The Group

McCarthy's brainchild spans seven years in the lives of eight Vassar graduates of varying means and intellectual candle power, from their graduation in 1933 and their settling in New York City, to the eve of American involvement in World War Two. It is much to Mary McCarthy's credit, I think, that the book with its large cast does not pretend to have "the last word" about how to cope with the Depression and its economic dislocations, with men, or with life in general. The closest thing to a central character, Kay, is presumably the one who will have the world by the tail, but hers is a saga of increasing loss, betrayal and bitterness beginning with her training as a sales clerk at R.H. Macy and her marriage to a superficially appealing but ineffectual and selfish man. The smartest and most fashionable character, Lakey, disappears into Europe for most of the book, thoughtfully remembering to send stunning wedding presents, then returns to America toward the end of the book with a surprise in tow. One of the women is accidentally shunted to the mental ward of a prestigious hospital, and if not for the physician husband of a fellow Group member, might have had to fight her way out. Another one, Pokey, is so fortunate as to live in a rich family barely affected by the Depression, which offers a delightful, Jeevesian portrait of a rich family run on auto-pilot by a super-efficient butler. The men are a mixed bag: the appropriately named Dick makes sexual inroads among the unmarried of the Group but disappears when they marry. Harald Petersen, Kay's husband, is a would-be playwright employed marginally in the theater and enough to sidetrack any spouse's dreams. Other men, being less of the jerk, provide less drama but are discussed.I think it fair to say that THE GROUP embodies some of the feminist outlook of THE FEMINIST MYSTIQUE and the smart-woman's viewpoint in novel form of THE BELL JAR (all three books were first published in 1963 but THE BELL JAR was not available to American readers until 1967). What is difficult to convey is McCarthy's polished writing, which slips in and out of satire (and sometimes, when her characters speak with internal monologue, are just 'unreliable' enough in their narration that we reader know what's going on better than the narrator does). "Sardonic" is often the word used to describe McCarthy's writing in this book, and while it is crisp (sometimes to the point of being knife-like), it is not really a particular send-up or lampoon of any Depression-era class or of the Thirties themselves.I was astonished that one reviewer here opined that the reader "MUST be scholarly and well finished in the all of the arts, and several foreign languages, to understand the subtleties." Gentle reader, I counted three instances of French: "crepe de chine" to describe a dress collar, "faiblesse" which means weakness, and "mauvaise fille" (bad girl). Other than a line of Dante one character's father spouts, that is it for foreign languages. Considering that McCarthy could have inflicted much worse on us, including Yiddish and German, we got off easily. She wanted this book to be read, and it was.At times, the troubles faced by these women, the deteriorating economy, parental calls to "come home" (and abandon NYC) and the vagaries of spousal moods, bottle-feeding and child-rearing, did seem to have a distinct "Thirties" cast. This is, after all, social history in the form of a novel, and contemporary politics as well as the New Deal's "alphabet soup" agencies are discussed. But then I run across a passage like this where Priss muses about her physician husband Sloan and wonder if things have really changed that much at all: "There was a side of Sloan, she had decided, that she mistrusted, a side that she summed up by saying he was a Republican. Up to now this had not mattered; most men she knew were Republicans--it was almost part of being a man. But she did not like the idea of a Republican controlling the destiny of a helpless baby..."THE GROUP has sold three million copies with more in store. In the Sixties, writers of substance often wrote substantial novels that also became very popular. I recommend THE GROUP.

My two favorite things about this book were (1) for a book that satirizes a privileged class, the characters were often surprisingly loveable. The novel moves between different characters' points of view, and even the least admirable or most self-deluded among the protagonists developed some endearing qualities when the narrative switched to their perspective. And (2) I really enjoyed how I kept being surprised by the characters' sudden flashes of self-awareness. Just when they seemed to be heading blindly in the most wrong-headed direction, they would recognize the way they were being used or their own mixed motives or their friends' hypocrisies. They would be naive, or have poor judgment, or let themselves be bullied or manipulated, then correctly diagnose the problem, but that extra layer of self-knowledge rarely extricated them from their difficulties.Oh, and a 3rd thing is that for all their cross-currents of resentment or snobbery, there was an underlying loyalty between the main characters - they aren't 2-dimensional WASP-y cardboard characters, nor are they sticky-sweet bffs. They belong in a middle zone of the educationally precocious yet ridiculously naive, sometimes heartless and sometimes warm-hearted, entitled and impoverished, conventional and utterly strange--this fine balance that could constantly tip one way or the other is part of what makes the novel so compelling.

