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Critic's Corner
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Judith Henry Wall, of Norman, Oklahoma is the author of several previous novels, including "My Mother's Daughter" and "If Love Were All." At first blush, I thought "The Girlfriends Club" would be simply another novel for women. Once again, an astute author proved this critic wrong. "Imagine how this would look in the newspapers," Pamela interjected. "It will sound sordid—a practically naked man found with a broken neck with unmistakable indications of a struggle. The police will want to know what he was doing here without his clothes and why he's been clawed and bitten. And there will be an investigation. A hearing. We will all be questioned. We will all have to testify. How can we prove this wasn't a murder?" The above passage brought my mind to full alert. This is supposed to be a story about four women who have been friends for as long as they can remember, and then up jumps a murder. Or is it a murder? Whatever it is, the demise of this man becomes a recurring shadow of fear among Pamela, Dixie, Gretchen, and Mary Sue, the "Four Musketeers." Wall explores the indomitable bond of friendship among these women. A bond tested by the looming reality of life after middle age, and the specter of a terrible secret. The friends grew up together in Garden Grove, Kansas where Gretchen's father and Mary Sue's stepfather had been physicians, Pamela's dad had been a lawyer, and Dixie's dad owned a flourishing florist business. Most of their Moms spent their days playing tennis and bridge. The girls went to the same college and pledged the same sorority. Eventually, the four friends married. Then, three of them got divorced. Yet throughout their adult lives, wherever life has taken them— geographically, professionally, emotionally, or romantically—they remained invincible girlfriends, depending on their friendship to help them weather the storms of crisis. The story opens with the friends gathered at a lakeside cabin to celebrate Mary Sue's 45th birthday. This isn't strictly a celebration because a haunting event hangs over the girls. Tomorrow morning Mary Sue is scheduled to undergo a mastectomy. I can't tell you how happy I was, as a reviewer, to find a novel about women over the age of 40! Too often it seems women drop off the face of the earth after the age of 39. At least they do in today's novels. Well, these friends are a fully mature 45-years of age and still ticking, and I do mean ticking. The following descriptions are from the book jacket and seemed appropriate to include.
Now, you've met all the girls. What you don't know is how they deal with their personal secrets and fears, and with the trials and tribulations of growing older and trying to find a place in a world in which everyone seems to be younger and prettier and sexier. Wall takes each of these characters, molds them into flesh and blood human beings. And serves them up in a story that entertains with its wry humor and informs with its most serious subject matter. The writing is concise without being elliptical. The descriptions are right on the money as far as today's society goes and what is expected of both men and women who face life's many difficulties. At no time does Wall preach to you as she puts her players through their paces. Even so, she does manage to get her message across as she shows you the complicated and surprising changes that occur within each woman and in each man who enters their lives. Oh yes, the poor devil who ended up dead? Well, that's a secret you will see unfold as the plot thickens and resolves in a most unusual manner. By all means, read "The Girlfriends Club" it is a hoot and yet holds some fabulous life-lessons for all of us. Click Here to Order The Girlfriend's Club Jones is a published writer & literary critic Copyright August 2002, all rights reserved |
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