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The Autobiography of Us
A gripping debut novel about friendship, loss and love; a confession of what passed between two women who met as girls in 1960s Pasadena, California
Coming of age in the patrician neighborhood of Pasadena, California during the 1960s, Rebecca Madden and her beautiful, reckless friend Alex dream of lives beyond their mothers' narrow expectations. Their struggle to define themselves against the backdrop of an American cultural revolution unites them early on, until one sweltering evening the summer before their last year of college, when a single act of betrayal changes everything. Decades later, Rebecca’s haunting meditation on the past reveals the truth about that night, the years that followed, and the friendship that shaped her.
Autobiography of Us is an achingly beautiful portrait of a decades-long bond. A rare and powerful glimpse into the lives of two women caught between repression and revolution, it casts new light on the sacrifices, struggles, victories and defeats of a generation.
Coming of age in the patrician neighborhood of Pasadena, California during the 1960s, Rebecca Madden and her beautiful, reckless friend Alex dream of lives beyond their mothers' narrow expectations. Their struggle to define themselves against the backdrop of an American cultural revolution unites them early on, until one sweltering evening the summer before their last year of college, when a single act of betrayal changes everything. Decades later, Rebecca’s haunting meditation on the past reveals the truth about that night, the years that followed, and the friendship that shaped her.
Autobiography of Us is an achingly beautiful portrait of a decades-long bond. A rare and powerful glimpse into the lives of two women caught between repression and revolution, it casts new light on the sacrifices, struggles, victories and defeats of a generation.
Unknown Binding
First published February 5, 2013
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About the author
Aria Beth Sloss
4 books16 followersAria Beth Sloss is a graduate of Yale University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She is a recipient of fellowships from the Iowa Arts Foundation, the Yaddo Corporation, and the Vermont Studio Center, and her writing has appeared in Glimmer Train, the Harvard Review, and online at The Paris Review and FiveChapters. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 324 reviews
February 22, 2013
This book is marketed as a novel about friends, and while a somewhat miss-matched friendship provides an umbrella context for the plot, it's not really about friendship. This is a novel about mothers and their children, or more specifically, mothers and their daughters. However, Aria Beth Sloss doesn't really seem to know that. In fact, Aria Beth Sloss doesn't seem to really know what she's writing about at all.
Because is Autobiography of Us really about friendship or motherhood at all? Or is this a novel about the turbulent sixties and seventies? Is it a novel about the plight of women during that era? Is it a metaphor for love in all its unconventional forms? Or is it a novel about a would-be starlet who burned to bright, only to fall back to earth in disgrace? The answer is...sort of. This short novel - not even 300 pages - is packed with all sorts of lurid details: a drunken one-night stand, an illicit abortion, a childhood friend lost to war, a closet homosexual. But it unfolds like a greatest hits album. The highlights are all here, but without any overarching significance or emotional resonance. It's like Sloss decided to write about the sixties and complied a list of everything she knew about the time period, but forgot to focus on one idea or another.
She even seems to have forgotten character development. None of the characters are particularly well drawn and the lack motivation. Rebecca dreams of becoming a doctor, but when she's not recommended to medical school, drifts through life until she gets married. Alex's dreams of becoming an actress are similarly dashed, but we're never exactly told why. She just doesn't become an actress, who cares why. At the end of the day, Alex only exists to remind Rebecca of her failings, to underscore to readers that Rebecca's the one we're supposed to be cheering for. Not that Sloss gives us much of a reason to cheer. And never mind any of the other secondary characters. They're all basically forgettable cardboard stereotypes anyway.
Maybe I could forgive some of these issues if I could find an emotional core to this book. Don't get me wrong - in crafting this novel as a narrative told by a mother to her daughter, Sloss has set up a strong emotional backbone to the book. But it simply doesn't deliver. Even when Rebecca discovers a long-kept secret that binds hers ever closer to her mother, the implications are left unexplored. The characters make much of their choices, and the choices that are thrust upon them, but they never really consider the implications of those choices. Revelations thus had little consequence, because characters never really try to discern what those revelations mean.
With the setting and buried nuggets of possible insight, there is so much potential in these pages, but readers never see it. The prose is passable, if bland, and I wasn't surprised to see that Sloss was a product of a creative writing MFA factory. After all, this is literary fiction at its most rudimentary. There is nothing exceptionally interesting or compelling about this novel, ultimately because there's really no emotional center to guide it.
Because is Autobiography of Us really about friendship or motherhood at all? Or is this a novel about the turbulent sixties and seventies? Is it a novel about the plight of women during that era? Is it a metaphor for love in all its unconventional forms? Or is it a novel about a would-be starlet who burned to bright, only to fall back to earth in disgrace? The answer is...sort of. This short novel - not even 300 pages - is packed with all sorts of lurid details: a drunken one-night stand, an illicit abortion, a childhood friend lost to war, a closet homosexual. But it unfolds like a greatest hits album. The highlights are all here, but without any overarching significance or emotional resonance. It's like Sloss decided to write about the sixties and complied a list of everything she knew about the time period, but forgot to focus on one idea or another.
She even seems to have forgotten character development. None of the characters are particularly well drawn and the lack motivation. Rebecca dreams of becoming a doctor, but when she's not recommended to medical school, drifts through life until she gets married. Alex's dreams of becoming an actress are similarly dashed, but we're never exactly told why. She just doesn't become an actress, who cares why. At the end of the day, Alex only exists to remind Rebecca of her failings, to underscore to readers that Rebecca's the one we're supposed to be cheering for. Not that Sloss gives us much of a reason to cheer. And never mind any of the other secondary characters. They're all basically forgettable cardboard stereotypes anyway.
