Maine- J. Courtney Sullivan

After having read both of J. Courtney Sullivan’s novels within the last six months, I have to say that I am incredibly impressed. And also slightly baffled that I'd never heard of her before this past summer. She is a rare type of author: someone you might label as a chick-lit writer at first, but upon reading further, find that her books are not exactly what they seem.

I think what I like the most about her writing is that her characters are so imperfect. Not in spectacular ways like you see in some books, but in subtle, incredibly relatable ways. Commencement was a nostalgia-fest for college, while Maine was not quite as instantly relatable, but certainly reminded me in a few small ways of my own large Catholic family. I also like how she slips in teases of what’s to come instead of just spilling an entire backstory in one go. It keeps you interested.

I like Maine more than I liked Commencement, which I didn’t think was possible. My only complaint about Commencement was that one of the storylines went completely off the rails near the end, while this one is realistic throughout. Maine tells the story of four women in four different viewpoints, three different generations of the same family (one married in, and three daughters/mothers), all of whom are dealing with their own individual struggles while also attempting to relate with each other, and all of whom eventually come together in the family summer house in Maine. Most intriguing to me was the way that each of the characters viewed each other and themselves, which certainly makes me think of the way that I represent myself in my daily life.

I’m a little put off by the ending though. It seemed abrupt and didn’t provide a lot of closure after spending so much time developing the story and the characters. I’d like a sequel, or at least to see what happens through the end of the summer. I feel invested and now I want to know how things continue in their lives. Technically, I suppose everything was resolved, but it didn’t feel very satisfying. Maybe it’s because all along all I wanted was a chick lit ending, when I should have known that this author wouldn’t give me one just to make everything nice.

Overall, it’s another book somewhere between a 4 and a 5. I think I’d like to own it, so by my self-defined ranking system, I'll call it a 5. Regardless, I look forward to what Sullivan has in store for me next.

Commencement- J. Courtney Sullivan

The first fifty pages of Commencement put me on a nostalgic tear. It made me miss my time in college so much, that I immediately sent emails to my closest friends from my floor my freshman year. In a story that I would imagine many people who went away to college can identify with, four girls meet at Smith after randomly being assigned to the same house and become best friends. From there, the book follows the women through their years in school and the years afterwards. Their time together is written remarkably well, and the descriptions of the main characters leaning on each other and becoming a family were so like my time in my first year of college. It’s interesting, emotional, and unbelievably relatable.

After the first fifty pages or so, the book takes a turn that I can only label… well, a little disturbing. Traumatic events ensue, and because of the story being told simultaneously in present and past tense as the four women meet up again after two years apart for a wedding, it has a reflective feel to it, while also putting the reader in the moment being reflected on. Does that make any sense? It’s interesting, and an entertaining way of helping us to learn both who the women are and how they came to be that way.

Despite the disturbing turns, I very much enjoyed Commencement. It’s a book about growing up, a book about four girls that are in the same stage of life that I’m in at the moment, if a little more dramatic. I could identify with each one of the characters, some more than others, and I think that in itself is what made me like it so much. Reading about the journeys that each of the characters are taking is extremely captivating, and I was very disappointed when I finished. I am very much looking forward to reading Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan’s latest, which according to reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, is even better.

4- I will definitely read this again. I might even buy it. This one’s somewhere in between a 4 and a 5 for me, and I highly recommend it.