Tonight The Typical Book Group got together to talk about The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. There were 6 of us there, and all but one of us had finished the book. We actually talked about the book more than usual tonight, which I think shows that it was a good book group pick. One intriguing thing that we talked about was who our favorite character was. We all had different choices, which was surprising, since I thought everyone would pick Ethan, like I did. Instead, people picked Jules, Ash, Jonah and Dennis. We spent a lot of time talking about Dennis. He was such a solid character, and so different from the campers. Our host, Laurie, had an article from "Real Simple" where Meg Wolitzer said something about how Dennis stood out because he didn't "fetishize specialness". What was great about him was that while he didn't completely understand Jules' obsession with the camp and her friends, he still could appreciate them, and even seemed to be real friends with Ethan, especially.
We liked how Ethan's difficulty in relating to his son gave him a believable and real character flaw. Without that, he would have been too perfectly one dimensional. We also found it remarkable that the only intact, traditional family managed to raise the most dysfunctional kids, while the kids raised by single parents seemed to be better adjusted.
While it was a long book, and while there were times when some of the book clubbers weren't sure they could get through it, everyone who finished the book was glad to have read it. Next month we'll read Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple.
Still Reading: This is not an Accident by April Wilder
Still Listening to: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
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