A wonderful book ,story of three women in the 60’s. I was caught up in their individual lives their problems.Jennifer Gold rights so well such fascinating characters looking forward to reading more of her novels. #netgalley#lakeunion

Normally I’m not good with multiple perspectives without them being blatantly obvious (ie this person’s chapter, etc.) but Jenni writes her characters so well I had no problem following along. I loved her incorporation of women’s health issues and how women’s problems, specifically reproductive and menstruation issues, are commonly overlooked and dismissed. Women’s health aside, Jenni writes her character’s in such a relatable way, I found myself cheering for our three main ones with their myriad of problems.

Jenni’s books are all very different plot-wise but one thing is the same, her writing sucks you in and makes you feel like you’re in it and you don’t want to stop reading. If I didn’t have an infant I would’ve finished this in one sitting like I did her others.

I've read two other books by this author and hope to read the third also.
This book is very good. Very telling in ways too. Telling in that the setting is in the sixties and the pressure on women to be perfect. Or to develop their own skin and be tough. Be themselves. Be the person they are meant to be. Truly meant to be. Perfection is so overrated.

Two women would could not possibly be more different from each other. One born into riches. Taught her whole life to be perfect. To marry a rich man. Have children. Never complain. Yes, be or pretend to be, PERFECT. That is the life June has always known. Always had. Until she didn't. Then there is Winifred. Winifred married a man for love. He was very rich and possibly could not have children. Winifred didn't marry him for his money or social standing. She truly loved him and he truly loved her.

June and Winifred had two very different lifestyles. Two different lives. June's husband was a cheat. He was one that thought she was to do what he said and never question him. But he also wanted a divorce. He wanted their child. He was a jerk. But to be fair she was a horrible person. Not kind to others. She saw kindness as a weakness. I think they made the perfect pair for the most part. I felt for their little girl though.

Winifred lost her husband. He had a fatal heart attack at their end of summer party. She was devastated. This happened and the high society women who were already being cruel took it as a weakness. Was she really not suppose to grieve the loss of her beloved husband. Oh that's right they said she only married him for money. That she somehow tricked him. Winifred was a free thinking and very good woman. She befriended Marie who was an artist and living in her car. She took her in and gave her a place to paint. Of course the nosy women all had something to say about that too. June especially. She was rather cruel with her words.

Now this sounds like a mean story but it's not. It just has some mean women in it. Back in that day it seems that women were not true friends. If one was to get divorced then they shunned her. Made her feel beneath them. Like it was all her fault. Men could do no wrong. Just look the other way. At any and all costs keep your marriage.

This story deals with some other things too. Like horrible painful cramping that the drs seem to think it all in the woman's head. Things have changed in that respect. At least for now. Being a wife and mother. Being perfect. Looking good always. Knowing your place and staying there.

This was a good book with a good story. Friendships. True friendships. While June didn't really have any true friends she wasn't a true friend either. She hated Winifred for having a friend. For being able to be herself. For knowing about what June's husband was doing. She didn't think about being her friend. Winifred was not good enough for the rich women even after she was left so much money from her husband. She just wasn't one of them. Thank goodness...

Thank you #NetGalley, #LakeUnionPublishers for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

Five big stars. It's great.

1960's Rhode Island- so very different from 2020's Rhode Island! Three women in different stages of life who seem so very different,but who really are very much a like.
definitely recommend

This is the first book of Jennifer Gold’s that I have read, and now I intend to read as many books by her that she has written or will write in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and wonder why I’ve never heard of this author before.

Polite Calamities is beautifully written, transporting the reader to “polite society” in the 1960s, where manners, propriety, and decorum rule. One’s image is EVERYTHING! Women in this society are raised to be good mothers, good housewives, and good homemakers. They exist to support the husbands they are destined to marry, and they are bred to “marry well.”

