Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons, by Lorna Landvik
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I chose to read this book because it’s by a fellow Minnesotan,
Lorna Landvik. Her writing has a great reputation, and this book
did not disappoint. It’s about five friends: Slip, Audrey, Faith,
Kari, and Merit. At first it seems as if each one fits into a well-
worn stereotype; Audrey is the sexpot, Slip the fireball, Merit the
beautiful victim, etc. But soon these characters break out of their
mold, (which is probably the whole point of the book), and show
complexities which are rare in women’s fiction.
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The action begins in the late 1960s, when these five women (who
become friends because they happen to be neighbors) decide to
start a book-club. One husband dismisses their get-togethers as “a
bunch of angry housewives eating bonbons,” hence the name of
their group. But through the years their bond extends far beyond
the books they read, as the women support each other through
divorce, death, empty nest syndrome, and illness.
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By the end of the novel I felt as if I knew these women, and I
cheered on the inside each time one of them experienced a victory
or moment of personal growth. Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons
is a bittersweet, slice of life type novel, which will stay with you
long after you’ve read the last page!
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