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The Odd Woman
Professor Jane Clifford is in her early thirties, smart, and attractive. A popular teacher at a midwestern college, she appears to be going somewhere. But Jane knows better. After a lifetime habit of looking to books for the answers to life's mysteries, she seems to be finding only more questions.
Then her beloved grandmother suddenly dies, and Jane returns home for the funeral, where she is faced with the little dramas and fictions of both the past she has lived and the past she has only been told about. In the midst of it all, she is considering breaking off a long-term, long-distance affair, but like the family stories she tries to make sense of, she cannot seem to find a reason to claim a life of her own.
Then her beloved grandmother suddenly dies, and Jane returns home for the funeral, where she is faced with the little dramas and fictions of both the past she has lived and the past she has only been told about. In the midst of it all, she is considering breaking off a long-term, long-distance affair, but like the family stories she tries to make sense of, she cannot seem to find a reason to claim a life of her own.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
8 people are currently reading
531 people want to read
About the author
Gail Godwin
51 books415 followersGail Kathleen Godwin is an American novelist and short story writer. She has published one non-fiction work, two collections of short stories, and eleven novels, three of which have been nominated for the National Book Award and five of which have made the New York Times Bestseller List.
Godwin's body of work has garnered many honors, including three National Book Award nominations, a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts grants for both fiction and libretto writing, and the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Five of her novels have been on the New York Times best seller list.
Godwin lives and writes in Woodstock, New York.
Godwin's body of work has garnered many honors, including three National Book Award nominations, a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts grants for both fiction and libretto writing, and the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Five of her novels have been on the New York Times best seller list.
Godwin lives and writes in Woodstock, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
July 19, 2011
This might have been a four were I a Baby Boomer, but as a straddler of the Gen-X/Gen-Y lines, I found this read a bit tedious. Jane Clifford, the main character, is an academic stuck in her own head, who often compares her life to the Victorian novels she studies. Clifford has an affair with another academic. Gabriel Weeks, an art-historian fascinated by the Pre-Raphaelites, uses their art as the basis of a study on categories of human love, a study which the reader is left to believe likely won't lead to much. If this sounds rather like the vain attempts of Mr. Causabon to unlock the key to all mythologies, Godwin means it to. In fact, Clifford agonizes over this very similarity, although she seems to miss other ways in which Weeks resembles the aging scholar of Middlemarch. Clifford also draws parallels between her own life and the lives of the characters in The Odd Women, a truly bleak story about the narrow possibilities for women at the end of the 19th century. (Seriously, I read it in my early 20s when I was living in Austin and was convinced I was going to end up an old, lonely alcoholic crone--no matter all the changes to women's political and social status in the intervening 100 years.)
These analogies, while important for understanding Clifford's worldview, bog down the narrative down appear to be erudite grandstanding on Godwin's part. She gets mired in quotes and literary discussions, and her modest plotlines suffer as a result. Although Clifford is wrapped up in the drama of her affair (and the heroines that might offer clues for her own fate), the real drama, of course, is whether Clifford or her uber-feminist, politicized friend, Gerda Mulvaney, offer the superior example of actualized womanhood. Who will be better off? The meek academic who seems to be content with a part-time lover and a rich fantasy life? Or the assertive editor who publishes a bombastic newspaper meant to highlight the atrocities of the men that she and her fellow writers have renounced? While it's interesting to ask these questions forty years after the book was written, it's hard to sympathize with either Mulvaney or Clifford. In her attempt to counter the cynical "Zimmers" of the day, Godwin created an overwrought and rather dreary read about her contemporary odd women. A little levity or a little more action might have made this a more timeless story.
These analogies, while important for understanding Clifford's worldview, bog down the narrative down appear to be erudite grandstanding on Godwin's part. She gets mired in quotes and literary discussions, and her modest plotlines suffer as a result. Although Clifford is wrapped up in the drama of her affair (and the heroines that might offer clues for her own fate), the real drama, of course, is whether Clifford or her uber-feminist, politicized friend, Gerda Mulvaney, offer the superior example of actualized womanhood. Who will be better off? The meek academic who seems to be content with a part-time lover and a rich fantasy life? Or the assertive editor who publishes a bombastic newspaper meant to highlight the atrocities of the men that she and her fellow writers have renounced? While it's interesting to ask these questions forty years after the book was written, it's hard to sympathize with either Mulvaney or Clifford. In her attempt to counter the cynical "Zimmers" of the day, Godwin created an overwrought and rather dreary read about her contemporary odd women. A little levity or a little more action might have made this a more timeless story.