A book that was ahead of its time

Stories about female friendships and how they grow and change over time and through life experiences are catnip to me. Mary McCarthy's The Group follows eight young women who graduate from Vassar in 1933 and the course their lives take over the next seven years. The novel kicks off with the rather impulsive wedding of one of their number, Kay, to her long-distance and mysterious boyfriend Harald almost immediately after graduation. Kay's marriage (and its deterioration) make up the most coherent through-line of the story, which follows the members of the group one at a time as they make their way in the world (the world being 1930's New York for the most part) and continue to be involved in each other's lives. McCarthy's writing is sharp and insightful, and the characters she writes feel very real...all of them are self-deluding to some extent and McCarthy lets you "watch" them do it through her narration of their lives.What struck me as I read this book, which was apparently enormously popular when it was published in the 60s, was how even though it was written 50 years ago and takes place another 30 years before that, it was so modern in many ways. Sure, some of the references are pretty dated, but the challenges these women face are largely similar to the ones we're continuing to face today: the difference between sex and love (and wanting the former to mean the latter even when you know it doesn't), dead-end relationships, sexism in the workplace, sexuality, marriage, raising kids. There's a character, Priss, who has a child and is struggling with the decision of whether to breast feed or bottle feed and the way she feels like she's doing it wrong depending on who's she's talking to. The Mommy Wars feel very current and endemic to the current social media-laden climate, but this book makes it obvious that it goes back waaay further than that. It's easy to feel like the stuff your generation is facing is new and different than the things that previous generations struggled with, but it's really much more similar than you might think. Plus ca change and all that.

This is a book that I have had on my TBR list for ages and I decided I would get it read over the Christmas break. At 437 pages that should have been doable, but I didn't reckon on the small typeface (I'm reading the paperback) and the language which takes a little getting use to.I recently saw the film "The Greatest Showman" which I loved. However, I was a little critical as most of the women wore false eyelashes and the song which Jenny Lin sings whilst absolutely fantastic is nothing like a song she would have sung in those days. My point is this; whilst I felt that was not realistic of the time, this book is realistic, and I struggled with it! Set in the 1930s with the language of the time felt like wading through so many unfamiliar words, I thought I would never finish the book.Seen as the "Sex and the City" of it's time and indeed with a forward in my copy by Candace Bushell the book is certainly very liberal for both the time it is set in and the era it was published in being 1963.When the book begins all the characters are all produced at once and I felt I would never remember who they all were (and I didn't most of the time). Then the book takes one or two of the characters to focus on in each chapter through the 1930s and ending at the time of the 2nd world war. Different aspects of each of their lives are written about from marriage, birth, motherhood, affairs of the heart and ageing parents.It was a journey through American social history for me, although these ladies are all ex Vassar (which is very laboured throughout) and from "society" so not a true cross section of history. However, I was a little shocked at some of the things described - especially towards the end of the book regarding a convalescence stay, which I won't spoil for you.At the beginning of the book they talk about marketing, and it was only after a couple of references when they talk about going to the market, that I realised this is the term for shopping at the market! To my 21st century eyes I had to re read passages like this as the meaning was so different. There is one part which covers a birth. I was bemused that the Doctor tells the patient to put on fresh lipstick and powder and to stop screaming!!!!!As I mentioned the book was written in 1963 and yet it feels like it was written in the 1930's. The author has really captured the nuances and speech of the time. I think it deserves five stars both for the writing and capturing a part of history - this is the closest thing to a time machine you could wish for!

Un roman, qui fut un des best-sellers des années soixante aux USA et qui traite sous des dehors légers de la condition féminine des années 30-40. Un groupe d'amies sortent de la promotion de 1933 de la prestigieuse université de Vassar et nous les suivons tour à tour par groupe de deux chapitres dans leurs vies de femmes. Un tableau plutôt intéressant, elles se marient plus ou moins vite, ou deviennent les maîtresses d'hommes mariés ou non, leur découverte de la sexualité est en général décevante dans l'Amérique puritaine d'alors, mais quel privilège par rapport aux françaises, la contraception semble plus répandue et accessible, même si elle est encore rudimentaire, néanmoins, elle reste honteuse et secrète.Toutes ont un point en commun, elles sont soumises aux hommes, maris, amants ou pères et dépendent d'eux pour prendre la majeure partie de leurs décisions et même pour s'autoriser à penser - étonnant pour des femmes éduquées et cultivées, qui pour la plupart ont un travail. Mais là encore, leur travail ne reflète guère le niveau d'études qu'elles ont atteint et leurs revenus sont bien sûr en conséquence - poids des habitudes, de l'éducation, et de la pression familiale sans doute. Pour ce qui est de la maternité, là encore, la société leur dicte ce qu'elles doivent faire ou non, et de façon stricte, s'il faut allaiter ou non, comment nourir son enfant, s'il faut le laisser pleurer, le sortir tous les jours et dans tout cela le poids de la culpabilité est grand car il faut faire selon le dictat des spécialistes, et donc des hommes. Même ce qui devrait être instinctivement leur domaine de prédilection, leur est retiré de façon subtile et scientifique, bien sûr, puisque c'est pour le bien de leurs enfants. Curieusement, dans ce livre de femmes, sur les femmes, on ne parle guère d'amour, mais plutôt de ce qu'il convient ou conviendrait de faire dans son milieu. Cela laisse un sacré vide, pas pour nous lecteurs, mais pour elles, pour toutes ces femmes......Un roman, vraiment intéressant, par sa construction, et par son analyse très fine des phénomènes sociaux de l'époque, l'auteur a un regard acéré sur son époque sans en avoir l'air et d'ailleurs son analyse romanesque rejoint notre temps en bien des points.