Maybe I could forgive some of these issues if I could find an emotional core to this book. Don't get me wrong - in crafting this novel as a narrative told by a mother to her daughter, Sloss has set up a strong emotional backbone to the book. But it simply doesn't deliver. Even when Rebecca discovers a long-kept secret that binds hers ever closer to her mother, the implications are left unexplored. The characters make much of their choices, and the choices that are thrust upon them, but they never really consider the implications of those choices. Revelations thus had little consequence, because characters never really try to discern what those revelations mean.
With the setting and buried nuggets of possible insight, there is so much potential in these pages, but readers never see it. The prose is passable, if bland, and I wasn't surprised to see that Sloss was a product of a creative writing MFA factory. After all, this is literary fiction at its most rudimentary. There is nothing exceptionally interesting or compelling about this novel, ultimately because there's really no emotional center to guide it.
March 30, 2013
This is one of the most depressing books I ever read. Teenaged Alex Carrington, a luminous beauty and talented aspring actress, picks rather mousy, shy Rebecca Madden as a best friend when she first bursts onto their L.A. high school scene in 1958. From then on, Rebecca is forever in Alex's thrall. Masochistic is the only word I could think of for this relationship, for rarely could I see what drew Rebecca to Alex. Rebecca's mother is a frustrated, nervous woman, trying to live out her life through her daughter, pushing a variety of pretentious norms upon her. Rebecca rather secretly always wanted to be a doctor, but this path is much thwarted. Both women wrangle with the unfulfillment of marriage and motherhood. The book details their on and off relationship all through their lives, including unsent letters Rebecca writes to Alex. We know Rebecca is addressing this book to one of her children, and therin lies one twist to the tale. I don't know why I finished this novel, for it never really turns any corners. I gave it two stars only because the writing is accomplished, but I wanted better outcomes for these characters.
April 29, 2013
The Autobiography of Us had so much going for it - female friendship through the years - growing up in the same time period as I did - and still I did not like this book at all, mostly because I found it pretty unbelieveable.
Alex and Rebecca meet in junior high and take one look at each other and are bonded for life. They are total opposites, so I couldn't figure out the attraction; in fact, Alex is so self-centered and never exhibits any care for Rebecca. Then we jump forward to the college years, so we never see how their relationship developed. Alex claims she is date raped by Bertrand on the only date that we know they had, but then, when Rebecca has sex with the same man some time later on their one and only encounter (so against anything we know about her) and she becomes pregnant and has an abortion, Alex turns every friend Rebecca has against her. Rebecca spends her entire senior year in isolation-no one will speak to her because of this. REALLY??? And then Alex marries this man!!!!???? REALLY?? But years later, Rebecca jumps when Alex reenters her life-apparently all is forgiven.
I also found it hard to believe that Rebecca would hide her desire to become a doctor from her best friend. She says several times that she was afraid of losing Alex. What kind of friendship is that?? Rebecca seems to be afraid of Alex most of the time. Rebecca hides important parts of her life from Alex, and Alex lies about events of her life to Rebecca. This is friendship???
I am only about 6 years behind these girls in chronology, but they grew up in another era. My best friend got pregnant in high school, without losing any of her friends because of the "scandal". I had many friends who went on to college and beyond. The atmosphere in Autobiography felt way before my time.
And finally, I finished the book with a question. Were Alex and Rebecca gay? Did they not know it? Could they not face it? There were a few insinuations that made me wonder. Perhaps the reader is supposed to decide, or, maybe I'm way off base on this. I don't see it mentioned in other reviews I've skimmed.
Anyway, a totally lackluster book for me. The plot was pretty good; however, the characters were just never developed enough, especially Bertrand. I would say don't waste your time on this one.
Alex and Rebecca meet in junior high and take one look at each other and are bonded for life. They are total opposites, so I couldn't figure out the attraction; in fact, Alex is so self-centered and never exhibits any care for Rebecca. Then we jump forward to the college years, so we never see how their relationship developed. Alex claims she is date raped by Bertrand on the only date that we know they had, but then, when Rebecca has sex with the same man some time later on their one and only encounter (so against anything we know about her) and she becomes pregnant and has an abortion, Alex turns every friend Rebecca has against her. Rebecca spends her entire senior year in isolation-no one will speak to her because of this. REALLY??? And then Alex marries this man!!!!???? REALLY?? But years later, Rebecca jumps when Alex reenters her life-apparently all is forgiven.
I also found it hard to believe that Rebecca would hide her desire to become a doctor from her best friend. She says several times that she was afraid of losing Alex. What kind of friendship is that?? Rebecca seems to be afraid of Alex most of the time. Rebecca hides important parts of her life from Alex, and Alex lies about events of her life to Rebecca. This is friendship???
I am only about 6 years behind these girls in chronology, but they grew up in another era. My best friend got pregnant in high school, without losing any of her friends because of the "scandal". I had many friends who went on to college and beyond. The atmosphere in Autobiography felt way before my time.
And finally, I finished the book with a question. Were Alex and Rebecca gay? Did they not know it? Could they not face it? There were a few insinuations that made me wonder. Perhaps the reader is supposed to decide, or, maybe I'm way off base on this. I don't see it mentioned in other reviews I've skimmed.
Anyway, a totally lackluster book for me. The plot was pretty good; however, the characters were just never developed enough, especially Bertrand. I would say don't waste your time on this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2013
I was excited to read this book as I thought the title and synopsis sounded wonderful, the story of two girls and their lasting friendship. However, it fell really flat for me. I never felt like Alex and Rebecca, the main characters, were all that close. I never felt a real, sincere, long lasting bond from them and I wasn't ever really sure why they even spent time together. As for the supporting characters, they were even more lackluster. Undeveloped and boring. Actually, everyone in the book is boring, and any attempt to make them seem interesting fails. I read this in one sitting, but only because I thought it might get better. The timeline is also odd, stretching strangely over decades of no real growth, change or development of characters. Overall, pretty weak.
