Jude, Wendy, Adele, and Sylvie are women in their 70s who have been friends for decades. Four very different women bound by the years and times they have shared together. Now, though, Sylvie has recently died and Judy, Wendy, and Adele are gathering for one final weekend at Sylvie’s beach house. They are each grieving, each bringing their own complicated lives and histories, and the dynamic that has existed for so long has shifted now that Sylvie is missing.
Jude is rigid and organized, the leader of the group in many ways, but now not softened by Sylvie’s presence. Wendy is an acclaimed intellectual, a widow and the only mother of the foursome, has brought her ancient and unwell dog who she is not ready to let go of. Adele is a once well-known theatre actress who is now struggling to make ends meet but still possess a certain physical presence and possibility. They have come together for this final weekend but also with the task of cleaning out the beach house before it is sold. Jude is focused, Adele is distracted, and Wendy is scattered. It doesn’t take long for tempers to fray.
I liked the premise of this story and I liked its focus on older women, something we don’t see very much of in media. The focus is on their friendships and shared history but there is still definite romance and physical presence. These aren’t sexless crones or generic grannies. (None of them are grandmothers.) These are very human characters which was both impressive and frustrating. Am I wrong to expect that adults in their 70s will not still be making such stupid mistakes or responding so immaturely to situations around them? Maybe, though I think I would have some similar reactions if these characters were all in their 40s.
In the end, I felt like this novel left me with more questions than anything else. I struggled to see these characters existing anywhere else because it felt like none of them were fully functioning human beings. They were all lacking something and it was more than just Sylvie. Most of all, I struggled to get a sense of their group dynamic. I couldn’t imagine Jude and Wendy, for example, spending time together just the two of them. And why are these women tasked with clearing out Sylvie’s house? Why isn’t Sylvie’s longterm partner there? She doesn’t want to keep anything? It seemed obvious from the beginning that this wasn’t the team for the job.
I can imagine that the right audience for this book is out there but I’m not it. Maybe in 30 years?
Side note: This story is set at Christmas time in Australia and you would not believe how difficult my brain found this to grasp. They are at a beach house and it’s hot and the characters complain about humidity and then some mention of Christmas would come up and every time my Canadian brain was shocked!
Karissa Reads Books 
I remember enjoying this, largely for its portrayal of old(-er) women as human beings, like you say. Maybe that’s part of the mistake-making. They’re not wise, age hasn’t given them mysterious powers of maturity and insight. It reminded me of hearing a woman in her 90s being interviewed and saying that she’s never really felt like an adult; she’s always been making it up as she goes. That seems quite a common feeling.
I can relate to that feeling and it isn’t one I see explored a lot in media amongst older adults so I do think this sort of portrayal is really valuable. I didn’t have trouble believing these women would be immature and make silly decisions. I think my problem lay in the fact that I didn’t really like any of them individually and I didn’t ever buy in to the reality of their friendship. They didn’t gel as a group in the way I would expect a friendship group of so many years to and it felt like more was missing than just Sylvie.
Agreed, there’s a surprising lack of warmth and spark among them.
I enjoyed The Weekend, and loved that the characters were older, still squabbling and behaving foolishly.
Christmas in summer is lovely! We’ve had Christmas afternoons on the beach and with lots of people on holiday until after New Year, the week between the two celebrations is special.
My kids heard me mentioning the Christmas beach problem to my husband and reminded me that there is a Bluey episode where they all barbecue and swim in an outdoor pool! Being able to spend that week between Christmas and New Year at the beach sounds way more fun than staying inside to avoid the rain and eating ridiculous amounts of leftovers!
My kids were too old for Bluey so we’ve missed the whole thing, but the barbecue-swimming episode may well have been set around Christmas-New Year.
It is a fun, relaxed time and I wouldn’t have it any other way, although we get stuck with leftovers here, too!
I hope we get more books that focus on characters at this stage in life (and not even grandmothers!) because as you point out, this group is so rarely the topic of books. I’m with you actually, the idea of Christmas in the middle of summer seems so shockingly different, I would constantly be jarred by this too!
I hope so too! I think it’s an unexplored grouping in fiction and media. And, again, books remind me that not everyone in the world lives as I do – even if it’s something as obvious as different hemispheres experiencing holidays and seasons differently!
This book didn’t sit right with me for a lot of the reasons you mention, plus the author kept adding in important information much too late. If I remember correctly, one of the seemed like a total twit, and near the end we learn she’s a highly accomplished professor and scholar?? That was Wendy, I believe.
Yes, Wendy is the character. I can believe that a super smart professor would be scattered in her personal life but I do think it went too far and it made it hard to believe that Wendy was actually accomplished. Maybe because we never really saw her do anything within the plot of the book that suggested she could be more put together.