A Review of Meg Wolitzer’s “The Interestings”
An Intriguing Read
Meg Wolitzer had successful books before she published The Interestings almost eight years ago, but this is the book where she finally came onto my radar. I read a favourable review of the book in Entertainment Weekly and knew that I had to get a copy. So, I did. I ordered a copy on my Kindle, where it sat languishing from the time of its publication until now. I’m not sure why it has taken so long for me to read this book — although, I guess I’m a classic book nerd in that I have more books to read than I know what to do with. However, the book has cropped up in my life as a reminder to read it since then. When I was working at Health Canada a few years ago, I went to a book sale they had for the United Way and found a copy of The Interestings in among the old paperbacks that were being sold. I guess the fact that the book, still relatively new, found itself into a rummage sale of sorts didn’t bode well for me. Boy, now that I’ve read it, I can say that I was so wrong to even think that way.
The book traces the friendships of a group of people from the time they are teenagers at an artsy summer camp in New England in 1974 to the time they are middle-aged and living more complicated lives in 2009. During this period of some 35 years, there are ups and downs — and even a few deaths sprinkled along the way. The book’s main protagonist is Jules Jacobson, who, at the book’s outset, is mourning the death of her father. She makes friends with Ash Wolf, who is more well off than her, and her brother Goodman, who Jules has a bit of a crush on. Intermingling in this group is a guy named Ethan Figman, a budding animator who will go on to Matt Groening levels of success, and who has a lifelong crush on Jules, even though he ends up marrying Ash. Jules and Ash are inseparable, and arguably more so when Goodman apparently commits a crime and flees the country. Rounding out the group is a boy named Jonah Bay, whose mother is a successful folk singer and whose father figure winds up drugging Jonah while he plays guitar so that he can steal the young man’s songs.
As you can tell, this is a book that’s pretty big on plot. A lot is going on with The Interestings, so much so that it doesn’t feel like a 470-page book — but, rather, something much, much longer. It is, however, rather absorbing — even though it can be difficult to keep track of the characters at first. (The novel does even out shortly after its raucous start by focusing on characters one at a time.) While the book does jump around a bit in time, especially in the beginning, the narrative is relatively temporal and easy to follow. This is all a long and complicated way of saying that the book isn’t particularly difficult and challenging, but it is a character study — one that’s utterly absorbing and completely compelling.
I found myself relating to Jules the most, because, when we meet her, she is a budding actress who is forced to cut short her dreams when she realizes she doesn’t have any talent. She becomes a psychiatrist, instead. If you’ll allow me the digression and indulgence, I found myself relating to her. I started my career as a journalist, and while some may argue that I had a talent for it (or at least in writing), I wish I could reach out and take back every single one of those stories and wish that I had chosen a much more anonymous craft in which to pursue my work. I just wasn’t tough enough to be a journalist — I hated the ambulance-chasing part of the craft and wanted mostly to be an arts writer. People played politics with my ambition, and I got hurt — in similar ways that Jules experiences hurt. So, yes, I wish I had maybe become an English major with a penchant for becoming a teacher or something more altruistic and less bruising. That’s not to say that Jules is petty and wishes her life was different, and that she did become famous. Still, I did find that resonance with Jules to be clear for me.
All in all, The Interestings is an ambitious and interesting book. Some may not like it because it is driven mostly by character. Even though one of the couples is relatively famous and powerful, this is a novel of the kitchen sink realism variety. Ordinary things happen. Does this make for a successful novel? I believe it does. These are compelling characters that you care about, and while the novel isn’t overly sentimental you do feel the tug of ordinary things when you read this book. When the characters leave camp for the last time in 1974, you feel an ache in your heart, a kind of loneliness — perhaps you’ve had a similar experience? When certain characters pass away, perhaps you’re reminded of close friends or family who passed on.
Wolitzer is so successful at her world-building that these feel like flesh and blood characters who occupy real space and time, not just some words on a page that don’t exist in reality. In short, The Interestings is an excellent book, and I feel ashamed that it has taken me this long to read it. If you care about things such as character development, and a timeline that feels true and well-researched (part of the book takes place during the early days of the AIDS crisis, for instance), then all I can say is that, without a doubt, this is a book tailor-made and meant for you. Read it and savour it. This is simply a great read.
Meg Wolitzer’s The Interestings was published by Riverhead Books on April 9, 2013.
Of course, if you like what you see, please recommend this piece (click on the clapping hands icon below) and share it with your followers.
You may also be interested in the following review: Meg Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion.
Get in touch: zacharyhoule@rogers.com