April 28, 2019
Another really good book about female friendship. A story of two best friends who grew up together, lost touch with each other in adulthood and kept coming back to each other over and over. The person telling the story is one of the women, telling the story to her child, who was the adopted baby of her friend. Very long and main part of the story, finding out how this happened. I read this book really quickly could not put it down and hope to read more by this author.
March 13, 2013
Oh how I loved this book. I absolutely gobbled it up, lived inside it. I don’t think it’s for everyone. I can’t even explain who wouldn’t like it; I can only see why others might not. This explores, in great depths, so many relationships. Friends (through different stages: childhood, college, motherhood), parent-child, husband-wife. And oh my gosh, how often do you read about a solid and strong father-daughter relationship? Almost never. Rebecca’s relationship with her father, and the ups and downs, was so powerful it made me teary several times. He’s flawed, but not THAT flawed. So wonderful and realistic. It reminded me of my own terrific father; my husband’s beautiful relationship with our daughters. I cannot explain how deeply I felt this.
“He was what by that point already qualified as a dying breed, a good, kind man who loved his work and family, who went uncomplainingly to the office each morning, worked long hours, and came home weary and smelling of tobacco and ink. Of course he worshipped my mother; we both did.”
And, later:
“The one and only,” my father said, a smile breaking across his face, and I thought for a moment I might weep.
I am weeping now.
There are so many moments here: of humor, of heartbreak, of pure joy. I don’t know why this so bowled me over (indeed many reviews are middling). Maybe it’s the father-daughter relationship, though little of what happens in Rebecca’s life (or, indeed, Alex’s) parallels mine. Of course I did feel the deep southern California connection:
“She lived…three blocks down on El Molino, in a beautiful old Tudor surrounded by bougainvillea and a high wall that ran around the perimeter of the property.”
Even her spot-on description of pregnancy: “staggering around most mornings as though I’d been dropped on a boat somewhere miles out to sea, the horizon dipping and rising with alarming speed.”
Whatever the case, these characters completely sucked me in. I am usually quite skilled at nitpicking books and am famous for frequently representing the lone naysayer in book clubs when everyone else adores something. I really can’t find a fault with this. It sort of reminds me of one of my all-time favorites, Gloria by Keith Maillard. And the ending, the ending took me by surprise. Loved it.
“He was what by that point already qualified as a dying breed, a good, kind man who loved his work and family, who went uncomplainingly to the office each morning, worked long hours, and came home weary and smelling of tobacco and ink. Of course he worshipped my mother; we both did.”
And, later:
“The one and only,” my father said, a smile breaking across his face, and I thought for a moment I might weep.
I am weeping now.
There are so many moments here: of humor, of heartbreak, of pure joy. I don’t know why this so bowled me over (indeed many reviews are middling). Maybe it’s the father-daughter relationship, though little of what happens in Rebecca’s life (or, indeed, Alex’s) parallels mine. Of course I did feel the deep southern California connection:
“She lived…three blocks down on El Molino, in a beautiful old Tudor surrounded by bougainvillea and a high wall that ran around the perimeter of the property.”
Even her spot-on description of pregnancy: “staggering around most mornings as though I’d been dropped on a boat somewhere miles out to sea, the horizon dipping and rising with alarming speed.”
Whatever the case, these characters completely sucked me in. I am usually quite skilled at nitpicking books and am famous for frequently representing the lone naysayer in book clubs when everyone else adores something. I really can’t find a fault with this. It sort of reminds me of one of my all-time favorites, Gloria by Keith Maillard. And the ending, the ending took me by surprise. Loved it.
May 14, 2014
Rebecca Madden and Alexandra Carrington meet in homeroom their freshman year of high school. Beautiful and vivacious Alex had just moved to Pasadena from Texas. Shy and studious Becky was as surprised as anyone when Alex asked to sit with her at lunch, but from the moment they met they were best friends. We found each other like two animals recognizing a similar species: noses raised, sniffing, alert.
The novel is told by an older Rebecca, relating her youth to her daughter. It’s a coming-of-age novel that is intensely personal and mimics the upheaval the country was undergoing in the 1960s – civil rights, Vietnam, women’s liberation. Raised in an upper-middle-class neighborhood, the girls chafe at the expectations of their mothers and go to college determined NOT to find husbands, but to succeed at their own dreams and ambitions. Breaking out of the mold is apparently easier for Alex than for Becky, but the results for both are much the same.
This is a character-driven novel. Told entirely from Rebecca’s viewpoint, it mostly explores her own awakening and maturing. In fact, Alex disappears from the story for a large part of it, as they finish college and wind up in different cities. But just as Alex awakened the 14-year-old Becky, it will be Alex who forces the adult Rebecca to recognize the truth of her life and spur her to take action.
The best way I can describe this novel is that it is atmospheric. Maybe that’s because I, too, was growing up in that era, and questioned the apparent expectations that society had for me. For our high school graduation, the PTA mothers gave each of us girls engraved formal calling cards (I still have the engraving plate). We had curfews in the college dorms, gentleman callers were confined to the formal sitting room which was always chaperoned, and all phone calls came through a central switchboard (which closed at 11p). Women were required to wear skirts to all meals in the college dining hall. It was a lifetime ago, and just a few moments ago.
The novel is told by an older Rebecca, relating her youth to her daughter. It’s a coming-of-age novel that is intensely personal and mimics the upheaval the country was undergoing in the 1960s – civil rights, Vietnam, women’s liberation. Raised in an upper-middle-class neighborhood, the girls chafe at the expectations of their mothers and go to college determined NOT to find husbands, but to succeed at their own dreams and ambitions. Breaking out of the mold is apparently easier for Alex than for Becky, but the results for both are much the same.