April 20, 2020
Loved, loved the Odd Woman. In a way it changed my life as after reading it I dared to enrol in an English literature foundation course in London. English was not my first language and while I had a year of EASL in the Netherlands, I daydreamed my time away. What English I had, I picked up from my husband to be and patient British people. I had been devouring books since I'd been a young girl and while I'd not finished my education due to the move, I absolutely loved the course. Of course, we moved again and I became a Teacher of English as a second language. If not for this book, I'd never have the courage to take that first step. I need to re read it again.
November 14, 2013
At times I felt that this book reached into my head and read my thoughts. I think that any woman who has felt the pull between exploring your own path and doing what is expected of you will feel similarly.
The main character, Jane, is a thirty something academic who, over the course of a trip home to grieve her grandmother and to New York to meet her married lover, thinks in many different directions about what it means to be a single woman and what it means to live a life that is lived primarily in your mind. Some of the people Jane interacts with along her journey allow her to examine the small, quiet, but independent life she has chosen in contrast to others. Jane's mother used to write romance novels and had aspirations of becoming a more meaningful writer, but put those away to raise a family and cater to a domineering husband. Jane's friend Gerda has lived an exterior life, constantly taking actions and chances, and when Jane meets up with her on her return trip is running a feminist newspaper out of her basement. In addition, Jane makes a side trip to meet a man who has been characterized as a villain by her family her whole life, but who turns out to be quite different from what Jane expected.
This book was written in the 1970s and has some minor details which have not aged well, such as Jane's acute distaste for Gerda's swearing or the necessity of arranging long distance calls by calling an operator. However, the important parts, which are Jane's interior investigations, feel modern and interesting. One of my favorite devices the author uses is to have Jane often consider how the things she does will mutate as they move from her own experience to being a story told to others, filtered through those others' experiences. I often think about this and was interested to see it used in this book.
The main character, Jane, is a thirty something academic who, over the course of a trip home to grieve her grandmother and to New York to meet her married lover, thinks in many different directions about what it means to be a single woman and what it means to live a life that is lived primarily in your mind. Some of the people Jane interacts with along her journey allow her to examine the small, quiet, but independent life she has chosen in contrast to others. Jane's mother used to write romance novels and had aspirations of becoming a more meaningful writer, but put those away to raise a family and cater to a domineering husband. Jane's friend Gerda has lived an exterior life, constantly taking actions and chances, and when Jane meets up with her on her return trip is running a feminist newspaper out of her basement. In addition, Jane makes a side trip to meet a man who has been characterized as a villain by her family her whole life, but who turns out to be quite different from what Jane expected.
This book was written in the 1970s and has some minor details which have not aged well, such as Jane's acute distaste for Gerda's swearing or the necessity of arranging long distance calls by calling an operator. However, the important parts, which are Jane's interior investigations, feel modern and interesting. One of my favorite devices the author uses is to have Jane often consider how the things she does will mutate as they move from her own experience to being a story told to others, filtered through those others' experiences. I often think about this and was interested to see it used in this book.
September 15, 2019
I don't know if this one has a wide audience, but I really enjoyed reading it. It was written in 1974, but holds up surprisingly well as an exploration of how women make their way in the world. Not a whole lot happens here. Much of it is the interior life of our protagonist, Jane Clifford, a single, PhD in English, who has an uncertain future with a two year appointment as a visiting professor at an unnamed Midwestern university. She's having a long-distance affair that's going nowhere with a married Art History professor, a decent, mild-mannered fellow. Her grandmother's death precipitates a visit home to the South- a place also not identified, but I'd guess the mountains of North Carolina. This a book that has some memorable scenes in it. One of them is Jane and her mother going through her grandmother's things, talking, drinking and getting tipsy. Another is when Jane ends up in New York City in order to rendezvous with her lover. There's a hilarious scene in which she goes shopping at Saks. The Odd Woman was nominated for the National Book Award. But it seems largely forgotten. It does move slowly, not exactly in tune with the short attention spans of the digital age, but I think it's well worth reading. Godwin is just a marvelous writer- her intelligence and understanding of human nature shine through on every page.
