Chicks On Lit discussion

Join us for our January discussion of Cassandra At The Wedding.

I was just informed that Backlisted podcast did an episode in September on this book. One of the guests said that it’s the best book on twins and their connection that he’s read.

Interesting!

Great! I will get this book and start reading in the next couple of days.

I finished this last night and was really impressed. I would never have picked this one up on my own. I had not heard of it before it was nominated here. What a fantastic exploration of identity and family dynamics. The description spoke of it as humorous, but I did not really pick up on the humor. I was impressed with the author's ability to refrain from simply telling the reader everything since it is a first person narration. But she managed to show us and leave us to draw conclusions despite letting the characters narrate the story.
One thing that sort of shocked me was that in my introduction, it said that the author based this on her two daughters and herself. I would love to know more about the connection between these characters and the author's family.

I started it last night, but didn't get far. The intro was kind of shocking as the author had 2 daughters. I read somewhere that Natalie Wood was slated to star as both twins in a movie of this story, but her agent thought it would ruin her career since one of the twins is gay.

My intro also said that Baker had written another novel about a lesbian relationship, but it was considered too scandalous 60 years ago that no publisher wanted to touch it. Our attitudes have certainly changed.

Have either of you read enough of this novel to want to comment?

I am finished also and I really liked this novel! The writing is great, the character development is great. It almost feels like a movie script. The description of the drive home in the heat, the bar stops and the phone call from the abandoned phone booth were fantastic. I could feel the ice melting and clinking in the glasses.
I kind of felt sorry for down and out Cassandra. It’s hard trying to live up to the expectations of being a writer, especially when her mother was so famous and her father…. probably some drunken genius. Her sister is perfect - on and on. On the other hand, she was so self-centered and not genuinely happy for anyone.
I have a question about her psychiatrist; do you think they had been lovers?
All in all, I enjoyed and now want to read her Young Man with a Horn.

Hmmm, I never thought of that question. I suppose they could have been, but wasn't there something about Cassandra showing up at the therapist's house after hours and the therapist insisting on strict boundaries? I can't really remember and I don't have the book any more. But then, I never picked up on Cassandra being a lesbian. So, don't trust my ability to read between the lines.
I never felt sorry for Cassandra. I felt sorry for Judith. Cassandra seemed to be the dominant member of their relationship. I got the impression that Judith had been shaping her life around Cassandra's emotional manipulation since they were kids. Judith may be more musically gifted than Cassandra, but Cassandra had her own talents. Both were bright, swimming champs, attractive. I did not get the impression that Cassandra was a less talented writer than Judith was a pianist. Rather I got the impression that Cassandra was afraid to excel as a writer because it might shift the interdependence of the twins relationship. Amazingly, Judith had given up her piano. I was dismayed to read that her husband did not like music. She did not even want the piano they bought together. Judith just seemed to want a normal 1960s life as a married woman, intimacy with a husband instead of exclusivity with a twin sister. Judith seemed to be ready to grow up while Cassandra wanted to spend eternity in her adolescent fantasy.

Irene, I totally agree with you! Judith was controlled by Cassandra’s manipulation her whole life. They were living together and Cassandra was always the one that wanted it to go in like that forever. She was even the one that found the piano with which she could anchor Judith to her - or so she thought.
I am sure there is some symbolism concerning grandma and her wish to dress them alike when they were younger and their refusal until the wedding day.
There is a lot to talk about in this book. The father, the isolated setting, the fiancé and how Judith knows her sister so well and figures she will try to disrupt the wedding.

When Cassandra bought a white dress for a wedding where she was to be the bride maid, I knew something was off. No one wears white to a wedding, especially not the only attendant. Was she trying to upstage her sister? She said that she presumed that Judith would be wearing one of those overly fancy bride dresses and her classy dress would be more attractive, would make the traditional bride dress look badly. Who does that to a sister or friend?