This is a character-driven novel. Told entirely from Rebecca’s viewpoint, it mostly explores her own awakening and maturing. In fact, Alex disappears from the story for a large part of it, as they finish college and wind up in different cities. But just as Alex awakened the 14-year-old Becky, it will be Alex who forces the adult Rebecca to recognize the truth of her life and spur her to take action.
The best way I can describe this novel is that it is atmospheric. Maybe that’s because I, too, was growing up in that era, and questioned the apparent expectations that society had for me. For our high school graduation, the PTA mothers gave each of us girls engraved formal calling cards (I still have the engraving plate). We had curfews in the college dorms, gentleman callers were confined to the formal sitting room which was always chaperoned, and all phone calls came through a central switchboard (which closed at 11p). Women were required to wear skirts to all meals in the college dining hall. It was a lifetime ago, and just a few moments ago.
July 9, 2013
When I first started reading this, I could immediately tell it was well written but I also thought this was going to be another novel about female friendship. I was partly right but I also became totally meshed in the story of these two friends who met when they were fourteen but were so totally addicted. Take also the time period, the fifties and the sixties with everything happening in the world, the massive societal shifts, the riots after the death of Martin Luther King, the expectations imposed on young woman born during this time and you have the making of a very interesting story. It did, however become even more than that for me because I had a friend, a best friend that I also met when I was fourteen and though the time periods did not quite match up, I was younger than Alex and Becky were when these things happened, all the same I was very touched. This book made me remember how important this friendship was for so many years, and how when we met again many years later I, for a short time, wished we could go back and start all over. In this book Alex and Becky are kind of caught between the generations, their mothers had very few expectations, or rather they had them but with little hope of being able to fulfill them. Alec and Becky hope to be able to realize their dreams, and have a hard time, Alex more than Becky, in accepting that maybe they would not come true. This is a rather brilliant book, that encompasses quite a bit, history,relationships, and of course friendship. I think this is actually one of my longest reviews. ARC from publisher.
March 24, 2013
The Times gave this a glowing review, and I'm still trying to figure out why. It jumped around, was disjointed, and was extremely predictable. I understand that the intention was for this to be a story about social issues, to an extent, but it fell short.
Like all books about girlfriends, it had the following elements:
Narrator is shy, bookish, doesn't have friends until new girl moves to town/school/ right across the street. She never is given much of a will of her own, nor much personality. She's a follower.
New girl is outlandish/ everything narrator isn't. New girl wants to be an actress. Narrator is brilliant but more likely ends up a housewife.
One has accidental pregnancy; though, I do have to give the author credit here for not pussyfooting around abortion.
One loses virginity in an odd or tragic manner.
Husbands are always insipid, handsome, well-accomplished, and wealthy.
There's a falling-out over something trivial. (Honestly, who tells their entire house that their BEST FRIEND had an abortion? And then the two people stay friends after that?!)
New girl has bad relations with her kids, or never finds fulfillment.
One of the women passes tragically.
Like all books about girlfriends, it had the following elements:
Narrator is shy, bookish, doesn't have friends until new girl moves to town/school/ right across the street. She never is given much of a will of her own, nor much personality. She's a follower.
New girl is outlandish/ everything narrator isn't. New girl wants to be an actress. Narrator is brilliant but more likely ends up a housewife.
One has accidental pregnancy; though, I do have to give the author credit here for not pussyfooting around abortion.
One loses virginity in an odd or tragic manner.
Husbands are always insipid, handsome, well-accomplished, and wealthy.
There's a falling-out over something trivial. (Honestly, who tells their entire house that their BEST FRIEND had an abortion? And then the two people stay friends after that?!)
New girl has bad relations with her kids, or never finds fulfillment.
One of the women passes tragically.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2013
Rarely if ever do I not finish a novel. I don't think I can finish this one. I can't relate to the characters because not enough time is spent developing who they are and why Rebecca and Alex are even friends. I am a little over half way done and the book gets more and more depressing, including the relationships. Events occur too quickly without getting to know the characters well enough to process the decisions. It feels as though the author left out much of the character development. Even the setting descriptions are depressing - apartment, restaurant, child hood home. Maybe this was intentional, but I am left wondering why I should continue reading. I guess I need some hint of reedemptive qualities somewhere. I don't need Hollywood happy all the time, but I do appreciate characters that let us into why and how they think and feel as they wrestle with life's choices.
April 4, 2016
3 stars because it was an easy to read story about coming of age and the writing was well done. 2 stars on everything else. There was no real connection to this friend. It passed over these really big life issues that could have made it a great feminist work. The ending, a cop out?
January 9, 2013
What an incredible debut novel!
I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of "Autobiography of Us" through a Goodreads giveaway. When I say "lucky", that is not an exaggeration. I feel privileged to have read this book! The moment I turned the last page, just a few minutes ago, I wanted to flip back tot he beginning and start it all over again.
It's often said that the key to a good novel is character, that the reader should be able to identify and empathize with the denizens of the written work. The two main protagonists of ""Autobiography of Us", Rebecca and Alex, seemed as real and alive as any I've encountered in a book. I cared what happened to them.
It may seem funny for a man in his 40's to so identify with two girls growing up in the late 1960's into adulthood in the troubled -and troubling- 70's. That I did is a testament to author Aria Beth Sloss's skill at crafting a tale. Every injustice visited upon Rebecca (the "good girl") and Alexandra (the "bad girl"), every misstep they took, every disastrous mistake they made, left an impression on me. I winced at their misfortunes and felt anger at the injustices of a society unwilling to let a woman rise to her full capacity at that time.
I won't give away too much of the story here. The description tells the reader all they need to know to dive into this incredible book. If you're considering giving "Autobiography of Us" a try, I wholeheartedly recommend it!
I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of "Autobiography of Us" through a Goodreads giveaway. When I say "lucky", that is not an exaggeration. I feel privileged to have read this book! The moment I turned the last page, just a few minutes ago, I wanted to flip back tot he beginning and start it all over again.
