Lois Saunders thought that marrying the right man would finally cure her loneliness. But as picture-perfect as her husband is, she is suffocating in their loveless marriage. In 1951, though, unhappiness is hardly grounds for divorce – except in Reno, Nevada.
At the Golden Yarrow, the most respectable of Reno’s ‘divorce ranches’ Lois finds herself living with half a dozen other would-be divorcées, all in Reno for the six weeks’ residency that is the state’s only divorce requirement. They spend their days riding horses and their nights flirting with cowboys, and it’s as wild and fun as Lake Forest, Illinois, was prim and stifling. But it isn’t until Greer Lange arrives that Lois’s world truly cracks open . . .
Gorgeous, beguiling, and completely indifferent to societal convention, Greer is unlike anyone Lois has ever met – and she sees something in Lois that no one else ever has. Under her influence, Lois begins to push against the limits that have always restrained her. But how much can she really trust her mysterious new friend? And how far will she go to forge her independence, on her own terms?
Rowan Beaird is a writer whose work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, and The Common, among others. She is the recipient of
the Ploughshares Emerging Writer Award, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart. She has received scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and StoryStudio. She currently works at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Divorcées is her first novel.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s not a fast paced story at all, but more about people and their lives when things change.
It’s set in a divorce farm where the women of the 1950’s are sent when their families, ashamed of their failure to put up with an unsatisfactory marriage. I was fascinated to learn about Lois as she learned about herself and what she really wanted from her life.
Don’t try and rush read this book, as there’s so much to pick up and learn. From different perspectives on 1950’s expectations and experiences, to finding that women who grew up in a time when women didn’t have the freedom we do now, might have felt how we do. This is a lovely read. So worth taking your time over. And letting yourself become lost in the moment this gorgeous book gives us.
With thanks to Anne Cater, the publisher and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book.
Books’n’banter 