The Red Book (original 2012; edition 2012)

I thought about putting this down several times because it didn't really hold my interest. Also, the author goes out of her way to drive home her idea that ALL relationships will inevitably involve an infidelity. No matter how safe you think you are, or how well you know your partner, give it up, she seems to imply, human beings are going to cheat on each other.
I found that frustrating.

Overall a mildly entertaining read but on the vapid, gossipy side. ( )

I love books about college/university life, books that include letters/newspaper excerpts etc. and books where we find out what happened to each character over time. The Red Book combines all of these things – four college friends returning to Harvard for their 20 year reunion, the Red Book (an alumni book for each person to detail their life, loves, offspring and notable achievements) and a nice little postscript after the reunion. I loved it. Given that the book has been long listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, I’m hearing more mixed reviews about it. I don’t think this novel pretends to be anything it isn’t – it’s a book with incredibly well written characters and intricate relationships that asks the question – when do we ever tell the truth? We might embellish details in the Red Book, but are we true to ourselves, given what everyone else wants us to be?

The Red Book introduces us to four main female characters, who were all friends at Harvard. Twenty years later, their lives are all very different and ripe for change. There’s Addison, now a bored mother of two who’s way over her head financially – especially as she’s now been arrested for not paying her college parking fines. Clover had the Wall Street dream after an unconventional childhood, but now she’s unemployed and desperate for a baby. Mia married a Hollywood director, giving up an acting career for motherhood and redecorating. Finally, Jane (who was adopted as a child) needs to come to grips with the death of her husband and mother – who appear not to be the pinnacles she thought. As you can tell, there’s a lot of unsolved issues here, and plenty more resurface over the course of the reunion weekend. All the characters are hiding something from themselves and from others. The characters are definitely Copaken Kogan’s strength – each is beautifully flawed, realistic and multilayered. The supporting characters (predominantly the husbands, ex-lovers and children) are also memorable – much more than a simple sketch. The names of the characters are also incredible – in a good way. Unusual, but memorable.

Reading this book reminded me of a more modern version of The Group. It has that social commentary and solidarity of friendships feel about it. I loved the interactions between characters (the dialogue fits each character perfectly – Jane is timid and worried, Clover cheeky and witty) and I enjoyed the way each main character had their back story told so we could fill in the blanks of their time studying. A lot happens in one weekend, but it’s all plausible. In my opinion, this is a great fiction debut and I’m crossing my fingers it will make the shortlist.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

I am still attempting to decide if the author was telling a story/stories or doing character studies. To me it felt & worked more like a character study of these four women who graduated Harvard in 1989 & their spouses, partners, friends, children, co-grads. They have returned for a reunion and as they meet up with each other the reader learns their thoughts and expectations for each one as we also learn the accomplishments of each one.
'The Red Book' signifies the book that comes out to the alumni every five years and each alumni is encouraged to write their personal contact information, what they are now doing with their lives, what their spouses are doing with theirs, their children by name and year of birth, etc. Some complete these questionnaires, some do not, but most of 'ours' do. They are compiled into 'The Red Book' and then sent out. Then when at their 20 year reunion each alumni will have an idea of what their previous classmate's lives have turned out to be.
Of our ladies:
Mia is married to film director Jonathan, is a stay at home mom of 4; Max-17, Eli-14, Joshua-10, and infant Zoe-7 months. Mia wanted to be an actress but it just never worked out for her. However she has taken to wedded life and motherhood quite naturally and is content and happy in this role.
Clover is the managing director & leader of a team focused on mortgage-backed securities. Her partner in life, Danny is a Legal Aid Attorney, doing a lot of pro-bono work. They have no children.
Jane is a reporter for the Boston Globe and was married to a journalist Herve, who was murdered while on a story. Her current partner Bruno, knew them when they were a them. He is an editor and Jane has a daughter, Sophie-6, by her first husband. They have no other children.
Addison is an artist married to a writer, Gunner. Both seem to be rather non-productive and live off a family inheritance which seems to support most of the family. They have three children; daughter Trilby-13, Houghton-11 and Thatcher-10. All three of them go by their middle names.
The girls all get together annually at Mia & John's vacation home in Antibes and a couple of them get together more frequently as they are able.
At this twenty year reunion they come back to Harvard bringing with them their children and significant others. We get to know them all and Kogan has compiled some well rounded characters. There is growth and/or regression within all of their lives. I enjoyed the characters, their thoughts, lives and I thought that the book worked very well on that level. However as a novel, I was left feeling that something was lacking. I liked it well enough to give it 2 1/2 stars and I guess would have to say that I guardedly recommend it. ( )

