One of the greatest things about writing this blog has been the opportunity to meet some really great authors. I had a wonderful chance to chat on the phone with MEG WOLITZER, author of The Ten Year Nap and although I was supposed to be conducting an interview, I felt like I was making a new friend.
Meg likes Bob Dylan, The Beatles and the Zombies. Two of her favourite movies are Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and The Wizard of Oz. Her favourite books include Brideshead Revisited, The Bell Jar, The Great Gatsby and Valley of the Dolls and Middlemarch. She is a wordsmith who plays Scrabble almost everyday.
And, she likes Chicklit, especially the writers she has termed the "Pink Ladies" – British writers such as Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and Helen Fielding of Bridget Jones fame – whose book covers are usually bubble gum pink. and she has written and published 8 literary novels of her own. Aside from the 8 novels, I could be Meg Wolitzer. Well that, and the fact that I am 7 years younger, have two more children in my house, live in Toronto instead of New York, graduated from Queen’s instead of Brown, summer in Muskoka instead of Long Island and am not nearly as smart.
What I really liked about Meg, was her admission that she was a bit judgemental about stay at home moms before she started writing her book and learned a lot about herself, her beliefs and everyone’s personal struggles to live a life of meaning.
The title, The Ten Year Nap, is based on the 10 years that the 4 main characters, Amy Lamb, Roberta Sokolov, Karen Yip and Jill Hamlin have taken from their careers in order to raise their children.
Each character narrates her own story and the reader learns first hand of her struggles. Most of them centre around self-worth although Amy has financial concerns, Roberta begins to envy her husband’s new found success, Karen tries to deal with her own parents who are disappointed with her lack of return of the work force, and Jill worries about her adopted daughter and her own parenting skills when she seems unable to force the mother-daughter bond which she assumed would be so natural.
These stories are interlaced with the perspective of previous generations who had their own battles with feminism, careers and the motherhood, wife and work balance.
Although Meg Wolitzer is a reader of Chicklit, her novels are literary in nature. She takes her time in developing a scene and creates evocative moods and pictures that enhance the plot of each character. Her novel is character driven and the reader becomes engrossed in each woman’s struggle to achieve harmony with herself, her family and her life. There is some humour, some tears, some smut, some romance, a lot of growth and a lot of friendship. A perfect read for moms, any season.
i am interested in winning this great prize
This sounds like a novel MADE for reading in the bath with a glass of something yummy… Please add my name in for the draw!
This book sounds great, I would be interested in reading it. Especially the mother with the adopted daugther, I am sure I could relate to some of her sentiments.
I’m always on the lookout for new books to enjoy. This sounds like a good read.
you are so right – i want to read this book! my ten year law school reunion is coming up, and I’ve been contemplating my decision to stay home on a daily basis – not regretting it, just trying to make peace with it.
sounds like the perfect read for me and my book club…. a bunch of moms. sign me up for the giveaway.
I could use a good summer read! Sounds like this could be it if I am so lucky!!
I could use a good summer read! Sounds like this could be it if I am so lucky!!
Sounds like an interesting book! I’d settle for a one hour nap lol… Thanks for the give-a-way!
I would love to read this book. Please add me to the list. Thank you.
Sounds like a great read to me (and all the other friends I share my books with). I love to win this!
Sounds like an interesting read. My husband has been the stay at home dad for 19 years & has faced so many negative comments.
Sounds like a good read to me. I love to win this!
Its funny I have been a stay at home mom for near 11 years and just this summer I got a snub from a working mom on one of the boys soccer teams. This is hard work, I admit I don’t have spotless house and I am not always entertaining my kids, but we would have to drop after school activities and summer sports schedule if I wasn’t home. As for an undisturbed sleep…ah the things dreams are made of.
This sounds like a great read, would love to read it!
Elizabeth I would love to read this book and would love an eight hour nap! Please add my name to the virtual hat and/or let me borrow your copy when I see you next week!
sounds like a great book!
I’d love to read this book! It sounds like everyone could learn a little something from reading it!
Great giveaway, thanks
This book would be terrific for summer reading, especially between work and house cleaning shifts. Please throw my name in the virtual hat.
Would love to read this book. Being a stay at home mom, I have heard some stupid things, like stay at home moms, watch soaps and eat candy all day. I’m glad my husband and I made thsi choice as I think I am the only stay at home mom I know and am glad my husband knows just how hard it is to do so.
Sounds like a very interesting read!
I would love to read this book… (and I would love to have just an 8-hour nap instead of the usual 4 hours a night!! [or 6 if I am very lucky])
You are so right Tory. Our choice was for my husband to be the stay at home parent which worked great for us. Although he said it was the hardest job he ever had it gave him great satisifaction to be with the kids. I loved coming home to happy children, a clean house and supper almost ready. But…the comments were so degrading. My husband was lazy, didn’t want to work, did nothing all day, etc. but we let all those beliefs just float right over us. We women are our own worst enemies.
Sounds like something I would love to read. I think there is a lot of judgment around against mothers…both against those who choose to stay home with their kids, and against those who choose to return to work. And, true to form, we women tend to be our own worst enemies when it comes to that judgment. Nice to see it explored in a novel. I think I’ll pick that one up.
Sounds like a really interesting read. U know you’re as smart and your first novel is just around the corner … remember you’re younger. So how do you win the book?