Meg Wolitzer’s engrossing novel, The Interestings, brings the reader into the lives of six 
teenagers who meet at a summer camp for the arts, form a strong bond, and call themselves “The Interestings.” Some of the teens come from wealthy families, some are there on scholarship. To them it makes no difference: they form life-long friendships that will endure through decades. That is, most of them. Some will follow different, even dangerous paths.
Most of the novel is seen through the eyes of Jules Jacobson, who comes to the summer camp with aspirations to become a comic actress. Beautiful and gracious Ash, Jules’ best friend and hopeful playwright, and Ethan, a gifted animator, eventually marry and become extraordinarily wealthy. We follow the six teens into adulthood as they pursue their diversified lives.
The book takes place almost exclusively in New York beginning in 1974, the year President Nixon resigns, and sweeps through to the characters’ fifties. Wolitzer’s skill in following these six characters—male and female, young and old, gay and straight, rich and of ordinary means, depressed and vital—is never confusing, and is always thoughtful and perceptive. Even though there are flashbacks, I always knew where in the story I was. The author articulates the thoughts of the various characters with feeling and humor, consistent with their age. She also brings us along with the times: the early days of diagnosed HIV-positive, cordless phones, the Moonies, Women’s Lib, the Internet.
The Interestings is an ambitious human study and is immensely entertaining. The paperback version I read has 538 highly absorbing pages. I found myself fully engrossed with the characters, place, and time.
Meg Wolitzer is an accomplish writer and teacher. To learn more about her work, visit http://www.megwolitzer.com/
This does sound good. Thank you, Mary. Where did you come across this book?
Several of my reviews are the result of reading a book club selection. I belong to our local library’s Book Club. I’ve read many books I otherwise probably wouldn’t have. This is certainly one of those, but I really did enjoy The Interestings. I don’t like them all though. This month’s selection, for instance, I read for an hour and decided it wasn’t for me.