“The Reading Group” by Elizabeth Noble

The same criteria apply to reading on your honeymoon as they do to reading at the beach. The book needn’t be deep, long or depressing to serve its purpose. All that’s required is a brief escape, not total immersion (unless, of course, you’re reading “Your Long Erotic Weekend: Four Days of Passion for a Lifetime of Magnificent Sex” by Lana Holstein and David Taylor – yes, it’s really a book!) Those serendipitous events that make a honeymoon magical will only happen if you keep your eyes, ears and heart open to new experiences. Read the guide books before you go, but let your trip take on a life of its own. Although my wish for you is that your books remain unread, this column is for reviewing, so…
“The Reading Group” takes place in England where a group of five women form a monthly reading group. During the course of a year, books are read and countless hours are spent discussing pressing issues in their everyday lives. The cast of characters includes Harriet, a thirty-something wife and mother, who formed the group with her best friend, Nicole. There’s Polly, a forty- year-old legal secretary and single parent. Susan, in her late forties, is an old friend of Polly’s. Clare, a young midwife, briefly rounds out the group. Noble cleverly lists the characters in the front of the book in case you have to refer back.
Harriet’s husband, Tim, is devoted to her and their children. But Harriet, constantly thinking about the one who got away and what might have been, finds it almost impossible to relate to Tim. She longs for excitement rather than sameness and stability. She fantasizes about affairs and pours her heart out to Nicole, who doesn’t understand how someone with everything could be so miserable.
Nicole is one of those perfectly put together women whose house is immaculate despite two young children, who works out every day and manages to be articulate and bright (you know, the kind of woman you love to hate). She’s married to Gavin, who has been cheating since the beginning of their marriage. Nicole is madly in love with him and can’t bring herself to kick him out. Harriet doesn’t understand why Nicole thinks so little of herself that she continues to allow him to hurt her.
Susan is the one with the happiest marriage. She and Roger are crazy about each other. Polly describes her as “the matrimonial equivalent of an evangelical friend gone mad.” They have an enviable life, except that Susan’s mother has Alzheimer’s and Susan finds it difficult to cope with losing her. She also has a sister, Margaret, from whom she’s estranged.
Polly, a single mother to two teen-agers, is contemplating getting married again when her college-student daughter, Cressida, becomes pregnant. Needing comfort, advice and strength to deal with the situation, Polly turns to the friends in her book group.
And, finally, there’s Claire. Childless and trapped in a crumbling marriage to Elliott, she can’t think about anything except her infertility. Claire, the least developed member of the reading group, finds it difficult to open up, both about books and about her personal life.
Elizabeth Noble set out to write a novel about women living through various crises and resolutions. She cleverly does this through the books that are chosen each month and the discussions that ensue. Deep enough to hold your interest, sad enough to give it depth and realistic enough to make you care, “The Reading Group” accomplishes what Noble wanted it to. I admit to not being a fan of female bonding books, but this one was light, lively and had enough to while away a sunny day at the beach or wherever that romantic honeymoon may take you.