“It was exhausting, being friends. Had they ever been able to tell each other the truth?”

 

Three women in their seventies take stock of their lives after their friend’s death in this beautiful rendition of the rich and rugged terrain of getting older.

Former actress Adele, retired restauranteur Jude and Wendy, a now-tired public intellectual, meet at their friend Sylvie’s beach house over a weekend, to tidy up her affairs. Wood captures frailty, fury and fierceness as the women reevaluate their relationship with one another now that the glue of their circle is gone. What they discover is intimidating and inspiring.

Wood’s characters are exquisite. They are terribly flawed and credible in their hardships to hang onto dignity in a society that doesn’t appreciate aging. This story reveals their untold truths, and how the three women reconcile their personal issues, as well as the problems they have with one another. In doing so, they tap into the bittersweet austerity and abundance of getting older.

This is a moving read, especially for older female readers who are tired of trite caricatures of elderly women.

 

If this review interests you, check out the following

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Meet Me At the Museum by Anne Youngson

The Longevity Cure by Cameron Diaz

The Art of Flaneuring by Erika Owen