A Book Review: The Ten-Year Nap

I recently finished reading The Ten Year Nap, by Meg Wolitzer - a novel about four professional women in NYC who decided to stay home with their babies 10 years ago. Now that their kids are in school and the women are turning 40, the book follows their growing pains as they transition into midlife.

What I liked about the book:

1. Writing - smooth, smart, not too literal or abstract, really gave a sense for the locations and characters; balanced reflective passages with plot; articulated many unspoken social dynamics.
2. Characters - the women are not all bored, resentful, regretful, or inane - as moms are so often portrayed. They're intelligent, mostly appreciative, and at least one is truly happy.
3. Context - Includes snapshots of the grandmothers to show how feminism set the stage for the mothers' dilemmas.
4. Tone - Wolitzer doesn't feel judgmental; she's not crusading for any particular kind of motherhood.

What I didn't like:

5. Setting - Did she have to set the story in NYC, where everyone seems to think you've either sold out or are a moron if you don't live there?
6. Perspective - I couldn't help thinking that if she wrote about my daily life, it would sound richer and more rewarding than her characters'. I can't quite put my finger on the difference, but I think it's mostly attitude.

What I learned (though probably not what the author had in mind):

7. Secular books are inevitably depressing. Without the hope, joy, and instruction that comes from belief in a loving God who has a purpose for each of us, life becomes a series of events with the characters responsible for making meaning. Such books help me remember that life with faith is SO much better than life without it (which may explain #6).

8. I generally appreciate the feminists of the '60s. They opened doors for women in the workforce, and I have directly benefited. But there is a small part of me that regrets that those advances have also made mothering not enough. If I'd lived in the '50s, would I have wished I could work, or would I have just enjoyed being home without the sense that I should be doing more?

In the end, I thought it was very well written and would recommend it to anyone who can see around its melancholy perspective.