A mid 30's exploration of society, life and other sexy and nasty things through the eyes of eight young women grads? Sign me up!Although it's not crying out to be read by me, I decided to take this book on after hearing it was a favourite of a reviewer I enjoy hearing from.Well it is definitely a deep dive into the time; fashion, relationships, culture, society, class, privilege and all manner of matters are discussed in detail in the Group. McCarthy's language is adept at painting a vivid picture of the scenes, sights and sounds our characters are exposed to (and seek out). It was very easy to fall into a trance-like state as more and more details are added to the scene in your head and as it rises and reaches its climax (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally).I listened to this as an audiobook, and I find the number of characters in it to be at about the limit for a single-performer recording. Lorelei King does an excellent job of giving all the characters enough individuality, but I think this story teeters on being more engaging as a multi-cast recording. Journeying with the whole group through their various trials and tribulations was as exciting and nerve-wracking for me as it was for them, and I think McCarthys' tone is all the more robust due to the semi-autobiographical nature of the novel.The treatment of women in society as well as the general class-tone to society is always somewhat uncomfortable to see in historically set works, but in The Group it is often outright jarring to see from the perspective of the women. I wonder if as in the book it's just accepted as 'the way things are' would fly with me back in the 30s, but i'll just have to ponder that for myself and continue to work to dilute such discrimination where I see it. But enough about me...The Group really only loses marks as the subject matter is far from appealing to me, but I can very much appreciate the revolution it encouraged upon first publication just as I am able to understand the gravitas that a period drama brings to the medium while wanting to get far away from it should it be screening.This was a fun excursion from my normal fare, and has encouraged me to seek out more writing less closely aligned with my experiences.

When I broke my arm on a recent ski trip I met an extremely nice lady sitting next to me in a mountain-top bar who was also unable to ski. I discovered she was the former literary editor of the Mail on Sunday and she what I was reading (Wedlock by Wendy Moore - excellent book) and similarly I asked her what she was reading. "The Group" she replied and talked very highly of it. I thought that if it was a recommendation from the former literary editor of the Mail on Sunday I should definitely read it.I'm so glad she recommended it. I struggled a bit through the first chapter trying to get into it but because I can't drive at the moment I have a bit more time on my hands so I was able to read chunks rather than a few pages at a time. This is definitely a book that you need to take time to read. There are few breaks, the chapters are long and there are long paragraphs. Once I'd accepted the layout I quickly got into the book.I didn't go to university, much less in 30's America but this book conjures up such descriptive images of the social etiquette of the day, the fashions, politics, literature and more. Mary McCarthy went to Vassar herself in the 30's so I'm sure much of what she has written was based on fact. Pre-marital sex, affairs, one night stands, contraception, relationships it's all here. The language too is very much of the day although the book was first published in 1963. I can completely understand why it went into the bestsellers list and stayed there for 2 years.I am not a fan of Sex in the City but this book is exactly that but circa 1930's NYC. I will definitely read this again which I rarely do.

I have picked this up more than once and considered reading it - even started it on one occasion. I gave up -but this time, because it was a book group suggestion, I stuck with it. It is not an easy read, but it is rewarding. I am so glad I persevered, and now understand why it's stood the test of time and considered an important book.I wouldn't call it a feminist book. It's about a group of Vassar educated women of the 1930s, and the society they inhabited and how the issues of those days affected their lives. Believe me, those issues resonate today, and probably did for our mothers, and probably will for our daughters- particularly those about child rearing and feeding.Some of the characters I found tedious and annoying, but I think they were bravely meant to be. Most were moving and some were uplifting and funny. This book is a complex, intricate, many shaded work of verbal tapestry, and if you read it I wonder which character will appeal to you most and why. That question was so entertainingly answered at our book group.