The three main characters in this drama, however, do not fit the mold, although June strives mightily to do so. June has had excruciating, debilitating pain that began at puberty and resulted in difficulties becoming pregnant. Thus, her daughter is far younger than her peers’ children, and she’s been unable to have a second child. Her pain is dismissed and disregarded by everyone in her life, including her doctors and husband, and has led her to a life of secret drinking and pain relievers to get by, eventually causing her faithless husband to leave her for his mistress and to take her daughter from her. Nevertheless, she goes to great lengths to keep up appearances, condemning anyone who doesn’t meet her high standards, including Winifred, a newcomer to June’s world by virtue of marrying into it.

Winifred was raised in a middle class home, mostly by her erudite, professor father after her mother is gone. She always has had difficulty making friends and strived to “fit in.” When she meets and falls in love with her husband, Bruce, she suddenly is thrust into his life of privilege and high society. She does her best to fit in with his friends, but she has no idea how to do it. The women in his circle shun and ridicule her but put on a good show to placate Bruce. When Bruce dies suddenly, the women no longer have incentive to hide their disdain and dislike for Winifred.

During her loving, supportive, close marriage, Winifred became an art patron, supporting up and coming female artists. After Bruce dies, she meets Marie, who obviously is living in her car and barely eating enough to sustain herself. Out of sympathy for Marie, and not wanting to be alone anymore, Winifred invites Marie to live with her, no strings attached. Marie also has had a difficult time throughout her life making friends or fitting in, ever since a tragic happening involving her best friend when they were 10 years old. She’s lived with enormous grief and guilt since that fateful time.

Marie and Winifred have an instant connection, but they both struggle with believing in a true friendship between them. Ultimately, after false starts and through time, they mostly give in to their shared feelings, until a devastating secret is revealed. When the three women are thrust together during an especially devastating event, their true natures finally shine through.

Although the ultimate betrayal of Marie by Winifred easily is foreseen early in the story, there are so many twists and turns to the story that my interest was held throughout the book. And although it is obvious that the women all have more in common than they are willing to admit to themselves, the ending comes as quite a surprise.

I’m thankful to Ms. Gold, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for giving me an advanced reader’s copy of this book. I can’t wait to read more of Ms. Gold’s works. I’m leaving this review VOLUNTARILY.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I saw Jennifer Gold had a new book, I jumped at the chance to read it. Storyline is different direction then the norm for Gold, and I loved it. This book takes you back to the 60s. Three women, three distinct voices. Winifred, married to the love of her life, just trying to fit in and finding it so much harder than she thought especially after her life takes a dramatic change. June, married to a highly successful man, one daughter and hiding so much pain while clawing her way to the top of Rhode Island society. Marie, artist in the midst of a slump, hiding guilt left over from childhood.

I enjoyed this book and these women. These women are all different and each relatable in their own ways. Book centers on female friendships, finding your voice and moving on. This could be described as Real Housewives of RI, 60s Style. For me, it was a little wordy and slow in parts, but it was easy enough to get thru. Loved the drama. Perfect if you looking for a different type summer read…not as light, but still fun and drama filled.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this book. This is my honest opinion.

Atmospheric But Long. This book almost feels like a Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but an East Coast variant. It has the same 60s era setting, the same type of fire-based setup and ending, but then tells a more "East Coast" feeling tale of the era, in some ways dealing with some of the same kinds of relational topics... but from that "Old Money" / "High Society" kind of East Coast / New England vibe.

That noted, this is far from a clone of the other, and it does what it does in showing the various relationship dynamics of its ladies - each in different societal strata - remarkably well. Gold clearly put in a lot of effort to make each of these women as real and relatable as possible, and she truly did a good job there - we begin to sympathize to a degree even with our ostensible villain of the tale... even as she continues to show *why* she is the villain. Along the way, we encounter so much of that admittedly lily white social scene and period the tale is set in, in interesting ways that show both the warts and the beauty of each of our characters.

The one real criticism I have here is that the book *does* go perhaps 30-50 pages long. Not a "Return Of The King After The Coronation" slog, but certainly a "this could've been trimmed a bit" feeling, at least after completing it. Now, where, exactly, could the cuts have been made... becomes perhaps less clear. Which would perhaps indicate that the book is exactly as long as it needed to be. I'll leave it to the reader of this review to read the book for yourself and make your own calls there. (Also, please leave a review when you do. They don't have to be anywhere near as wordy as mine tend to be - 24 words will be accepted on any review site I know of, including the big corporate ones.)

