I know The Group is a book that is well reviewed, and for the most part, really well liked in the blogging arena. I had read and heard so much about it and it sounded like the perfect read for me - a book focusing on the lives of a group of women who had graduated from college together in 1930's New York - great era, great focus, great city - all the right ingredients were there but unfortunately this book fell flat for me.
I really struggled to warm to or connect with any of the characters - I tried to put myself in the shoes of the characters and think about the social and political time they were living in - especially for women - but for some reason it just did not capture my interest. I certainly appreciated the strong writing but a lot of the time I thought the writing was there to demonstrate the strength and talent of the writer as opposed to telling the story. I found the endless internal and external monologues of the characters tedious and at times I felt like I was being preached too in relation to the time in which the book was set and then published.
At first I felt disappointed in myself as a reader - such an important social feminist novel and I can't get into it!! But then I relaxed and let myself off - this just wasn't the book for me - there will always be plenty more that are!