September 15, 2015
I'm giving this two stars, but 2.5 would probably be more accurate (between "it was ok" and "liked it"). In general it was quite readable - I liked the quality of writing, the settings and the storyline - but my enjoyment really came and went throughout the book. There were scenes that I enjoyed, particularly those with other characters and some plot movement. Then there were long stretches of inner turmoil and existential angst that I quickly tired of - not because they weren't genuine, or useful to character development, but because they were too long and repetitive (and because my own inner debates are quite enough, thank you). I also didn't quite see Jane (main character) as a real person. Despite the long narratives of her psyche, she seemed somewhat flat. I couldn't picture her, and actually thought she got less real as the book went on. And then the book stopped more than it ended; a good ending might have been redemptive.
So... not terrible, but not great.
So... not terrible, but not great.
March 6, 2017
This book was on my shelf and I previously read it in 1986. I don't have a clue what I thought about it then, there are few underlined places. I am going to suppose that I felt the same as now. It was long and boring and hard to understand a woman who cheats with another woman's husband. I kept reading trying to understand but only come up with how needy and self-centered Jane was. I didn't like her but I have a long hatred for the "other woman" since one of that breed broke up my parents' marriage. Oh I know that the man is just as much to blame. However rejection of the mother is rejection of the daughters. When a child can't trust a parent to be true, it is a big blow and a time for growing up. The great irony is that the birthday card for the other woman, who will be 93 this week is lying on my desk right now. Both my parents are dead. Does life move on? Yes but I still didn't like this character.
October 10, 2017
Just couldn't finish although I got through 145 pages before giving up. I have read and loved at least 8 of Ms. Godwin's novels and as I was struggling through this one, I checked the publication date - ah, this was one of her earliest novels, right after Glass People, which I did finish but didn't really like. Characters were dull, tedious, not people you could care about. There was little plot, story didn't go anywhere. But after this book, it seems Ms. Godwin got her wings and the characters and stories bloomed.
July 10, 2025
This is the quintessential 70s book. My first Godwin. I found parts a bit of a slog (navel gazing) but other parts quite absorbing. I liked it well enough to read some more of her. I liked all the literary references.
January 10, 2019
I loved this beautifully-written, deeply thoughtful novel. The depiction of Jane’s intellectual paralysis is both touching and tragic. Out of touch with her own feelings, clueless about what she really wants, and deferring endlessly to what others want, she is a sad, lonely, but likable figure. Certainly no poster girl for feminism!
March 28, 2021
Written in 1974, this covers a brief time in the arid life of Jane Clifford, age 32, who teaches Romantic Poetry in the English Department of a college in the midwest. For an unmarried professional woman, she's not focused on her career, on publishing, nor on pursuing tenure (a more realistic goal during the Vietnam Era than it is today).
Instead Jane is obsessed with Gabriel Weeks, an art historian she met at M.L.A., a married man as bland and inoffensive as herbal tea. During this two-year affair, the lovers have seen each other 13 times and always on his timetable. Remarkably, despite her endless fascination with Gabriel, he barely breathes on the page. Stale bread is more exciting than this character.
Moreover, every chapter is an exercise in inaction and overthinking, even the long section where Jane shops for a dress on 5th Avenue, then leaves it in a cab.
Three-quarters of the way through this tedious novel, Jane connects with an actor who played a villain in The Fatal Wedding, a man who supposedly "ruined" her Aunt Cleva in 1905. The reader waits for the secret that will be revealed, a rise in energy ... but the episode flat-lines.
Gale Godwin wrote 14 novels and other books. However, after this unimpressive waddle of words, I doubt I'll look into any of them.
* * N.B.: If you have trouble sleeping, then this yawn of a book might be a remedy.
Instead Jane is obsessed with Gabriel Weeks, an art historian she met at M.L.A., a married man as bland and inoffensive as herbal tea. During this two-year affair, the lovers have seen each other 13 times and always on his timetable. Remarkably, despite her endless fascination with Gabriel, he barely breathes on the page. Stale bread is more exciting than this character.
Moreover, every chapter is an exercise in inaction and overthinking, even the long section where Jane shops for a dress on 5th Avenue, then leaves it in a cab.
Three-quarters of the way through this tedious novel, Jane connects with an actor who played a villain in The Fatal Wedding, a man who supposedly "ruined" her Aunt Cleva in 1905. The reader waits for the secret that will be revealed, a rise in energy ... but the episode flat-lines.
