Monday, March 26, 2012

The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton

THE FOUR MS. BRADWELLS follows a group of four women, friends from law school, who are now at various stages of their lives and careers. The book jumps between the viewpoints of each of the women, both at present day and during their time together at the University of Michigan Law School in the early 80s.

The book opens as the women come together to celebrate Betts' upcoming appointment to the Supreme Court. Unexpectedly, the Senate hearings reveal what the book jacket describes as "a deeply buried skeleton in the friends' collective closet," and the women take off together to a summer home to weather the storm (also conveniently the location where the aforementioned event occurred). 

I really enjoyed many things about this book, but I had some problems with it as well. While I enjoyed hearing each woman's perspective and found most of them to be interesting and their individual stories quite compelling, the friendships and the interactions between the women didn't ring true for me (no one has discussed these events in 30 years of friendship?). I also had a really hard time following some of the narration jumps and found myself repeatedly flipping around to remind myself who was who, as the voices weren't as distinctive as they could have been. The tension and suspense surrounding the "secret" felt manufactured, and the conclusion was utterly ridiculous. Lastly, as other reviewers have mentioned, I wasn't crazy about all of the Latin and poetry, but those sections are easily enough skipped over. All of that said, the book is well written, engaging, and a thoughtful examination of many of the issues that women face in both their professional and personal lives. The mystery element will keep you turning pages, and the chapters that focus on the women in law school were particularly interesting.

Verdict:  Borrow it from a friend or the library if the subject matter sounds like it might be interesting to you or if you're a fan of the author, but I can't say I'd recommend purchasing this title.

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