A couple of blogs ago I said I
would not blog about tv shows, and I would put a blog about a book in that
category. Nonetheless….Jennifer Close’s
first book is hardly a literary masterpiece on the level with Jane Eyre or The Great Gatsby, but to me, Girls
in White Dresses is a work of art that perfectly captures today’s young
women. It describes the ten or so years
after a group of friends graduate college, and in doing so, elicits a kind of
raw emotion – sad, happy, nostalgic, helpless, and best of all, laugh-out-loud
humor – from everyday situations. It
touched on several thoughts I’ve had since I graduated (and I apologize….I know
this is really random)….
I enjoy reading all kinds of books,
including contemporary fiction. In all
the books I’ve read about women, college-aged to early thirties, even the best
ones miss the boat in a number of ways. First,
girls in big cities always have crazy fabulous jobs at the age of 27, and
they’re always the ones who got a lucky break to get there. Or if they do have regular,
start-at-the-bottom kind of jobs, they can somehow afford prime Manhattan real
estate and couture shoes. I enjoyed
reading a more realistic depiction of life.
Similarly, in a lot of books, being overserved is a once-in-a-book kind
of thing, and saying bad words is only to emphasize anger. In reality, girls have fun lots of nights and
spend many a morning nursing hangovers, and I think every girl goes through at
least a period of time where she uses foul language whenever she can fit it in. Perhaps most disappointing is that most of
these books are about dissatisfied protagonists who, over a few hundred pages,
find their Prince Charmings and live happily ever after. This book’s stories show how real life is even
better without fitting into a box.
Secondly, it was a perfect example
of how I classify the female gender:
girls, moms, women. Those are the
only three categories. I’m still a girl
in my mind and will be one until I have a baby, when I’ll be a mom. I’ll be a mom until my kids are grown, and
then I’ll be a woman. If I don’t have
children, I’ll be a woman at some unfixed point, when I start to have wrinkles,
wear mom clothes or have a houseful of cats.
Am I the only one who unintentionally thinks this way? It is obvious in the way that having a baby
causes friends to separate; not in a bitter way, but no matter how hard you
try, things are never the same after a couple makes that life-altering
change. This girl/mom thing is one of my
biggest (albeit selfish) fears of having kids….that I’ll lose my identity as a girl
forever.
There were several stories in this
book where I thought to myself, “I can totally see myself doing that,” or, “I
feel that way!” One such part is when
one of the girls talks about wishing she had known her boyfriend when he was in
college. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to
describe this feeling to Matthew before.
I don’t think I would’ve liked him when he was in college. He was hairy all over and smoked cigarettes
and other things too much and still refers to his fraternity as “the meathead fraternity.” He says this enthusiastically and
authoritatively as if it’s something to be proud of. But I would like to have been a fly on the
wall for just a little while to watch Matthew when he was that age. There’s something a little sad about realizing
I’ll never be able to know that part of him.
I recommend this book to anyone but
definitely to girls in college through those that are settling into life as a
grown-up. I know you’ll find at least
one way to relate. And I’m confidant
that it’ll make you realize that, although the day-to-day seems monotonous, it's what makes life worth living. Whether you are a girl, a mom, or a woman, this book can find a place in your
heart.
Until next time, sending love,
The Spiveys
