"The Weekend" by Charlotte Wood

"The Weekend" by Charlotte Wood was published last fall in Australia and was just released in North America on Aug. 4th. It was shortlisted for the 2020 Stella Prize, an annual literary award  for writing in all genres by Australian women, worth $50,000. And it's this month's pick for the Gateway Women online book club, where we read & discuss books in which pregnancy & children are not main focal points. 

"The weekend" of the title is three days over the Christmas holiday period -- and since (like "The Women in Black" by Madeleine St. John, which I read earlier this year ) "The Weekend" is set in Australia, this means it's the height of summer (slightly jarring to my North American-centric perspective!). Three longtime friends -- restaurateur Jude, academic Wendy and actress Adele, now in their 70s (plus Wendy's ancient dog, Finn) -- are spending the Christmas holidays cleaning out the beach house that belonged to their late friend Sylvie. Sylvie was the glue that held the group together, and without her as a buffer, tensions among the three women are running high.   

I will admit the book did not begin auspiciously for me:  Jude, lying in bed, contemplates death, her aging brain, and the look & taste of sheep's brains. Yuck. It built to a dramatic climax -- during a Christmas Eve thunderstorm, no less! -- in which all three women are forced to face the truths about their lives. I'll admit this part -- the last chapter or two -- seemed just a wee bit forced to me, and when I got to the end, I found myself thinking, "That's it? That's the end?" 

But in between, there were some great observations about friendship, ambition, creativity, aging and mortality.  

This is one of those books I probably would not have picked up (or even heard about) if left to my own devices. I'm not sorry I read it. (It was a pretty quick read, finished in a little more than 24 hours.) I will be thinking about some of the themes & the vividly drawn characters for quite a while, I think.  

This would make a great movie -- there are so few good roles for older actresses these days, and this one would offer opportunities for at least four or five of them! 

3.5 stars on Goodreads, rounded up to 4.  

This was Book #26 read to date in 2020 (Book #2 finished in August). I'm currently at 87% of my 2020 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 30 books, and am (for the moment, anyway...!) 9 books ahead of schedule to meet my goal. :) You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2020 tagged as "2020 books."