Thursday, September 5, 2013

Review: The Interestings

The Interestings
By Meg Wolitzer
Riverhead April 2013
468 pages
From the library

The Interestings

Sigh....I did that thing again. I read the book, wrote down some thoughts, and then forgot to finish my review. I read this book back in the beginning of July Are there any people out there who haven't read this book yet? If you haven't read this yet, read on!



One summer, a group of teens assemble in a teepee at  arts camp. Ethan is an animator, Cathy is devoted to dance, Ash is an aspiring actress/director, Jonah plays the guitar, Goodman toys with architecture, and Julie is the new recruit to this circle of friends, trying to figure out exactly where she belongs. They dub themselves “The Interestings” because they are, of course, more fascinating than their fellow campers and the general population. The bonds created that summer will last a lifetime and The Interestings follows this group of artists through their successes and failures in art, relationships, and life.
The Interestings can perhaps best be described as a saga. As opposed to a Russian saga like Anna Karenina or an early American saga like Gone with the Wind, this book is a contemporary American saga that brings its characters from the 1970s to the present day. Wolitzer excels at indicating the time period without beating you over the head with it. But her greatest skill is perfectly writing these character at different points in their lives – the invincible teens, the uncertain artists in their mid-twenties, new parents, and middle aged people looking back at the years that have passed. 
 The central theme throughout the book is the idea of success in art. Each character starts out with great aspirations to be known as an actress, an artist, or a dancer. Some of them do achieve fame beyond their wildest dreams, but others find that they are going nowhere and begin the painful process of giving up a dream to pursue something that will keep the bills paid and food in the fridge. Success doesn't always mean happiness in your creation or in the personal life that you put on hold. The characters learn that sometimes making music just for yourself is more rewarding than playing in front of hundreds.
While meeting at arts camp is something that will cause some readers to reminisce, every reader can relate to the ways that relationships change over a lifetime. Wolitzer has written a very intelligent and dare I say interesting story about making art, finding success, and making relationships work. Although The Interestings was heralded as one of the great books of this summer, it would be a perfect book to curl up with on a cool fall night. 

6 comments:

  1. I didn't read this yet, so thank you for a good review. I'm not positive I will read it, but at least you have me thinking about it.

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    1. I'm glad! It made me think a lot about my own experiences with theatre and music, but I think success and failure are universal.
      Have you read anything by Wolitzer before?

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  2. I really, really like your review here. I've got an ARC of this book that I've been putting off reading because the last book of hers that I read I thought was borderline terrible, but everybody I know who's read this has had good things to say about it...

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    1. Thank you! I've read one other of hers, which I liked. I think I knew before starting it that this story would have particular resonance with me. Which of her books did you not like?

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  3. Beautiful review, Lindsey! This looks like a very beautiful book. I love the central theme - of young artists growing up and sometimes discovering the mundane nature of the world and at other times discovering beauty in hidden places. I liked this sentence very much from your review - "Wolitzer excels at indicating the time period without beating you over the head with it." It is very nice to know that. I will look for this book. I think I will love it. Thanks for this wonderful review :)

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    1. Thank you, Vishy. I think Wolitzer does a really great job of blending the universal and the specific. I hope you enjoy it!

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