It's often said that the key to a good novel is character, that the reader should be able to identify and empathize with the denizens of the written work. The two main protagonists of ""Autobiography of Us", Rebecca and Alex, seemed as real and alive as any I've encountered in a book. I cared what happened to them.
It may seem funny for a man in his 40's to so identify with two girls growing up in the late 1960's into adulthood in the troubled -and troubling- 70's. That I did is a testament to author Aria Beth Sloss's skill at crafting a tale. Every injustice visited upon Rebecca (the "good girl") and Alexandra (the "bad girl"), every misstep they took, every disastrous mistake they made, left an impression on me. I winced at their misfortunes and felt anger at the injustices of a society unwilling to let a woman rise to her full capacity at that time.
I won't give away too much of the story here. The description tells the reader all they need to know to dive into this incredible book. If you're considering giving "Autobiography of Us" a try, I wholeheartedly recommend it!
April 8, 2013
Another first time novelist added to the list.
I am a sucker for stories about best friends, friendships lost as well as California in the 50s and 60s, so I had a lot of hope for this book. Similar to other reviewers I was left wanting to understand more about our main characters, Rebecca and Alex. Funny, Sloss wrote these girls similar to the main characters in Beaches, which I would have been okay with if I was able to get to know them better. Another thing I couldn't quite get a hold on was the attraction of these two girls, at the end of the book Rebecca says that Alex was the love of her life...Really? Throughout the book the impression I got was that Rebecca was afraid of Alex, I know I was. It may have been the way I read her voice to be, but there was a unstable quality to Alex'character, so I was often on edge as to what she might say or how she'd react...If I were Rebecca I would be nervous more than anything around Alex.
I appreciate the story and effort Sloss put into this book as her writing suggests that she is really very good, but for her next novel I'd like to see more character development - reel in the reader with the characters and the rest of the story will fall into place.
I am a sucker for stories about best friends, friendships lost as well as California in the 50s and 60s, so I had a lot of hope for this book. Similar to other reviewers I was left wanting to understand more about our main characters, Rebecca and Alex. Funny, Sloss wrote these girls similar to the main characters in Beaches, which I would have been okay with if I was able to get to know them better. Another thing I couldn't quite get a hold on was the attraction of these two girls, at the end of the book Rebecca says that Alex was the love of her life...Really? Throughout the book the impression I got was that Rebecca was afraid of Alex, I know I was. It may have been the way I read her voice to be, but there was a unstable quality to Alex'character, so I was often on edge as to what she might say or how she'd react...If I were Rebecca I would be nervous more than anything around Alex.
I appreciate the story and effort Sloss put into this book as her writing suggests that she is really very good, but for her next novel I'd like to see more character development - reel in the reader with the characters and the rest of the story will fall into place.
March 3, 2013
What a great premise for a book - what a great twist! But over and over this book does not deliver. I finished it wondering if I'd read it too quickly and missed important things, but a scan back indicated that no, I'd caught it all. It was the author who'd neglected to tell us important things, to flesh out the backstory, the whys, the motivations. There was so much going on in this book - tension between the women, tension between the women and their mothers, tension due to the Vietnam War, tension over women's rights, great yearning to break through low expectations for woman in that era. But instead of picking a few tensions and really developing them, the author gave up and just dabbled in them all.
I'm still not clear on why so many things happened. The story is good enough that I actually care that I don't know. That's the sad thing about this book. So much empty promise.
I'm still not clear on why so many things happened. The story is good enough that I actually care that I don't know. That's the sad thing about this book. So much empty promise.
March 27, 2013
I couldn't get past the fact that every character in this book talks like someone in a bad B movie drama set in the 40s. Teenagers, parents, teachers, everyone. I don't have the book with me anymore, but it sounds like this: "Darling girl, heaven forbid that you ever wear even a trace of lipstick! Why, when I was young, I wouldn't leave the house without looking my best." "Mother, you know that makeup and I are sworn enemies!" "Ladies, ladies, what is all this bickering! A man's home is his castle!"
This might make sense if the book was set in Connecticut in 1943, but it's supposed to be Pasadena in 1960. I gave up halfway through.
This might make sense if the book was set in Connecticut in 1943, but it's supposed to be Pasadena in 1960. I gave up halfway through.
February 18, 2013
I starated out liking this book, but by the time I got part way through, I disliked all of the characters. This book was a total downer. I would not recommend it.
January 12, 2021
The writing is very good (if maybe a little too deeply indebted to Salinger), but the story is . . . bernonkers.
February 3, 2021
I'm a sucker for stories of women's friendships, especially is they are set in a time approximately contemporary with my own younger days. However, it's hard to like a book when one of the "friends" (Alexandra, AKA Alex) is so unlikable that when the worst things happen to her you just don't care, and the other, Rebecca, has little personality and absolutely no spunk whatsoever. A total waste of time.
January 11, 2025
3.5 stars 🌟
December 21, 2014
Novel set in Pasadena and New York (the ‘Pollyanna’ of Pasadena)
Rebecca in her mid teens has high expectations of her life. She has ambition, drive and commitment to carving out a career for herself, in an era where women rarely went beyond housewife or secretary. This is Mad Men country mid 20th Century.
Since the age of 14 she has had a good friend Alex, from the richer side of town, who is a foil to Rebecca’s bookishness, a shining light on the stage, and a beauty to boot. Theirs is a friendship of ups and downs, sunbathing and pleasure, and rubbing along as young women do. But it has a fraught basis that struggles to sustain their future connection.
Rebecca’s Mother is keen for her to become a socially adept young woman, but Rebecca has other notions until she is bounced out of the study programme she is determined to follow. Life takes a different turn and begins to unravel as she finds herself living in New York with a husband who is really not on board with the marriage.
