Julia Bryan Thomas - The Radcliff Ladies' Reading Club

Massachusetts, 1954. With bags packed alongside her heavy heart, Alice Campbell escaped halfway across the country and found herself in front of a derelict building tucked among the cobblestone streets of Cambridge. She turns it into the enchanting bookshop of her dreams, knowing firsthand the power of books to comfort the brokenhearted.
The Cambridge Bookshop soon becomes a haven for Tess, Caroline, Evie, and Merritt, who are all navigating the struggles of being newly independent college women in a world that seems to want to keep them in the kitchen. But when a member of the group finds herself shattered, everything they know about themselves will be called into question.
From the author of For Those Who Are Lost comes an extraordinary love letter to books and friendship, a story that is at once heart-wrenching, strengthening, and inspiring.

Comment: This book caught my attention because of the title, then I checked the blurb and it seemed it would be something I'd enjoy. I told the friend I usually buddy read things with and we decided to try it. Well... it wasn't what I expected.

In this story we meet Alice Campbell, who is the owner of a bookstore in Cambridge, near the university and its several campus, including the Radcliff, which is a ladies' university. Alice has escaped some bad memories in her past and is eager to be independent and everything seems to fit into place when Tess, a Radcliff student enters the bookshop one day and while chatting, Alice convinces her to come back with friends for a book club.

As the months go by and the books chosen provide food for thought, Alice gets to know the girls and their personalities, and it becomes clear they aren't all the same, nor are their hopes for the future...

At first I was really motivated to read this story, and the fact it was set in the 50s added extra flavor for it would certainly include things like woman's rights and education, probably liberal vs conservative characters and, I hoped, book discussions. From the historical POV, I knew it might not be cute and cozy, but I still had hopes this would present us what I imagined would mostly be likable characters to root for.

Well, my impression of this book wasn't as positive as I hoped for, but I did like the book discussions. They read and talk about classics, some of which I have read, and it was interesting to have those scenes. Of course, a lot of the discussion of the books is heavily linked to the characters' personalities and their recent experiences, so the discussion isn't as impartial as it could, and it's very cliched. Nevertheless, I did like this part of the novel, and that is probably what makes me place this book on the positive side of the scale.

Like my buddy read friend, I assumed the story would be centered on Alice, her experiences, perhaps a romance or the hint of it, but no. Alice is like the common element that is able to link every other detail into a comprehensive structure, but we don't really learn that much about her. We are aware she isn't married anymore, that she had felt oppressed in her marriage and that she is somehow able to open her own bookstore, but she is like this supposed experienced woman, obviously older than the college students, but she remains rather mysterious. I suppose this was intentional, but I must say it made her too distanced for me to really sympathize and like her beyond the basics.

I'd say that this was only a reflection of the writing, which I felt was too superficial. We are given scenes and situations and reactions to things but I never felt emotionally invested in what was happening, especially when it came to the negative or the shocking events (trigger warnings apply). I think the author could have done better but assuming this is her writing style, I did not become a fan.

Following each book choice and later discussion, most of the plot is centered on the four college girls: rich but perceptive Caroline, studious but intransigent Tess, friendly but cunning Evie and loyal but average Merritt. The fun part is that the first impression I got of them made me see each one a certain way and then, as they go through social and college life, their personal experiences do affect their development as characters. Adding their backgrounds, and the painted picture is rather predictable, but still interesting for the most part. 

However, since nothing about the writing style was that special, it was the events chosen by the author that were meant to give life to this story and I feel what she aimed for was not really achieved. The lack of connection to the characters, the lack of true depth to their motivations and behavior made them rather cartoonish at times or too boring in others. I also think the 50s setting was a convenient way to limit certain choices, and not because it was a genuine need for the plot to be set in this time. There were also a few situations that didn't seem to make much sense.

I think this book was written to present a point, to set up an idea. I think if this had been aimed to be a romance, perhaps a few elements would have worked better. Or not. I also would have preferred the book club to have had more attention, or that this would be a little more uplifting. I've finished the novel but not with that impression and I can safely say I don't feel the need to re-read nor to find other things by the author.

Grade: 5/10