Finished November 15
The Weekend by Charlotte Wood
This Australian novel is set around a Christmas season weekend, with three long-time friends in their seventies. It's been a year since they lost the fourth member of their group, Sylvie, and Sylvie's partner is planning to sell her house in a seaside town. The three women will clean out the house, taking anything they want to keep.
It's a good plan, but the women are all dealing with personal issues of their own.
Jude has worked in restaurants all her life and never married, but she's had a decades long relationship with a married man, Daniel, with him supplying the apartment she lives in. They meet on a regular basis and she's sure his wife must be aware of her existence, but no contact with her has ever occurred. One of the meetings is due to happen at Sylvie's house after the clean-out. They've met there at that time of year regularly.
Wendy, an internationally respected academic, lost her husband several years back and fell into a depression, one that her dog helped her to climb out of. Her dog is now old and failing, but she can't bring herself to let it die. She has difficult relationships with both her children, feeling more distanced from them that she would like.
Adele is an aging actress, one who hasn't been working for sometime. She has fallen into poverty and her most recent relationship has just ended, leaving her without a place to return home to after this weekend. She is in good shape physically and looks after herself, but is clinging to her identity as an actress and not able to find a way to move forward.
As the three women learn how to navigate their relationship with each other without their fourth member, they also must figure out the next step in their individual lives.
I really enjoyed this book, with its strong characters and nuanced relationships.
It's not the kind of novel I would read soon, but I definitely added it to my TBR list (for next summer ?), thanks for your review :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had the opportunity to read this one as part of the Aussie Author Challenge in 2020 Shonna... I found it such a thought-provoking, and at times confronting read... Wood knows how to get under our skin and really challenge us as readers, the mark of quality literature I think.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing which Australian authored titles you read in 2021. May your new reading year be a safe and happy one!