The Book Club for Troublesome Women, Marie Bostwick (Review by Lauren Wagner)

I never wanted to be friends with fictional characters more than the women from The Book Club for Troublesome Women. I immediately fell in love with Margaret, Charlotte, Viv, and Bitsy. Each woman is so different personality wise, but they all have hopes, dreams, and want a life that is more than being a housewife and mother. These four women range in ages and life experience, they come together to form a powerful sisterhood that supports each other in tremendous ways. That’s not to say their friendships are easy, but they are rewarding. For as much as I liked the female characters, some of the men in their lives were absolutely infuriating. Thankfully at least one of them got what was coming to him in the end – but I won’t spoil that here!

I loved getting to see life from each of their perspectives. The multiple POVs of this book really helped me to delve into the characters. Marie Bostwick’s writing style was easy to read and flowed really well. This was my first novel by her and I will definitely be looking for more.

One other thing I really liked about this book was the books they mentioned that their book club was reading. I love adding to my TBR and I definitely did that as I read this book – The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, The Group by Mary McCarthy, and more.

On a more serious note, this book also is a stark reminder that the need for feminism is far from over. While it may take place in the 60’s, some of the same challenges these women face plague women today. For as far as women have come, there’s still many miles to go. I came away from this book with a deep appreciation for all the feminists who came before me as well as a drive to do what I can for the next generation of women to come.