Gale Godwin wrote 14 novels and other books. However, after this unimpressive waddle of words, I doubt I'll look into any of them.
* * N.B.: If you have trouble sleeping, then this yawn of a book might be a remedy.
February 22, 2024
ya wanna know what is odd to me? WRITING A BOOK THIS HORRIBLE.
i was bored to LITERAL tears and could not bring myself to finish this book fully. part of my hatred is just fueled by my horrible professor who made me read this, but mostly, i just could not find a single redeeming quality of this book.
your message means nothing if it isn't communicated well. and im not gonna sit here and defend a homewrecker because she's supposed to be this "new woman" and watch as she upholds the idea that feminism must be immoral to be "true feminism." this book feels, in fact, very ANTI-feminist in the sense that Jane is not a girls girl and also seems to look down upon the way her grandmother and mother lived their lives (as wives and stay-at-home mothers).
women. listen. you can be a stay-at-home mother, educated, career-focused, a wife, traditional, progressive, etc. AND STILL SUPPORT WOMEN WHO DO NOT MAKE THE SAME CHOICES FOR THEIR LIFE THAT YOU HAVE. AND WE NEED TO STOP THIS IDEA THAT THERE IS A SINGLE WAY TO EXIST AS A WOMAN CORRECTLY. (i think this is what this book was trying to get at, but it just was executed poorly)
i was bored to LITERAL tears and could not bring myself to finish this book fully. part of my hatred is just fueled by my horrible professor who made me read this, but mostly, i just could not find a single redeeming quality of this book.
your message means nothing if it isn't communicated well. and im not gonna sit here and defend a homewrecker because she's supposed to be this "new woman" and watch as she upholds the idea that feminism must be immoral to be "true feminism." this book feels, in fact, very ANTI-feminist in the sense that Jane is not a girls girl and also seems to look down upon the way her grandmother and mother lived their lives (as wives and stay-at-home mothers).
women. listen. you can be a stay-at-home mother, educated, career-focused, a wife, traditional, progressive, etc. AND STILL SUPPORT WOMEN WHO DO NOT MAKE THE SAME CHOICES FOR THEIR LIFE THAT YOU HAVE. AND WE NEED TO STOP THIS IDEA THAT THERE IS A SINGLE WAY TO EXIST AS A WOMAN CORRECTLY. (i think this is what this book was trying to get at, but it just was executed poorly)
December 9, 2017
A memory just prompted me to look back at my journal/diary. I was thinking about my 1990 train trip to Oregon and wondering what I had written about my overnight in New Orleans. What did I discover a few pages later? An entry saying that I was reading this book! 27 years ago. I was 32 at the time. I wrote:
The story is about a 32 year old single Gemini (ring any bells?) It's great. Here's a quote:
"The self is what is left of us, what can't be destroyed, what is there after all the impurities have been burned away." I see the Holy Spirit!
Today - in 2017 - I do not remember reading it at all. I do remember and see in my notes how tortured I was at the time. I felt I was not on the right path, but couldn't find my way.
The story is about a 32 year old single Gemini (ring any bells?) It's great. Here's a quote:
"The self is what is left of us, what can't be destroyed, what is there after all the impurities have been burned away." I see the Holy Spirit!
Today - in 2017 - I do not remember reading it at all. I do remember and see in my notes how tortured I was at the time. I felt I was not on the right path, but couldn't find my way.
Read
January 9, 2021I got to page 260 and just couldn't continue reading for another 165 pages. I don't have a problem with character-driven novels and have finished and in some cases enjoyed books without likeable characters. But I came to the conclusion that I just didn't care any more about the protagonist. I reached the part where she met her lover in NYC and realized that I didn't care enough about learning more about him to keep reading. I suspect that if the author's style had been more succinct and the novel was shorter, I would have carried on and finished it. "Sunk costs" and all that.
December 31, 2017
What a bizarre book. I was preschool age when it was published in 1974 so can’t fully put it into context. It’s like she was trying to write what she thought a feminist manifesto should be, complete with an over the top strange fantasy life. I was tediously bored with most of it, but some of the academic challenges were interesting in that they haven’t changed much in 40+ years. That’s rather disheartening.
