Nerd Corner: Book Review of Commencement

For all of my book worms out there, as a way for me to keep up on my reading and to share some texts with you guys I’ve decided to post a book review for each book I read. This will keep me accountable because I want to review at least 6 books for you guys this year. And, you can get some recommendations for reads.

Title: Commencement

Author: J. Courtney Sullivan

Background

First, some background on my relationship with this book. So, I started this book my freshman year of college, so way back in 2011. Working in the library, I’d come across books when checking them out or shelving. This book caught my attention and I took it to the desk and started reading it. I checked it out and got about half way through the book and it was due for return and it was the end of the year so I turned it back in.

Well time passed and I sort of forgot about the book ( I was reading 2-3 books at a time outside of schoolwork then). Then, I remembered the book but I couldn’t remember the name! I spent years trying to find the name, forgetting about it, remembering again and so on. Then I remembered the author’s name! I looked her up and found the book but it took me a little while longer to finally get my hands on it. So here we are!

Initial Impressions

The book caught my attention because it centered around four girls at a small private college. At the time I was attending Rhodes College. Rhodes had under 1,500 students and took up literally one block. I figured there had to be some overlap between my current circumstances and the book.

There was. The book begins by introducing four girls with four “different” personalities and back stories. Stuck on the same floor in a small dorm, the girls connect with each other.  Celia, the middle class but not too goody-goody girl who arrives with alcohol in tow. Bree, the stereotypical southern belle who is engaged and in a long distance relationship. Sally, the Stepford wife in the making who is too well put-together. And lastly, April, the only one is actually different from the other girls. She is from a poor background, she’s more rock-n-roll, less pop and she’s a very vocal radical feminist.

Between beginning this book and finishing it over 5 years passed. My views changed, I learned a lot, I lived a little. When I started this book all I could see were these four women having this impossible tight-knit group throughtout college. They graduated, everyone began working and living their lives, all while maintaining a strong friendship despite them being in all different places. Was this really post college life?  At the beginning of college I had three very close friends. We all separated for college and I thought, “See it is possible to remain friends despite the distance”. The group goes through growing pains but in the end they remain close  friends.

When I came back to this book my outlook had changed drastically. I’d gained friends and lost friends, friends I’d thought were forever. But more than anything my experiences had colored my outlook on life, in particular femininity, sexuality, justice and injustice. Because of that when I came back to the story, the characters that once seemed just like me, felt nothing like me. I couldn’t relate to four white women who had a wonderful golden-girls type college experience. I couldn’t relate to leaving college and finding the perfect job for me right away. Most things they went through felt trivial. This isn’t to say I didn’t still enjoy reading the book. It’s just the character’s lives became less interesting while the things they discussed and confronted became more interesting.

In the end we get to follow the story of four people who come together and are tied together permanently. They grow and learn together from girls to women. They experience real life and heartache, are exposed to injustice and hate, and being upset with one another. But, they go through it as a group, making them stronger as a unit.

I hate when people give too much of a storyline away, so I’ll intentionally remain vague but these women realize that real life is more than just having a good friend to have a night out with or a good cry with. They are confronted with relationships, family, sexuality, and questioning their personal beliefs. And in that, it saves this story. I can’t relate to a group of four mostly middle class women on a lot of things, but these are things any woman or person can grapple with. Sullivan manages to weave together four lives and rope in the reader. The story reads really easily.

Overview

So to keep it simple, here are what I feel to be the pros and cons of the novel. In the end I would recommend it, but just be weary that sometimes certain things may feel trivial in the plot. Sometimes it feel like these women are ungrateful and have no real issues but then you’re reminded that one person’s “bad” isn’t comparable to anther person’s.

Pros:

• Relatable as a post collegiate woman
• Discussions of sexuality, feminism, relationships and careers with diverse opinions on them
• Diverse personalities amongst the characters that enhance the story line
• Multiple focal points and story lines allow you not to get bored while the overlap brings it all back together
• Reads easily, well written without being pretentious

Cons:

• No racial diversity besides a secondary asian character
• No socio-economic diversity really, most are from middle to higher class homes
• Spends time establishing the strength of these women and then lets something stereotypically catty come between them
• Drags on in a few places

Overall this book gets 4 out 5 bookmarks from me!

Any recommended reads? Leave them in the comments!