Ultimately this was a solid book of its kind, one that *should* be seen as an equal or perhaps even superior of Malibu Rising... but which clearly hasn't had Reid's marketing people behind it. ;)

Very much recommended.

The novel fell short of the expectations I head, based on the synopsis but it is still enjoyable and well-written.

This is a fabulous book! I hope Book Clubs choose to discuss these FMCs - there's so much to each of them. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was blessed to read a fabulous book titled Polite Calamities by Jennifer Gold. She is a new author to me and I am so glad I took a chance on her new book. I will be watching for more from Ms. Gold. 

This book takes place in the 60’s during my childhood. My family didn’t live like the families in this book. We were not as wealthy. In fact, what made it so interesting is that the main character was from a middle class family and was trying to fit in. The snobs weren’t having it. They were awful. 

The antics and the struggles were real. This book was a little bit on the longer side but, I had so much fun reading it, I flew right through it. Jennifer Gold knows how to build suspense and how to keep you interested in the day to day goings on between two friends who are exploring being best friends. Neither of them have had a best friend or were able to connect since early childhood. There were hitches along the way and I expected that. 

I loved the settings in the book. We get to live in a very affluent neighborhood in the 60’s and a horse farm one of the ladies grew up on. The other character had a father who was an educator. These ladies both had life changing things happen early in life that molded who they were. 

This book was so different in plot and structure than I’ve read before. The writing style was unique. I didn’t get bored at all. I hate to tell you this is a perfect summer read but, I will tell you that it is a great read anytime! 

If you love a book that gives you all the feels, makes you shake your head, keeps your interest as it builds suspense that you aren’t even sure is there but you feel it. Then this book is for you. Until next time…Happy Reading!

Don’t forget to support the authors you read by leaving a review!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from #JenniferGold, #Netgalley and #LakeUnionPublishing. The opinions I have expressed are my own and I was not required to write a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Three women, June, Marie, and Winifred navigate Rhode Island 1960s society and parties with different agendas. But just how do an insider, and outsider, and a rebel fit together? That is the premise for Jennifer Gold's novel Polite Calamities.

Winifred married a wealthy society scion. She and her husband shared great love and respect for each other, but Winifred never quite fits into his world. After he dies suddenly she's left to face the gossip and societal shunning alone. (Gold based Winifred on Rebecca Harkness, subject of T Swifts' song The Last Great American Dynasty.) June is one of the society wives who shuns Winifred. When her husband wants divorce she's determined to save her marriage via pregnancy, despite her painful endomitriosis. Marie is an artist who befriends Winifred. She's never belonged anywhere, so she doesn't care about June's clique. Throughout the novel friendships change, grow, and are tested, just as the women in the novel change, grow, and when tested, come out stronger and better friends.

A very enjoyable peek into the 1960's!

Winifred's husband adored her, and married her despite shocking the society of Rhode Island. When he dies suddenly, Winifred inherits their holiday home and decides to live there permanently. As she finds herself shunned by those who only accepted her for his sake, she realises that she is lonely - and sets about taking herself in hand. Giving shelter to a young woman who is currently living in her car and throwing wild parties not only makes her new friends, but ensures she is a talking point amongst the community she was previously a part of . . .

This is a delicious tale about the snobbery which existed in the middle of the last century - and, I understand, still does in some circles. It wasn't enough that Winifred's husband loved her; his snooty friends didn't approve that she was younger and not of the calibre they would have accepted into their crowd. I can't say I would have had the courage to react in the way she did, but I was certainly cheering her on from the sidelines! A well-crafted story, beautifully written and bursting with food for thought. For me, 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Polite Calamities by Jennifer Gold is a compelling story of friendship and drama.
Here the story follows 3 women, June, Winifred and Marie. Rhode Island in the 1960’s.
An enthralling read that kept me turning the page’s.
Jennifer Gold brings an era and a nostalgic world and fills it with richly imagined characters whose stories and life entangle in such a way that the reader cannot help but follow them into the tale.