December 2, 2023
This book started off well - I was enjoying Jane's reflections on her life, her relationships, literature. But about halfway through, the narrative lost momentum and I started skimming. The ideas Godwin is exploring are great - the motherline, the choices and compromises women make when it comes to family, marriage, career - but somehow the pacing is off, most of the characters sound alike and I found myself impatient and eager to skip to the end.
May 5, 2024
I just couldn't finish. I really tried, because I stopped at around page 300 and flipped throguh the rest of it, just to really make sure I didn't lose much... and I realized I didn't. It was boring for me, the literary dilemmas and examples were too much, they were simply unpleasant. It was only one week's story, but it felt ages for me. The main character, Jane, was just selfish and self-centered, couldn't think of others, I couldn't identify with her at all. I didn't even want to.
July 31, 2018
I read this book on the recommendation of Emily Toth. Although it is an academic novel with a woman protagonist, it's really about her obsession over her relationship with a married man. Shades of The Golden Notebook. No joy whatsoever in academic work. Interesting narration of women's relationships, mother, daughter, grandmother, colleague, friend.
September 9, 2021
I read this on the strong recommendation of Nancy Pearl, probably a Facebook post. It wasn’t as praise worthy as I had hoped. In fact, it is agonizing to read the life struggles and be reminded of the struggles one has throughout life. If you are looking for a pleasant escape, this book most certainly is not it. Not saying it’s not a very good book, just hard to take.
July 3, 2019
Gail Godwin is often excellent, but this book had a hapless heroine, a vague ending, and needed serious editing. The conversations and her inner dialogue were way too long and full of self-pitying allusions to other literary figures. I was disappointed and skipped through a lot of the middle.
April 29, 2020
While there were some interesting conversations and thoughts in this book, I don’t think the plot was enough to justify 400 pages. I thought there would be more to it than her leaving the married man she was having an affair with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2018
I wonder if I would have liked this book back in the 70s? It felt dated to me. I grew weary of Jane's mental angst.
January 30, 2020
Interesting but somewhat dated. Too many long tedious monologues inside the protagonist's head. Well written by disappointing compared to The Good Husband.
August 1, 2022
I loved the beginning and the end. The middle . . .not as much!
August 30, 2022
This book was awful. Tedious. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Only one good quote and I’m not even sure it’s original to the book- the only sin is to give up hoping (paraphrasing).
May 4, 2024
3.75
"She was becoming increasingly reluctant to squander her energies to the demands of good will, increasingly insistent on an equal return." pg. 172
"She was becoming increasingly reluctant to squander her energies to the demands of good will, increasingly insistent on an equal return." pg. 172
November 1, 2014
I bought this this book this spring (2014) at the South Carolina Book Festival. I had read and enjoyed Flora. I attended her lecture where she spoke about her life and work.I was also fascinated watching the response to the lecture by Pat Conroy. (Yes, that Pat Conroy) He entered the hall just after the lecture started and sat near the back of the room in an isle seat just in front of me. He sat up straight, leaned slightly forward in his seat, and seemed to relish her every word. His obvious respect for her made me want to read more of her work.
The title appealed to me and I added it to the pile of books purchased that day that became part of my stash that I plan to read this winter. The book about a week in the life of Jane Clifford, a 30 year old professor who loses her beloved grandmother Edith, becomes close again with her mother, loses patience with her married lover, and quarrels with her college roommate in her physical life. In her inner life, she relives nearly every minute of her past life that point and builds a fantasy life of scenarios of what might have happened if....one detail might have made a difference in her search for happiness. The book was a slog for me, but there was just enough to keep my interest. I'll give Godwin another try....maybe next winter!
The title appealed to me and I added it to the pile of books purchased that day that became part of my stash that I plan to read this winter. The book about a week in the life of Jane Clifford, a 30 year old professor who loses her beloved grandmother Edith, becomes close again with her mother, loses patience with her married lover, and quarrels with her college roommate in her physical life. In her inner life, she relives nearly every minute of her past life that point and builds a fantasy life of scenarios of what might have happened if....one detail might have made a difference in her search for happiness. The book was a slog for me, but there was just enough to keep my interest. I'll give Godwin another try....maybe next winter!
July 2, 2009
I read this right after "The Odd Women," by George Gissing, at the suggestion of Nancy Pearl in Book Lust.
The Odd Woman is set in the 70s, and focuses on Jane Clifford, a mid-30s, single professor of English Lit. The connection to "The Odd Women," is that Jane is reading that novel in order to prep for a class in which she is going to teach it; I believe she is supposed to be seen as a modern equivalent of Rhoda.