Sorry I've been quiet. I started reading this book early in the month but was super busy and ended up not getting far. I picked it up again a few days ago and just finished today.
I really enjoyed this once I got into it. I found the first few chapters a bit slow and I'm not sure if it was just because I was busy and not in the right frame of mind, but at first I thought I wasnt enjoying it. Once I got into it, I read it really quickly and got into the story.
I like you Melody felt a bit sorry for Cassandra to begin with. I know nothing about twins but I felt for her. Not only was Judith getting married and starting a new life that Cassandra was not going to be a part of in the same way as the past, but she hadnt even met the groom. I felt it was realistic she would feel upset and left out and not be overly happy it was happening.
However, as I read on I started to see she was super selfish and manipulatitve and I started to dislike her a lot. Good point about the dresses Irene, I agree, who would do that.
I too did not really pick up that she was a lesbian. There were a couple of commnets where I thought of it but I had already read your comments here so I dont know if I actually would have thought that if I hadnt been told before.
It did cross my mind as well if something had happened between her and the therapist as there were a few odd moments between them, but as Irene pointed out, the therapist seemed quite firm on mentioning boundries. I did wonder if this was maybe because something happened at some point and she was tyring to keep it professional. Of course we wont know as it wasnt elaborated on.
I didnt think this was a humerous book either and although I enjoyed it I felt quite sad after finishing it. Sad is maybe too strong a word, but I keep thinking about it.

Great to have your thoughts, Vivienne. Sounds as if we had similar reactions to this novel. I wonder if an identical twin would have a different reaction.

It doesn’t happen often where I wish there was another book with these characters. I would love a backstory on the parents and how they ended up on the ranch, the grandparents etc…
The pervading suspense kept me reading. I was convinced Cassandra was going to try to hurt the groom, seduce him or something along those lines. Her (spoiler alert*****)


attempted suicide wasn’t where I thought this book was going to go. All in all, I am glad I read this one. Hope to join you in a couple months on the buddy read thread. I have some catching up to do in some other reading so will jump over there in March.

Do you think that the death of the mother shifted the twins' behavior? The grandmother was very nurturing. So, as much as children can adjust to the death of a parent, these girls had the best chance. I do think that the father's excentricities played a part in Cassandra's insular gaze. They never really had peers as friends because the father had them convinced that they were better than other families. I am sure that a steady diet of philosophical arguments did not give them the best skills for cafeteria banter.
So what makes Judith capable of a normal adult relationship, able to move out of the arms of the family and to desire to stand on adult feet while Cassandra seems terrified by the prospect of cutting any apron strings, whether that be to the ranch or to her sister?

I am not sure the mother's death changed their behavior, but I think it pushed them even closer together as a unit. Emotionally, they had no one else to commiserate with as the drunken father wasn't really a loving, caring personality. I have a feeling Cassandra was already the clingy one and Judith the more independent twin even before the mother died.
I can't really remember the father's interaction with both girls, but it seemed Cassandra described his influence in her section. Maybe his eccentricities found more fodder in Cassandra and maybe she felt she was more like him than her sister. She may have considered herself his chosen prodigy etc... She may have paid more attention to his philosophical ramblings.
Someday, I may re-read this one.

I thought the grandmother moved in right away and she seemed to be a nurturing presence. Dad did not strike me as unloving, just really excentric. He turned his daughters into acolites. He wanted to spar with them on philosophical questions. That was love for him. And the girls had physical security, even some spoiling.

Any final thoughts on this book as January comes to an end?
Has anyone read any other novel by this author? If so, how did it compare to this one? I had not heard of her before this.

Tomorrow is the final day for our discussion of this book.
There is not a read for February because our group got too small to easily sustain the monthly reads. No one in this group voiced a desire to continue the monthly reads here. If an interest does surface, I would be glad to continue to read and chat with others. Meanwhile, thanks for all the great conversations I have had here. Happy Reading!