3.5 stars. I enjoyed the friendships and the drama in this read. It was a little long at times and some what repetitive. The narration was really good for this story of 3 different women.

Unfortunately not for me. In a world with SO many books being published, I just don't see this as a must in our collection.

Polite Calamities was a thrilling read. I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

A perfect pairing of narrator and author, I really loved this historical women's fiction about women who defy the conventions of society and stop behaving

Polite Calamities by Jennifer Gold is an absolute gem. Set in the 1960s, this novel beautifully captures the intricacies of female friendships and the often harsh realities faced by women during that era. The characters are vividly portrayed, each one grappling with societal expectations, personal ambitions, and the unspoken rules that dictated their lives. Gold's writing is both poignant and insightful, making the struggles and triumphs of these women deeply relatable. The way she weaves together their stories, filled with both resilience and vulnerability, is nothing short of masterful. This book is a powerful reminder of the strength found in sisterhood and the courage it takes to navigate a world that isn't always kind to women. Highly recommended!

Loved this book! The drama was so entertaining, and the way this author was able to portray daily life for women was in such a way that it makes you really feel something. Yes this book is a historical fiction book but a lot of the topics are relative to life today, and I think everyone can benefit from reading it.

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.

I am in love with this story.

Let me first say that the narration was flawless - I was entranced within the first few minutes and Erin Bennett was a huge factor in creating the atmosphere for this story. That being said though, I knew I wanted a physical copy as well because Gold’s words needed highlighting and memorizing because they will stick with me forever.

This book tells the story of women, women who struggle with their bodies, their selves, their marriages, their role as mothers and so much more. Through the three main women, Winifred, Marie and June, Gold paints a landscape of womanhood through the ages and how hard it is to be yourself, fit in with others and live up to societies standards while you’re struggles and pain get pushed to the background.

Winifred is blunt, opinionated, and outrageously colorful. In a community that demands domesticity, she simply doesn’t fit. When her wealthy husband suddenly dies,
Marie is a flailing artist who wants to paint over her past before the painful memories consume her.
June is a high-society housewife who weathers a chronic pain that would make other women faint. With her veneer crumbling, she has no patience for the free spirit shaking up her community.

From mundane daily troubles to high drama this book covers it all but what it boils down to is women - we’re forced to want to compete with each other and ourselves, when what we should really be doing is building each other and ourselves up because women are strong, powerful and worthy.

“Their husbands and fathers might have run industries, but these women ran these men’s lives, without them they would have nothing.”

What this story did for me was shed light on the life I live as a woman as well as solidified my newfound love for historical/women's fiction. I am in awe of this book and Gold’s ability to shed light on the truth of being a woman, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and ultimately show the power of forgiveness, understanding and second chances.

Wow. Just wow.

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. Audiobook was so well done. Narrated by Erin Bennett. It was an easy listen and really enjoyed the way she told the story.