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The Wednesday Sisters Reviews
Meg Waite Clayton's stirring novel will appeal not just to those who secretly wish to be writers, but to anyone with a love of great books; anyone who has felt truly moved by a book or an author; and anyone who has had their dreams bolstered by good and faithful friends. It will speak volumes to fans of THE FRIDAY NIGHT KNITTING CLUB and THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB. You'll want to share THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS with anyone who believes in the power of a good book—to inspire those close to us, and for those who inspire.
Booklist - April 18, 2008
Set during the summer of 1968 in Palo Alto, California, Clayton's novel chronicles the lives of five women who conduct a weekly writing group at their neighborhood park… The women share their feelings about marriage and motherhood and together mourn the assassination of Robert Kennedy and watch as man walks on the moon and feminists protest the Miss America pageant. They support one another through illness, infertility, racism, and infidelity—and encourage each other through publishers' rejections. Readers will be swept up by this moving novel about female friendship and enthralled by the recounting of a pivotal year in American history as seen through these young women's eyes.
Publisher's Weekly - March 4, 2008
Clayton chronicles a group of mothers who convene in a Palo Alto park and share their changing lives as the late 1960s counterculture blossoms around them… Frankie…is the story's narrator and the ladies' ringleader, inspiring them all to follow her dream of becoming a writer. They write in moments snatched from their household chores and share their stories in the park… Clayton ably conjures the era's details and captures the women's changing roles in a world that expects little of them.
Salt Lake City Deseret News - August 3, 2008
Clayton captures the evolution of a decades-long friendship in an highly accessible narrative. She grabs the reader's attention early on, hitting on big events of the period while introducing compelling and quirky characters that are easy to identify with.
In a time when the media and culture in general is focused on everything that appears extreme or out of control, "The Wednesday Sisters" is a refreshing alternative ... thoughtfully written ... after reading it, grown children will likely look at their mothers with a new understanding and respect.
The Nashville Scene - July 10, 2008
The Wednesday Sisters poignantly illustrates the way it really was back in the days when the glass ceiling was more like the roof of a marble tomb ... One of the most bittersweet, and most successful, aspects of The Wednesday Sisters is that Clayton keeps the characters consistent. Sure, they go to peace and women's rights rallies, and they rail at the system, but Clayton knows that even full-scale emotional revelations are rarely followed by a full-scale rejection of everything you've ever been. Though all their hopes aren't realized, the friendship these women share provides a haven for each one anyway—and for the readers of this novel.
Coffeetime Romance and More
This easy flowing read allows cherished friends to connect in a way to permit others to experience the fantastic bond each woman shares. The love, camaraderie, and devotion linking these five outstanding women together is so poignant I felt centered right in the middle of the loving group. Meg Waite Clayton delightfully pens a story women will treasure.
Story Circle Book Reviews - July 7, 2008
This is no fairy tale in which life is perfect and everyone is instantly successful. Clayton develops strong individual characters and tells a powerful story that celebrates friendship, trust, and life. She shows the healing power of telling one's story and the importance of having a group of trusted sisters with whom to share those stories.
Romance Reader at Heart - June 2008
THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS reads like a visit with an old, treasured friend. Smooth and flowing, this story weaves together the lives of five friends and spans three and a half decades. Filled with small details which, taken on their own seem inconsequential but when seen as part of the bigger picture each prove to be very important indeed, this novel showcases the sisterhood of friendships, and its importance.… THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS embraces the magic that brings women together in a special bond that can only be called sisterhood. It is an absolute treasure, one that I'll be passing on to the "sister" of my heart! - Kay James
Advance Praise
Lalita Tademy, author of Red River and Cane River
I read The Wednesday Sisters in one delicious gulp. With a smart, entrancing voice, Meg Waite Clayton sweeps us into the world of the tumultuous 1960's and beyond, and gives us the gift of five young women coming into their own as friends, mothers, wives and writers. The Wednesday Sisters takes their writing group as its core, and up until the last page, I found myself fervently rooting for each of them as if they were my friends too.
Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club
This generous and inventive book is a delight to read, an evocation of the power of friendship to sustain, encourage, and embolden us. Join the sisterhood!
Michelle Richmond, author of The Year of Fog
Meg Waite Clayton's The Wednesday Sisters is a heartwarming novel about the joys and complications of friendship, an inspiring story for anyone who has dared to dream big. Clayton's characters are the kind of women you can imagine joining on the park bench—for a good laugh, a good cry, or a spirited conversation about literature and life.
Masha Hamilton, author of The Camel Bookmobile and The Distance Between Us
The Wednesday Sisters, a beautifully written story of women's friendship, inspired me the way my closest friends do. It made me laugh. It made me cry. Most of all, it enriched my life. If you've ever had a best friend, buy a copy for her.
Lolly Winston, author of Good Grief and Happiness Sold Separately
Long before there were book clubs and play dates, there were the Wednesday Sisters—a group of women whose shared love of literature transports them above the pains and pitfalls of ordinary life. While these women may seem like typical suburban housewives, each character has an intriguing secret and a rich interior life that drew me into the story and held me there. This remarkable group of women demonstrates that no matter what period of history in which we live, no matter what race, creed or class we are, no matter what pains we endure, our one unifying salvation can be books. And this book reminded me of why I love to read.
Caroline Leavitt, author of Girls in Trouble and Coming Back to Me
Richly intelligent, deeply felt and incandescently original, Clayton's book is a rhapsodic story of female friendship, set against wildly changing times and mores. Not only is the book heartbreaking, funny, and undeniably smart, but truly, this is the kind of book you don't just want to pass on to all your friends. You have to.
Ellen Baker, author of Keeping the House
Meg Waite Clayton gives us a group of spunky women— mostly young, married mothers—who make the unlikely decision in 1967 to form a writers' group. Their diverse journeys over the next years in their writing and in their lives add up to a compelling and deeply moving testament to the power of women's friendships. I simply couldn't put The Wednesday Sisters down until I'd turned the last page.
Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Forgive Me and How to be Lost
I simply could not put down The Wednesday Sisters. I gave my heart to Meg Clayton's vivid characters, and I read their intertwined stories breathlessly. Move over, Ya-ya sisters!
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