It’s 1963, four housewives living in the same suburb start a book club. Margaret dreams of becoming a writer, Charlotte an artist, Bitsy a vet, and Viv would like to return to nursing. They all have kids except the youngest member, Betsy, who desperately wants to be a mother.
Charlotte says she will join the book club only if they read The Feminine Mystique. This sent up a red flag for me because of preconceived notions about the women’s movement, which brought both good and bad. Anything that demeans God’s role of motherhood makes me wonder if the author was blessed with children. After going down that rabbit hole, I discovered she had three children. In the book, How to Read a Book, the authors caution about forming an opinion before finishing a text, that is powerful advice. I learned a lot.
What surprised me was that a married woman wasn’t able to open a checking account without her husband’s signature. I also got an up close and personal glimpse of overbearing husbands and it wasn’t pretty. I had the opposite growing up, my dad never talked down to my mom, she lamblasted him.
The story is mostly about Margaret and how the past haunts her. Margaret’s marriage hits some bumps when she starts writing a column for A Woman’s Place, which Walt, her husband, refers to as her jobette. When honesty clears the lies he’s been believing, he makes an about face!
Don’t grab a cigarette or a stinger, just sip some tea and enjoy the recap on The Book Club for Troublesome Women : )