I claim no objectivity on this one folks--J. Courtney Sullivan and I are co-editing an anthology on the moments that made young women feminists and I think she's a lovely genius.
To buy Courtney's book, go here. To read the first chapter, go here. To read more about it, go here, here, and here.
This week I review--with absolutely no objectivity--J. Courtney Sullivan's new novel Commencement.
The book is about four best friends who go to Smith College together and then follow very different paths through their early 20s. Though they all go in different directions, they manage to weather those quintessential 20-something storms of searching for your calling, getting hired, getting fired, "coming out," breaking up, applying to grad schools etc. But they also deal with some pretty extraordinary circumstances thanks to the one of the four who gets deeply involved in feminist activism. That's all I'm going to tell you. Suffice it to say that it's total feministing reader material.
But you don't have to take my word for it. Gloria Steinem said, "Take Mary McCarthy's The Group, add a new feminist generation striving to understand everything from themselves, and their mothers to the notion of masculinity that fuels sex trafficking,a nd you get this generous-hearted, brave first novel. Commencement makes clear that the feminist revolution is just beginning."
Allison Winn Scotch, who write a review of Sullivan's book, summed it up really beautifully: "What I enjoyed most about Commencement, and there were many things--the smart writing, the laugh-out-loud dialogue, the ending that I truly couldn't predict--was that it reminded me so much of how much I loved those years of my life. And how much I loved my friends who I have been fortunate enough to have along in my journey. I found myself rewinding through memories, sifting through old pictures, smiling as I was reading because Sullivan managed to transport me."
That was exactly what happened for me. I thought about Allison and Kelly and Gareth and Yana and all of the women who were there when my consciousness first got formed for real. Love you all and love this book.
Congrats Courtney Sullivan, on giving all of your readers the gift of their own memories.
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Hey! I've been following this feed for a while, but I decided to delurk and say that I really liked this review. Also, thanks for linking to the first chapter!
Not Oprah's Book Club is my favorite forum, of sorts, on Feministing. Thank you for your opinions and suggestions, Courtney. Much appreciated. "Commencement" is no exception. It's been getting lots of buzz amongst my 25-35 year old friends!
Thanks so much HerManifesta. It's awesome to get this kind of feedback.
Welcome, of course. You're the one who gets the thanks though! I can't tell you how many Not Oprah's Book Club reviews I've sent to friends...
Just don't forget to keep writing yourself too! (Not that you would...just gentle encouragement from a fan who wants you to write another book of your own!)
Thanks for posting this review. I just ordered Commencement and had it sent to my former Smith roomate, who now lives far far away. Looking forward to the trip down memory lane :)
HOLLER AT YOUR SMITHIES!!! :)
Congrats to Courtney, a fellow Smithie and King House resident!
Thanks for the review, Courtney.
--(yet another) Courtney S.