Synopsis
When it first published in 1958, Rona Jaffe's debut novel electrified readers who saw themselves reflected in its story of five young employees of a New York publishing company. There's Ivy League Caroline, who dreams of graduating from the typing pool to an editor's office; naive country girl April, who within months of hitting town reinvents herself as the woman every man wants on his arm; Gregg, the free-spirited actress with a secret yearning for domesticity. Now a classic, and as page-turning as when it first came out, The Best of Everything portrays their lives and passions with intelligence, affection, and prose as sharp as a paper cut.
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Reviews
Customer Review: 09 August 2011
Reviewer: Jo
'Every weekday morning all over the globe women leave trains, buses, apartments and houses and in the appropriate attire they make their way to work. Women who want to get on, women who want a career and women who want a marriage and the women who want both. This is 1950s New York and Rona Jaffe in The Best of Everything shows some of these women as they try to find a place in society that suits them but also all those around who have expectations of them which differ from their own. In the building of Fabian Publications where they all work and their lives cross and intertwine. Caroline is the most astute who does want the career but the man as well. Mary Agnes is a woman working until the wedding then her next role as wife and mother is the only one she has ever wanted. April does not know what she wants and thinks she has found true love but Dexter has other ideas. Gregg is chasing her acting dream whilst also working now and again with Caroline as well as sharing a small apartment with her. Gregg is a girl who thinks she has the correct man only to find that love is sometimes one way and can overtake you to the point of obsession. Barbara divorced young and with a child feels she has experience over these others and her life takes a different path, she knows what she wants but will get it in her own time and her own terms. This is a long absorbing novel about nothing and everything really. As a woman reading it you will find so much you can relate to. How many times have you wanted to declare love and hope that it kept the man? How many times have you just gone out with a man because he was there and you just wanted to go out? It shows women at their best and worst, and despite being written some near 60 years ago it resonates as much today. Perhaps what has dated but also shows how far feminism has come is the overwhelming desire for weddings and marriage the role of women in society and in a man’s life as someone’s wife not as their own person. Men are seen as predators with a slick style to impress and capture, the overbearing bosses who make it clear the way to get ahead is generally under them. For men, women are commodities and whilst there are some real gems out there, a great number are portrayed as heartless and not romantic. No wonder these young women have trouble finding the right one they certainly do not make it look easy as the book could have done to conform to a happy ending. None of the characters stand out for me, this is a book where you turn the page and keep reading it is a fairly chunky book. There are no peaks and troughs, parts that draw you right in and thrills and upsets along the way. It is simply an account of life. For me I could not relate to any particular one but could relate to different incidents, comments and observations on life. Some things have changed in these 60 years others have not. A chick-lit novel well before the phrase was even coined and a must for all women who want something a bit more than fluffy writing. '
» Submit a reviewCritic Review:
'It is, I think, the perfect summer read: juicy, involving and classy. Even as you smile at the thought that smoking was once considered a skill, and white cotton gloves a wardrobe basic, it will also make you feel nostalgic for your own past, for those feverish days when fear and elation were pretty much the same thing.' Rachel Cooke, The Observer
'As Draper himself might say: fascinating.'The Times
Product details
Format :
Paperback
ISBN: 9780141196312
Size : 129 x 198mm
Pages : 512
Published : 05 May 2011
Publisher : Penguin Classics
Other formats for The Best of Everything:
» ePub eBook: eBook : £7.00
The Best of Everything
£8.99
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