Thank You NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟎𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧—𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲-𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲; 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧. 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚-𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠—𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞—𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒥𝑒𝓃𝓃𝒾𝒻𝑒𝓇 𝒢𝑜𝓁𝒹, 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒, 𝐿𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒰𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

The Real Housewives meets the ladies of Wisteria Lane in 1960s Rhode Island.

This story is about female friendships, and letting go of societal expectations to live a true, happy life.

I love the unfolding stories about three women - Winifred, Marie, and Irene. The pacing was excellent.

It was a suspenseful, twisty read that really keeps the reader on the edge of their seat until the last page.

Polite Calamities by Jennifer Gold hits that nostalgia/historical women's fiction that I love. Similar to All the Summers In Between by Brooke Lea Foster, the setting is a beach town, however this time in Rhode Island in 1965-1966.

After her husband's sudden death, Winifred is even more of an outsider in the rich beach town. The other housewives have never liked her and now that she's a widow, they shun her even more. Winifred is younger and more beautiful than all of them. She listens to modern music, she throws fabulous parties that welcome any and everyone. She lives her life in color.

Marie is an artist who had moderate success with her "Girl" series and has only one goal: to purchase the horsetrack grounds that she grew up in and bulldozer it down. Winifred takes a special interest in Marie, and quickly invites Marie to live in her lonely giant house with her.

And then there's June. A society housewife. She's rigid and lives by the stiff upper lip idea, never letting anyone know that her marriage is essentially over and that her body is fighting against her at every turn.

The lives of these women, over a few months in 1966, all layer and intersect until one explosive evening when all the stakes they hold so high come burning down.
----
I LOVED this book. It had a little hint of The Help - with Jane being Bryce Dallas Howard and Winifred being Jessica Chastain (if we are going by the movie). Winifred was a well-developed character, one that I wanted to know more about, even though she made some questionable decisions. Marie was a little too "I'm an artist and must suffer", but nothing will compare to the miserable bitch that is Jane. Holy Cow, she was the WORST. Not once did she deserve any kindness from anyone.

I feel that many book clubs will love this, the setting and time period are all easy to picture. The women are fun to read about, even when they make weird choices.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Although I did like this author's writing skills, I was not invested in the storyline or in the characters.
The first few chapters were interesting enough to hold my attention, but later on it failed to keep my interest.
And considering how many readers are actually enjoying this book, I can only assume it's a *me* thing. This book is simply not for me. Nothing essentially wrong with it, just not for me.

This book is about three different women. Each one is dealing with some life issues. It’s a complex story. I was somewhat engrossed in the story and wanted to see what unfolded. I did think it was a bit wordy in spots.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

This is like real housewives drama of the 1960s in Rhode Island!! It’s a time when we just entered the Vietnam War and life is trying to continue at home. The younger generations have a different outlook on life compared to the older generations. It is a story about friendships, freeing yourself from society expectations and living your life how you want. I was living for the drama in this book and truly felt for the characters. The story follows three women- Winifred, Marie and June. Winifred and Marie do not seem to fit into what society expects them to do. June seems to be a bit of jealous of Winifred to be able to live a care free life while she feels she has many expectations to live up to. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and see how similar they really are.

When I first read the synopsis of this one I immediately thought of The Last Great American Dynasty and the author said that was part of how she pitched it, so if you wanna read a book that embodies that song SO well this is it! This follows three women over the course of one summer and each woman had a unique and distinct voice. They were all incredibly well crafted and authentic, I adored Winifred so much! She was progressive and very modern for the time period, inclusive in a way that wasn’t common and in turn her acceptance and bucking of traditional rules and societal norms caused the women of the town to shun and isolate her. June was the leader of the pack so she was hard to like but as the book progressed I came to understand her more. Even though I never truly liked her I did come to a place where I realized she was a product of her environment and truly just didn’t know any better. Marie was definitely more likable, her pain and suffering was evident through the authors writing and portrayal, you could feel her sorrow yourself. This would be a perfect book club choice, there is a lot to unpack here. It’s emotional, deep, tragic and sad but it’s also at times hopeful and uplifting. I was totally captivated by this one and highly recommend it!