F Kogan

September 2012 Librarians Choice Review - MCPL Readers Cafe Site - http://montgomerycountymd.libguides.com/readerscafe

The Red Book is a compelling, page-turning novel by Deborah Copaken Kogan about the lives of four former Harvard University roommates who are now middle aged. Unfortunately, the book's appeal is somewhat marred by an undertow of cynicism that the author can't quite shake. The story revolves around the lives of Clover, Addison, Mia and Jane, who all graduated in 1989. They're gathering in Cambridge with their families for their 20th reunion. Over the course of the weekend, the women's lives intersect and they must confront their disappointments, illusions and aspirations.

Clover is an expatriate from her parents' free love commune in California who struggled to fit in at Harvard and catch up on all the WASP-ish social knowledge her classmates take for granted. She's recently married, but also just lost her job as a high level broker with Lehman Brothers. Addison is from a prestigious family of Social Register entrants who now lives with her cruelly indifferent husband, checked out children and tepid career prospects. Mia, the mother of four, has set aside her brilliant performances as a college thespian to care for her large family. Jane lives with a sense of constant tragedy, extending from her childhood as a Vietnam War orphan to the death of her beloved husband.

The fifth main character is the charmingly retro red book. It's a crimson colored book, both in real life and in the novel, mailed out to Harvard alum by the university every five years. In addition to providing (or not) basic information such as address, email, occupation, spouse, children, etc., the more diligent alum include a 3 to 5 paragraph summary of their life over the last 5 years.

Red book entries from main and secondary characters appear throughout Kogan's novel. It's a useful tool the author uses well for bringing readers up to speed on a character and fleshing out minor characters. One wonders if the entries in the actual red books are as revealing as those portrayed in the novel. One red book entry in the novel breezily notes when and where the entry writer's son was conceived. Another alum reflects on how his apparent lack of ambition has affected his dating prospects.

It's not all self-discovery and personal growth however. The novel prompts a growing sense of ambush as one progresses through it. It's not clear whether this is the author's intent, but she pulls the rug out from under some of her characters. A big part of this is that nobody can trust anybody else. Think your husband’s faithful? Hah! Naïve fool. Think that beautiful woman loves you? Sucker! She just wants your sperm.

In a sense this is good. If a reader is bothered by a character getting a raw deal, it means the author has been successful in enticing the reader to care about the character. However, such moves can sour the enjoyment of an otherwise compelling story.

The clearest example of this is Clover. Readers come to identify with her struggle to fit in at Harvard and her later rise and fall as a broker at the doomed Lehman Brothers. By the time of the reunion, she's just married the man of her dreams. Yet her true happiness can only come at the cost of her betraying both her new groom and the lover she uses for her own purposes.

The book doesn't end with any of the characters miserable and laying in the gutter. There are happy endings, and bittersweet ones, and the usual sense of hope one expects from relationship fiction. However, the reader is left with a twitch between the shoulder blades. Sure the characters are doing fine now, but what about later? There's this sense that the author’s just around the corner waiting to nail somebody again.

The Red Book is a compelling read, with interesting characters the reader wants to know better. Just realize that if you become too attached to them, you'll feel their pain.

For other books focused on the lives and relationships of women, try The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright about a woman's passionate affair during Ireland's booming Celtic Tiger days. Also try Meg Wolitzer's The Uncoupling. In this novel, the new drama teacher at Stellar Plains High School selects the Lysistrata as the school’s next production. Lysistrata is an ancient Greek comedy about women throughout Greece refusing sex to protest their men’s wars. The play’s selection coincides with a mysterious diminishing interest in sex among the school community's women.

Reviewer - Mark Santoro