Lucky Girls

One of my favorite literary exchanges took place in this book, Lucky Girls by Nell Freudenberger. It's a small volume of short stories about young American women living mostly in foreign countries, or at least exploring their own foreign feelings.

In 'Outside the Eastern Gate' the narrator, a young woman currently living in the U.S., gets a call from her sister who asks, "Are you lying on the couch?" The narrator responds, "I just finished with that. Now I'm thinking about whether to make a sandwich." This simple phrase epitomizes the will and ultimate resolve, often while under personal duress, of all the characters in the book. One woman may have been assaulted while studying in Thailand, but maybe there was just a misunderstanding. One woman moved to India to be close to her married lover, and after his death, may move back to the U.S. But maybe not. And there are girls who are thinking about who to have sex with the first time. They may decide, or maybe not.
This book was lent to me by my friend Rashmi. We agree on many things-- politics, clothes, drinks after work (always yes). But we often have different taste in movies and books. I hated The Emperor's Children and she loved it. I loved Lolita and she hated it. But we agree on books about strong women who make their own decisions and don't apologize for them. We agree on Nell Freudenberger and we agree on Andrea Lee.
Lately I've been lying on the couch a lot. But I know if Rashmi calls, I can tell her that I'm done doing that, and that I'm deciding whether to make a sandwich, and perhaps to meet for drinks after work.
Netflix stars: 5/5.