Much like the Odd Women, there are several other major female characters in the book, all of whom serve as examples for the various downfalls of married life, with one woman who manages to "have it all" (happy marriage, career, kids, etc., though she only has it after a divorce & remarriage). It was interesting to read this book while thinking about Gissing's novel, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it otherwise.
I also found it difficult to get into the novel, partially because of the tone/setting -- apparently I either read 19th century novels or those that are more contemporary.
The Odd Woman is set in the 70s, and focuses on Jane Clifford, a mid-30s, single professor of English Lit. The connection to "The Odd Women," is that Jane is reading that novel in order to prep for a class in which she is going to teach it; I believe she is supposed to be seen as a modern equivalent of Rhoda.
Much like the Odd Women, there are several other major female characters in the book, all of whom serve as examples for the various downfalls of married life, with one woman who manages to "have it all" (happy marriage, career, kids, etc., though she only has it after a divorce & remarriage). It was interesting to read this book while thinking about Gissing's novel, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it otherwise.
I also found it difficult to get into the novel, partially because of the tone/setting -- apparently I either read 19th century novels or those that are more contemporary.
January 18, 2010
If you're interested in slow-moving portrayals of 1970s female academics (and incidentally, it's very much a product of the 1970s, which may be why I didn't fully understand it) involved in stagnant affairs with married men ... If you're interested in dysfunctional and static relationships between mothers and daughters ... If you can put up with unlikable and petulant characters (who have odd sexual fantasies), then you might like this book.
I on the other hand, am now 1.5 for 3 on Gail Godwin. I liked The Good Husband, loved The Queen of the Underworld, and really did not like The Odd Woman. I found it difficult to finish, and only really liked one character, who showed up for about 15 pages near the end of the novel but had some interesting things to say about the nature of villainy. Beyond that, I don't think Godwin had matured to her best when she wrote this book, so I'll keep trying her work, but if you've never read her, this is NOT the one to start with.
I on the other hand, am now 1.5 for 3 on Gail Godwin. I liked The Good Husband, loved The Queen of the Underworld, and really did not like The Odd Woman. I found it difficult to finish, and only really liked one character, who showed up for about 15 pages near the end of the novel but had some interesting things to say about the nature of villainy. Beyond that, I don't think Godwin had matured to her best when she wrote this book, so I'll keep trying her work, but if you've never read her, this is NOT the one to start with.
March 8, 2010
This book is Philip K. Dick's 'Martian Time-Slip'.
I'm sure no other reader in the history of the world would agree, but, for me, it's about the same thing: gubble. Godwin's heroine, Jane, doesn't call the stuff by name, but she's got a bad case all the same. Interestingly, the question of whether Jane is actually mentally ill is never addressed - I'm not even sure the author intends her to be.
I can't write a clear review because this book has me so mixed up. I don't think it's a bad book, and I think it takes some very clever turns towards the end. But, it was so incredibly dense, the focus on Jane was so myopically close, and Jane was so frustrating and so thoroughly explained that, ultimately, I didn't know whether *I* was coming or going.
I'm sure no other reader in the history of the world would agree, but, for me, it's about the same thing: gubble. Godwin's heroine, Jane, doesn't call the stuff by name, but she's got a bad case all the same. Interestingly, the question of whether Jane is actually mentally ill is never addressed - I'm not even sure the author intends her to be.
I can't write a clear review because this book has me so mixed up. I don't think it's a bad book, and I think it takes some very clever turns towards the end. But, it was so incredibly dense, the focus on Jane was so myopically close, and Jane was so frustrating and so thoroughly explained that, ultimately, I didn't know whether *I* was coming or going.
May 21, 2010
I would actually give this 3.5 stars. Godwin was able to make almost all the characters come alive (Jane's married lover, Gabriel, was one of the exceptions). But I identified with Jane, a 35-year-old professor of literature from a Southern family who wonders if she'll ever find "her best life" and meanwhile is having an affair with a married man. Well, I didn't actually identify with that last part, but Godwin allowed me to understand Jane's dilemma even though I'm married with children. One thing that occurred to me: though the novel is set in the late seventies, women have the same problems with trying to "have it all" that the women in this novel experience. Maybe we haven't come such a long way, baby.
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