Alex and Rebecca have over the years become estranged but Rebecca has written many letters to Alex, none of them ever sent. She pours her heart and soul out to her. They do, however, meet up again – unlikely as though it may seem – and the story shifts a gear.
But the whole story, from intense teenage friendship to charting the path to mature womanhood is a well worn one and this is a fairly bland portrayal. Much like the colour of the cover (that is the UK edition), the book is a little on the lacklustre side, readable but may well fade with time.
America of the 1960s and 1970s is well sketched out - the race riots, Vietnam, civil rights movement and the rise of feminism.
Our full review appears on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-...
Rebecca in her mid teens has high expectations of her life. She has ambition, drive and commitment to carving out a career for herself, in an era where women rarely went beyond housewife or secretary. This is Mad Men country mid 20th Century.
Since the age of 14 she has had a good friend Alex, from the richer side of town, who is a foil to Rebecca’s bookishness, a shining light on the stage, and a beauty to boot. Theirs is a friendship of ups and downs, sunbathing and pleasure, and rubbing along as young women do. But it has a fraught basis that struggles to sustain their future connection.
Rebecca’s Mother is keen for her to become a socially adept young woman, but Rebecca has other notions until she is bounced out of the study programme she is determined to follow. Life takes a different turn and begins to unravel as she finds herself living in New York with a husband who is really not on board with the marriage.
Alex and Rebecca have over the years become estranged but Rebecca has written many letters to Alex, none of them ever sent. She pours her heart and soul out to her. They do, however, meet up again – unlikely as though it may seem – and the story shifts a gear.
But the whole story, from intense teenage friendship to charting the path to mature womanhood is a well worn one and this is a fairly bland portrayal. Much like the colour of the cover (that is the UK edition), the book is a little on the lacklustre side, readable but may well fade with time.
America of the 1960s and 1970s is well sketched out - the race riots, Vietnam, civil rights movement and the rise of feminism.
Our full review appears on our blog: http://www.tripfiction.com/novel-set-...
February 5, 2013
(2.5 stars) The book description had promise -- that of two friends who meet in childhood in the 1960's & continue on to lead somewhat separate lives in an era of change. But there was just so much that was disappointing about this novel. The characters were not especially likeable. There was very little plot development up to the supposed climax of the novel, which hit fairly early on in the story. The various "episodes" of the story seemed oddly random, and I often would pick up reading, feeling as though I missed a vital part of the story, only to realize it just wasn't there. Ultimately it just left the reader with a very disjointed interpretation, and a very unsettled one at that. I would've loved to have seen more character development with the girls when they were younger. I would've loved to have seen more character development of them during their college years. I would've loved to have seen more insights into their relationship, period. Most of the time I felt like I was overhead, looking down at bits & pieces of the girls' lives, but never really knowing them. The climax of this novel was a good one, but it was glossed over & never really explored. Even the ending, which was mildly redeeming, could've been done so much better, I think. In the end, this felt almost like an outline of a story, which needed to be much more fully developed to create a richer experience for the reader.
July 31, 2018
This coming-of-age story of two girls told in flashback is the tale of a “wannabe” friendship spanning junior high into young motherhood. The book cover made me think the story would be more lighthearted than it turned out to be. Alex is wild, larger than life. Rebecca, the studious one, wants to emulate her. Set during the 50s-70s, there’s angst and growing pains and social issues aplenty. I loved the setting and the friendship theme, but the story left me a feeling a bit down in the dumps. I think I expected a more uplifting conclusion.
This book made me: wonder why Alex and Rebecca were friends at all.
My favorite quote: It had never occurred to me that real life might offer the smallest portion of the happiness I found in reading.
This book made me: wonder why Alex and Rebecca were friends at all.
My favorite quote: It had never occurred to me that real life might offer the smallest portion of the happiness I found in reading.
Read
April 7, 2021DNF. This is one of those cases where no matter how interesting the premise of the book sounds, the terrible reviews don’t lie.
I made it to the halfway point before forcing myself to look around and realize that this Autobiography of Us was just a grind. I felt zero connection to the vapid, selfish, surface-level characters in this book and the more I tried to push through the more I felt like this was just a checklist of things that could happen to young people in the 60s. I just couldn’t force myself to get through one more page.
I made it to the halfway point before forcing myself to look around and realize that this Autobiography of Us was just a grind. I felt zero connection to the vapid, selfish, surface-level characters in this book and the more I tried to push through the more I felt like this was just a checklist of things that could happen to young people in the 60s. I just couldn’t force myself to get through one more page.
June 18, 2013
The new girl in class radiates self-confidence, and for homeroom 14 year olds, that alone makes her a Person of Interest to avoid. Cut to schoolyard, midday. The new girl chooses the narrator as her BFF. We have no idea what motivates this approach. Alex is set up to be the wild girl; Rebecca the studious girl. As the girls grow, have a senior summer of scary grown-up world-approaching mayhem, we pack our bags and drive a couple miles to college. Then adulthood, or those years normally referred to as adulthood. I have seeds in the garden right now that probably won't germinate. The stories of the 2 women in this book share that fate. The narrative is set in Pasadena and there is some wealth involved, although Rebecca's family seems to have to stretch to keep the club membership active. Appearances matter. This is the 50s in California. Alex and Rebecca are in college in 1965, the Vietnam conflict is ramping up, civil rights are in the forefront, second wave feminism is rising. One of their crew goes off to southeast Asia. The friendship falters. So does the narrative. We begin to read hints of another person to whom the narrator is telling this story. Our friends lose contact, and so do we. This is not a world I grew up in, although it lives in the same timeframe I did. I cannot find any emotional thread that connects me to the characters in this book. The seminal experiences are washed away by putting the reactions to the events in the literary hands of second parties. We can't relate at one or two steps removed. While my brain and heart were not engaged, I noticed a whole bunch of "sank down." People sink down onto beds, into couches, chairs. And other noncorporeal things are blown to pieces: clouds by the wind, thoughts by events. If this was intentional-hoping to establish mood, it ended by sinking my involvement in the friends' stories.
