to her need to spell her feminism out in great detail, Clayton seems reluctant to give details about the relationships between and among her characters (and their mothers). It's certainly a valid literary technique to leave certain details to the reader's imagination, but it can be frustrating when the emotional crux of the story hinges on relationships that the author hasn't allowed one to get a clear sense of.
This book is not chick-lit by any means; it's themes are far too serious. But it's true, I suspect, that most of it's readers will be women. And most of those women will not need the kind of tutorial on feminism in the early 1980s that Clayton seems determined to provide. Not that we should forget the sacrifices made and hardships endured by our mothers and grandmothers, but a lighter touch might have better served the narrative here.
In contrast to her need to spell her feminism out in great detail, Clayton seems reluctant to give details about the relationships between and among her characters (and their mothers). It's certainly a valid literary technique to leave certain details to the reader's imagination, but it can be frustrating when the emotional crux of the story hinges on relationships that the author hasn't allowed one to get a clear sense of.
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