Question 4. History as Plot

[Lauren]

After the summer in New York, the novel switches gears to showcasing decades of Cora's life with real-life events grounding her experience. How did this type of storytelling work for everyone?

[Carol]

When Louisa and Cora were together, their weeks in New York were very specific, and both females had specific "jobs" they wanted to do and/or accomplish. Throw in a husband and a kid or two and that seemed to keep the early set in a good pace for me.

When they started the second group with husband(s), kids and boyfriends, to me it dragged some and it lost a lot of its charm.

[Lauren]

Same here - I wanted more out of their time in New York together. I felt like there was a lot of missed opportunity.