February 4, 2013
“Autobiography of Us” is the coming-of-age story of a pair of California girls, Rebecca and Alex, who became friends when 14 years old. Beginning with the day in of their meeting the early 1960s, Rebecca takes us through their school and college years, then beyond, to adulthood.
It’s a rocky relationship, because Alex is no ordinary teen. She’s artistic, with dreams of stage and screen; she is dramatic and equally bold. For the lonely Rebecca, Alex’s personality is equally magnetic and repellant in frightening turns. But it is the magnetism that ensnares Rebecca with a hold as baffling to her, at times, as it is to the reader.
We travel with this pair through the struggles of high school, the tragic consequences of poor decisions during college, and the aching acceptance of ordinary lives despite lofty aspirations. All occurs amid the backdrop of war, the women’s movement and political unrest, and along the way, no stone is left unturned. Abortion, adultery, spousal abuse, mental illness and even repressed homosexuality rear their heads.
It is as though author Aria Beth Sloss tried to fit all into one novel and, for me, at least, it doesn’t work. I found little to like in Alexandra, and often, little to like in Rebecca, as well.
I had thought I would devour this book, because my life parallels that of this pair. I did not. It felt, at times, as though the work lacked soul, even as it stretched to encompass all that was happening in those turbulent times.
I did see a great deal of promise in this writer, though. I’ll read her next. I won a copy of this book as a part of the early reviewers program on LibraryThing.
It’s a rocky relationship, because Alex is no ordinary teen. She’s artistic, with dreams of stage and screen; she is dramatic and equally bold. For the lonely Rebecca, Alex’s personality is equally magnetic and repellant in frightening turns. But it is the magnetism that ensnares Rebecca with a hold as baffling to her, at times, as it is to the reader.
We travel with this pair through the struggles of high school, the tragic consequences of poor decisions during college, and the aching acceptance of ordinary lives despite lofty aspirations. All occurs amid the backdrop of war, the women’s movement and political unrest, and along the way, no stone is left unturned. Abortion, adultery, spousal abuse, mental illness and even repressed homosexuality rear their heads.
It is as though author Aria Beth Sloss tried to fit all into one novel and, for me, at least, it doesn’t work. I found little to like in Alexandra, and often, little to like in Rebecca, as well.
I had thought I would devour this book, because my life parallels that of this pair. I did not. It felt, at times, as though the work lacked soul, even as it stretched to encompass all that was happening in those turbulent times.
I did see a great deal of promise in this writer, though. I’ll read her next. I won a copy of this book as a part of the early reviewers program on LibraryThing.
March 31, 2013
This novel was marketed as a story about friends. I picked it up because the bathing suits, hair styles and sunglasses on the cover reminded me of "Mad Men."
So if you're not a "Mad Men" or "The Help" fanatic who can't get enough of how men and women operated in the 50's and 60's, you may find my review unhelpful.
But if you are, I think the book has more strengths than weaknesses. The story picks up in the latter half of the 50's, when two pre-teen girls become friends. One is flamboyant and aspires to become an actress/singer/entertainer type. Her more reserved sidekick gets interested in the sciences and leans toward medicine.
Both ambitions derail, due largely but not entirely to the gender related stereotypes that Society pressured women of past generations to re-enforce. I think the book does a more than adequate job of chronicling their derailment.
I give a less than perfect rating for two reasons:
1. I found the narrative jerky in a few places. There were some examples--not many--where seemingly out-of-context things happened and I had to re-read to make sure I hadn't missed something.
2. Character motivations were sometimes unclear. In one particular instance, the aspiring doctor/scientist with the un-talkative personality starts to ask direct questions when a male professor refuses to recommend her for medical school. As readers we get no insight on how this wallflower suddenly becomes assertive, and afterward, we get very little on why she never asserts herself again.
For "Mad Men" fans, however, I still recommend it. The thirteen episode seasons are just too short.
So if you're not a "Mad Men" or "The Help" fanatic who can't get enough of how men and women operated in the 50's and 60's, you may find my review unhelpful.
But if you are, I think the book has more strengths than weaknesses. The story picks up in the latter half of the 50's, when two pre-teen girls become friends. One is flamboyant and aspires to become an actress/singer/entertainer type. Her more reserved sidekick gets interested in the sciences and leans toward medicine.
Both ambitions derail, due largely but not entirely to the gender related stereotypes that Society pressured women of past generations to re-enforce. I think the book does a more than adequate job of chronicling their derailment.
I give a less than perfect rating for two reasons:
1. I found the narrative jerky in a few places. There were some examples--not many--where seemingly out-of-context things happened and I had to re-read to make sure I hadn't missed something.
2. Character motivations were sometimes unclear. In one particular instance, the aspiring doctor/scientist with the un-talkative personality starts to ask direct questions when a male professor refuses to recommend her for medical school. As readers we get no insight on how this wallflower suddenly becomes assertive, and afterward, we get very little on why she never asserts herself again.
For "Mad Men" fans, however, I still recommend it. The thirteen episode seasons are just too short.
March 28, 2017
I'm not sure what to say about this book. Perhaps it's the marketing's complete misunderstanding of the book, but I felt like I got something very different than what I was set up to get. This isn't to say that this was a bad book. It's touted as an emotional story between two femal lifelong friends. In reality, it's a more intellectual book about the gilded cage that women were placed in during the 1960s and 70s--particularly upper-middle-class women.
