heidi’s book review

BY

Heidi Pederson

My name is Heidi Pederson. I am a single mother who works and lives in Pullman, WA. I grew up with a grandma who was an English teacher and volunteered at the Moscow Public Library. Through my grandma I gained a passion for reading. I hope to instill the same passion in my daughter. Over the last year reading has really helped me get through the pandemic. Through reading I have been able to dive into an alternative universe and become part of the book, at times helping me clear my head of the challenges the pandemic has presented. I will read just about any type of genre. Some of my favorites are thrillers, mysteries, criminal, law, and historical fiction. I was recently gifted a membership to Book of the Month Club that provides a wide selection of books to choose from. Through this membership I have been able to read books that I wouldn’t normally read and have found some of my favorite books. I look forward to sharing reviews of various books with you and who knows, maybe you will find your next favorite book through one of them. Happy Reading!

Imagine, if you will, your daughter is about to graduate from high school. Your husband of more than twenty years has a solid acting job, you have a solid voice over job, and your best friend is a wellknown actress. Your life is finally where it should be. Until one day you are looking for a lost photo and stumble upon an envelope containing a lost wedding ring. A ring that was supposed to be at the bottom of a lake 1000’s of miles away. What would you do? How would you process this? This is exactly where we find ourselves with Flora, the main female protagonist, in Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. Flora must navigate what she thought she had understood about her marriage, her friendship, and her life.

Flora and Julian struggled for years to stay afloat in the busy landscape of Manhattan; raise their daughter Ruby, and try to keep Good Company, Julian’s small theater company, afloat. When offered the chance to move to Los Angeles and earn a better living, be closer to Margot, Flora’s borderline narcissistic best-friend, and give Ruby a better life, they take it. The reader finds Flora reflecting on various events in her life that have led her to the current state of affairs. She must ask herself what happened the summer of the lost ring? Was her life and relationships as solid as she thought they were? What does she want now?

With humor, imagery, and the perfect amount of emotion Sweeney manages to take the reader on an endearing ride through the lives of all the characters. The book is very character driven in terms of each chapter being a different character’s point of view, all circling back to Flora. Sweeney is even able to write about Los Angeles, Manhattan, and Stoneham in such a way that the reader begins to think they are supporting characters in the background of this book. She has the ability to draw the reader in and feel the same emotions the characters are feeling, while asking ourselves if that is how we would be handling the situation.

I thought this book was poignant in examining female friendships, marriages, and your overall sense of self. Do we know everything there is to know about the one we sleep next to every night? Do we truly know about the events that led us to where we are in our lives today? Do we put on a facade for the outside world to believe, while secretly inside closed walls we are struggling?

Sweeney makes a quote in the book that I really resonated with; she says, “no one ever really knew what went on behind closed doors and that people’s marriages took on a different hue when they had an audience.” Looking from the outside in on a marriage you may think the couple is one to be idolized, perfect or even has it all together. In this book it is even mentioned to Flora that her marriage appears to be perfect. She struggles to figure out where or when it all changed.

Margot, Flora, and Ruby’s relationships are ones I found myself really enjoying. Sweeney captures the bond of a mother and daughter while also capturing the teenage angst of trying to leave family but yet maintaining some thread and tie of still needing them. I have some pretty close female friends that are alternative mothers to my daughter. After reading this book it truly made me question how those friendships would hold up to the sort of trust broken between Margot and Flora. Would I want my daughter to still have a bond with them? Would I be okay with my daughter still turning to them? Without giving away the ending I found myself pleased with how Margot maintained dignity in her friendship with Flora, while also maintaining a bond with Ruby. Even though a clear line of trust had been broken. Made me see some hope for redemption.

This book delves into marriages, female friendships, mother-daughter bonds, relationships in general and how a person navigates all these things while trying to maintain some composure and dignity. This book is about grown-ups becoming even more grown-up and having to face things they believed only others faced.

I rated this 5 books out of 5 books. I have already recommended it to my close friends and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast paced, character driven book that makes you really look at the relationships in your life and if they are what you thought they were. Until next time fellow readers. Happy Reading!