I am a bit more than half way through this book. I love Jennifer Weiner's books. This is becoming one of my favorites of her books. Four women's stories are told in alternate chapters. They are unknowingly (at this point in the novel) connected by a surrogacy baby procedure. One woman donates her eggs for money to help her father, one woman is the surrogate, one woman is the second wife of a very rich man and the 4th is the daughter of the very rich man. I love how woman's struggle transcends the possession of money or lack of money. Yet, Jennifer Weiner is writing about the class differences in our society how so very far apart we all are even within a few miles geographically, the class separations are as strong as ever.
There is scene of the surrogate, Annie, moves through her day. Without saying it, I as the reader, gets the tacit feel for her lack nor real interest in wealth. She worries about what she wears to meet with the woman whose baby she is carrying. Will she judge her Target bought purse? Will she notice her inability to dress well?
What I also love is the character of Bettina who is the rich daughter-in-law is so unimpressed with wealth, so conservative. She admits that she should have been born in the 1800's to really fit in. She only wants her family back together again, for her mother to regain her sanity and come back from New Mexico, get back with her father and push the new, gold digging wife out of the New York (luxury) apartment. Her heart break over her parent's divorce overwhelms her sense of herself.
And Jules, the egg donor, a Princeton graduate, really needs to discover AA!
Spoiler Alert:
ReplyDeleteJust finished the book this morning. (oh, if only I was a speedier reader). It had a bit of a unbelievable ending that is in more of the wish-it-could-be-this-way kind of ending but I still loved it. I love her books because she writes about women changing their lives...themselves without necessarily men in shining armor. Yes, India, did have the help of Marcus but look what she gave away to be what Marcus was attract to. And she ended up fessing up and finally taking responsibility and really making a life which included all those women who came from similar economic circumstances. She helped to change those women's lives, she continued what Bettina started...accepted her vision of Rory's life...it takes a village.
I'm sorry if it was a fairy tale ending but I loved the village that was created to raise Rory. It is the same reason I love the way Roxanne and Bruce worked out their divorce which the kids benefited the most from.