** spoiler alert ** Complicated reading experience all round. I was enthusiastic about the pre-release information and professional reviews, but then the early reader reviews were all so negative. It showed up on a remainder table at B&N so I decided to take a chance after all, and am very glad of it. But now rating the book is its own dilemma -- the writing style was very enjoyable, but the plot and characterization were rather weak. And major caveat: I don't have kids, although that's on the horizon and I've been reading lots of opt-out nonfiction.

Again, I loved *how* she writes. Some wonderful phrases, clear descriptions, distinctive voices, and the clever flashbacks to the prior generation of female characters. I think she also had a really good ear for women's friendships, both good and bad elements. But there were three big annoyances.

First, I still have no idea what any of those women do all day. Well, meet for breakfast and sometimes do yoga. But that still leaves an amazing amount of blank space. Maybe that's supposed to be symbolic -- nothing they do is significant enough to mention. Fits the title. But it was still frustrating because it made it impossible for me to develop my own opinion on the choices they were making, which I'd think was supposed to be a major goal of the book.

Second, the way three of the main characters got a dramatic twist ending was annoyingly unrealistic. The television show, the musical prodigy, and the falling-apart-for-years marriage resolved with a five minute conversation. All ridiculous.

Finally, the stereotyping of the fourth main character bothered me as it bothered most reviewers -- both the over-the-top Asian cliches and the fact that the one minority character was also basically perfect and the only one with a totally happy life. I was also uneasy about message in the non-biological mother being the one who couldn't bond.

There were some interesting hints about the 'villain' husband being not nearly as bad as his wife claimed but that sadly didn't go anywhere. I did really enjoy the jealous references to the upcoming generation of involved fathers because although I'm the same age as the women in the story, I have a 20-something fiance who wants to stay home with the kids. Let's hope that was one of the realistic bits. ( )

This is quite a long book, occupying 11 CDs. I listened to it on my long sunday runs and it took me quite a few weeks and a lot of running to get through it. Nonethess, I didn't feel that it dragged at all and kept my interest to the end. (Perhaps if I was reading it, I might have felt differently?)
I'm not a woman and I probably never felt the urge to parenthood as much as the women in this book did, but I did sacrifice my career and hence my "life" on that particular altar, so I had a very personal interest in how the various women felt about their parenting role, and the degree to which they felt the need to add other non-parenting elements to their lives. It's almost a 21st century version of "The Women's Room" (although it's been nearly 30 years since I read that book, so don't quote me on that parallel!). Wolitzer even takes us back to the 1970s and the Consciousness Raising Group as if trying to deliberately draw a comparison between then and now in terms of women's approach to paid work and family. As such, I guess this book would be of most interest to people, like me, who were adults in the 1970s and are now in the latter stages of their careers and parenting roles.
The book seems to be neither pessimistic nor optimistic about motherhood and paid work, but it raises some important issues. . . for which there is no simple resolution.
As with almost all the audio books to which I've listened, the narrator did an excellent job (the only exception has been one of Chris Bohjalian's books). ( )

Lines worth remembering: "Later, when Jill tried to recreate the moment for Donald, she was unable to tell it n a way that gave it the real resonance is had possessed at the time." (p. 307)

The irony of this sentence, of course, is that Meg Wolitzer does not have this problem at all. I finished The Ten-Year Nap last week, but it's one of those books I've struggled with explaining why I loved it so much. Offering you a brief synopsis won't even begin to it justice. Yes, it's the story of four fortyish women of the means to stop working to care for their children. Their children, however, are now to the age they don't require constant care, and the women find themselves differently struggling with their place. To me, these women together represent the cumulative struggles, both emotional, financial and professional of so many women. Wolitzer alternates chapters with stories of these women's mothers and others from prior generation to highlight their hopes and dreams for their daughters. It's a moving look at feminism and women's lives over the years. As a twenty-something feminist, I was surprised to find myself understanding the mothers' generation more. As the book continued to shed light into these womens' lives, however, Wolitzer's nuanced message of individuality in feminism shone through brilliantly. I loved it, plain and simple. My words can't do this book justice, because it's complexity is in its scope. It's a brilliant book, and the plot is not what the book itself is truly about.

Many, many thanks to Penguin for letting me review this book. To supplement my review, check out their description of this truly wonderful novel. ( )

This wasn't bad. It seemed to me at the beginning that it would be a chick-lit-motherhood book. However, it surprised me by being better than that.

It's about 4 mothers who're friends, and their lives in NY city (and one of them in a NY suburb). It's about what staying-at-home-mothers 'do' all day, their dilemmas about their lives, their ambivalence about work & the life they've left behind, their difficult (at times) relationships with their husbands. It's a rather touching & insightful book, as I said, it surprised me positively. ( )

I'm not much for recounting plot in a mini-review. You can read the backmatter and blurbs if you want to know what happens in this novel. Had I been able, I would have given this book 3.5 stars, but can't bump it all the way up to four. The novel is successful in linking the concepts of women in pre- and post-9/11 life and the work they do or do not do, but does not construct a complete world where these characters are supposedly living. The tone is almost too polemic, and there are some plot contrivances that require more dramatic resolution. Wolitzer has a strong grasp of character building as far as she goes, and there are a couple of very lovely moments, but ultimately, I was left wanting more than she could deliver. The novel is certainly worth reading, but will soon be forgotten. ( )