Both Alex and Rebecca are young women who try to fight patriarchy in different ways: Rebecca as an aspiring doctor, Alex as an aspiring actress. They both face outstanding obstacles that get in their way--Rebecca reacts more quietly and Alex more loudly. All of this is fine and good, except that their friendship doesn't feel realistic and true. They are simply machinations for the author to prove her point (which is a point well made). Rebecca is simply too retiring and modest to attract such a firecracker as Alex.
The narrative was actually quite nice and one of the best features of the book. It's told from Rebecca's point of view as a tale she is telling a mysterious stranger. Beautifully written, but just missing the mark in terms of emotional resonance. But I don't know ... maybe it just has to do with the fact that I have no WASPy blood in me, so I don't get the environs they grew up in.
Both Alex and Rebecca are young women who try to fight patriarchy in different ways: Rebecca as an aspiring doctor, Alex as an aspiring actress. They both face outstanding obstacles that get in their way--Rebecca reacts more quietly and Alex more loudly. All of this is fine and good, except that their friendship doesn't feel realistic and true. They are simply machinations for the author to prove her point (which is a point well made). Rebecca is simply too retiring and modest to attract such a firecracker as Alex.
The narrative was actually quite nice and one of the best features of the book. It's told from Rebecca's point of view as a tale she is telling a mysterious stranger. Beautifully written, but just missing the mark in terms of emotional resonance. But I don't know ... maybe it just has to do with the fact that I have no WASPy blood in me, so I don't get the environs they grew up in.
July 5, 2013
Overall I didn't really like this book. I do think it was well written. But I didn't like the characters--Alex especially. Why would Rebecca have stayed friends with her? She wasn't nice at all. All she did was take from the relationship.
I guess the book was more about feminism than anything else. Two girls with such high hopes for their futures in 1965 but were held back by "the man" and the times. Then they totally fell apart!
Spoiler alert:
Personally, I think the whole lesbian thread was a cop out. Just because they were close friends doesn't mean they were lesbians! ugh! Especially since Paul was gay! Weird. Sloss was clearly trying to show how desperate and unhappy Rebecca and Alex were but she was accomplishing that with all of their actions. It was disappointing to me that Rebecca and Alex were so dissatisfied! Get hold of yourselves!
I did like the twist at the end. I liked the relationship that Sloss created with the divorced Paul and Rebecca. And I liked the way Rebecca was talking to her daughter the whole way through the story. That kept me guessing and anticipating the whole way through the book.
I look forward to more books from Sloss. I will continue to read her.
I guess the book was more about feminism than anything else. Two girls with such high hopes for their futures in 1965 but were held back by "the man" and the times. Then they totally fell apart!
Spoiler alert:
Personally, I think the whole lesbian thread was a cop out. Just because they were close friends doesn't mean they were lesbians! ugh! Especially since Paul was gay! Weird. Sloss was clearly trying to show how desperate and unhappy Rebecca and Alex were but she was accomplishing that with all of their actions. It was disappointing to me that Rebecca and Alex were so dissatisfied! Get hold of yourselves!
I did like the twist at the end. I liked the relationship that Sloss created with the divorced Paul and Rebecca. And I liked the way Rebecca was talking to her daughter the whole way through the story. That kept me guessing and anticipating the whole way through the book.
I look forward to more books from Sloss. I will continue to read her.
December 31, 2013
I found this book both engaging and frustrating. The storyline drew me in for sure: two girls growing up in the culture of the 1950's form an unlikely friendship. Rebecca, quiet and studious, falls in love with science and becomes bent on breaking through gender roles to enter medical school; Alex, cynical and carefree, having lived a life of privilege, pursues her dream of stage acting. Neither succeeds in following her calling.
My first disappointment was in how Sloss brought and held this friendship together. I never bought into it. While opposites can certainly attract, these two lacked any type of believable connection. Tied to this is the character development. I was irritated by Alex's constant breezy, somewhat arrogant and wise-cracking dialogue, which painted her as a person no one would really like very well. On the other hand, Rebecca became tiresome in her gloomy introspection. I wanted her to quit mooning about and get some backbone.
Bottom line: I cared about the events of the story, but I didn't much care about the characters.
My first disappointment was in how Sloss brought and held this friendship together. I never bought into it. While opposites can certainly attract, these two lacked any type of believable connection. Tied to this is the character development. I was irritated by Alex's constant breezy, somewhat arrogant and wise-cracking dialogue, which painted her as a person no one would really like very well. On the other hand, Rebecca became tiresome in her gloomy introspection. I wanted her to quit mooning about and get some backbone.
Bottom line: I cared about the events of the story, but I didn't much care about the characters.
February 26, 2013
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com...
The "Us" are Alex and Rebecca. They meet in 1958 as girls, and instantly forge a friendship. The Autobiography of Us is the story of that relationship within the cultural context of the 1960s as Alex and Rebecca grow up and attempt to find their own way within the confines of family and cultural expectations.
The description had all the makings of a good story - young women at a fascinating point in history, friendships we can relate to, expectations we try to live up to and escape. Unfortunately, the reality of this book did not live up to its expectations.
The characters were not particularly likable. The book seemed a little disjointed. Throughout, the book was an undercurrent that made it feel like I, as a reader, was missing part of the story. I kept waiting for it to come together, but it never quite did.
It had the potential, but did not get there.
The "Us" are Alex and Rebecca. They meet in 1958 as girls, and instantly forge a friendship. The Autobiography of Us is the story of that relationship within the cultural context of the 1960s as Alex and Rebecca grow up and attempt to find their own way within the confines of family and cultural expectations.
The description had all the makings of a good story - young women at a fascinating point in history, friendships we can relate to, expectations we try to live up to and escape. Unfortunately, the reality of this book did not live up to its expectations.
The characters were not particularly likable. The book seemed a little disjointed. Throughout, the book was an undercurrent that made it feel like I, as a reader, was missing part of the story. I kept waiting for it to come together, but it never quite did.
It had the potential, but did not get there.
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