The Meryl Streep Movie Club

On the front cover it said “a novel of love, family and movie night” which seemed to fit its description perfectly. And it appears obvious that this debut author is a fan of Meryl Streep, because this novel is a tribute to the actress’ talent. <br /><br />The story is told in several narrative voices and begins with Lolly, the matriarch. <br /><br />It continues throughout, back in forth between Isabel, June and Kat – two sisters and a cousin, all somewhat estranged, brought back together by innkeeper Lolly. <br /><br />Lolly has an announcement. Kat is already present, because as Lolly’s daughter she lives at the inn. <br /><br />Now the four women are back together with their own baggage, besides the sister’s luggage. And June has brought her son, Charlie. <br /><br />Each POV is shared in their own separate chapters. <br /><br />We have the opportunity to watch Meryl Streep movies, figure out how each character will glide through their personal dramas and allow the discussion to be sparked and communication to be opened between the women. <br /><br />Surprisingly (is it?), while watching each of the Meryl Streep movies that they begin to share their stories with each other. And the layers are peeled away and conversations lay open their lives for a sense of compassion between each other. In those moments, as readers we could feel empathy and hope for them. You wanted them to bridge their differences and move forward with their lives. <br /><br />And if you haven’t watched some of these Meryl Streep movies, this might be the opportunity for encouragement to do so. 3.5 stars.

This book really surprised me. I like Meryl Streep. I don't love her but I find her acting compelling. But the book is really about four women, reuniting 15 years after a tragic accident, each going their separate ways, and finding meaning in a few of Streep's movies. They are each able to pull deep meaning out of the movies and each take is different and worthwhile.<br /><br />The author provides some insight in that she has often found meaning in movies and applies life lessons to her own life. She picked Meryl Streep and concentrated on movies she has done and wrote them into the book, looking at them from different characters' perspectives.<br /><br />The characters provide different personalities and depth to the story. This is not as light of a read as I had anticipated. No person is simple and single dimensional. Isabelle discovers her husband has been cheating on her. She also harbors a deep desire to have children, despite a childhood pact they made to never have them. Edward withdraws from her and falls in love with another woman. Isabelle returns to her teenage home of her aunt to lick her wounds. To me, she is the one who changes the most in a logical and beautiful way.<br /><br />June had a two night stand and found herself pregnant. Now the single mother of a 7 year old son, she embarks on an adventure to find the father of her son. She finds what she is looking for and so much more and not in the way anticipated.<br /><br />Kat was the least interesting to me. On the other hand, her needs were complex, too. She had the option to stay and marry Oliver, the boy next door and her best friend, or leave to study abroad. Even by the end of the book, there is no clear "right" answer. But the journey of discovering her own heart is a good one.<br /><br />Lolly is the catalyst that brings them all together. Lolly announces she is terminally ill and the girls rally around her. Lolly is the one that took the sisters, Isabelle and June, in when their parents and Kat's father (Lolly's husband) were killed in an accident. But even Lolly has some of her past to forgive herself of. <br /><br />Very well written, the story develops naturally and concludes beautifully.

The spoiler is in the comments section, not in the actual review.<br /><br />This light read, aimed at women, puffs and fluffs around some substantial issues of love, loss, regret, and redemption, but doesn't succeed in capturing a penetrating authenticity. The three main women characters--Kat, June, and Isabel--suffering from broken hearts or stifled dreams, turn their lives around with astounding speed and success.<br /><br />While gathered in Boothbay, Maine, to care for the sick and beloved Lolly, they meet men as sexy as Clint Eastwood and Pierce Brosnan. Rock-hard abs, crinkly, sexy eyes, and tall, dark, handsome--wow--all three women are courted by flawless men! Even the dying Lolly is swept off her feet.<br /><br />I chose this book because I am a hardcore Meryl Streep fan, but I am not a devotee of chick-lit, unless it transcends to higher ground, poignant novels such as Bird in Hand, Thorn Birds, and Gone with the Wind, (which can also be enjoyed by men). There's only so much feel-good I can swallow, like candy too sweet for the palate. One story line was left marginally "open," but the novel overall was cloying and telegraphed, with a cookie-cutter wrap-up. All these remarkably wonderful things happened one September to three women, (and a fourth woman, a secondary character). At the center is Lolly, beloved aunt and mother, who is dying of cancer.<br /><br />Lolly runs an historic inn in Boothbay, Maine, with help from daughter, Kat, who is a superb baker. Fifteen years ago, Kat's father and Lolly's sister and her sister's husband died on New Year's Eve from a drunk driver, when Kat was ten. There's a lot of guilt that Lolly hangs onto regarding that night. Isabel, who was a sixteen-year-old wild child at the time of her parents' death, is also stricken because of her ongoing battles with her mother prior to the car accident. Isabel's sister June was thirteen, known as the "good girl." They moved into the inn with their Aunt Lolly when they were orphaned, and stayed until they went to college.<br /><br />June got pregnant at 21, after a whirlwind two-day romance with a tall, dark, handsome stranger, right before her senior year at Columbia, and then dropped out. She has been unable to find her now seven-year-old son's father, partly due to his common name, John Smith. She's been working at a bookstore in Portland, owned by--you guessed it--the tall, dark, and handsome Henry, who has always loved her, and is practically a saint with the patience of Job. Henry is closing the Portland bookstore but offers her a managerial position in Boothbay, where she is headed to help care for the inn and her aunt. Henry patiently stands by while June searches for John Smith. It was obvious to me where John Smith was, and the outcome predictable.<br /><br />Isabel just caught her husband in an affair, and is facing divorce. Things had been going downhill with him since she broke their "pact" and wanted to have a baby. They had met when he helped her in grief counseling after her parents died. Edward also was orphaned from tragedy at a young age, and their bond brought them closer together. However, it was a shock for Isabel to discover that his affair was with a woman who has children. However, while in Boothbay, she meets the man of her dreams--talk, dark, handsome Griffin.<br /><br />Kat has never left the city of Boothbay, and is on the verge of engagement to her childhood friend, Oliver, who was her rock and touchstone after her father died. They grew up next door to each other, and were best friends since the age of five. Their platonic relationship changed to romance more recently, and Oliver is eager to marry Kat and help her get Kat's Confections, her dream business, off the ground. Oliver is tall, sandy-haired, and handsome. However, the tall, dark, hot, handsome resident at the hospital offers more than a helping hand to Kat.<br /><br />The novel's center is Lolly, who gathers the three young women back together to the inn while she is undergoing chemotherapy. The three, who weren't very close growing up, forge a strong union and loving tenderness toward each other pretty swiftly. Their mutual support, after all these years and guilt trips, is almost too good to be true, like every plot turn in this book.<br /><br />The best parts are the Friday Movie Nights, where Lolly and the girls choose a different Meryl Streep movie to watch, analyze, and then parallel to their own lives. Too many coincidences there, how the flicks relate to their own dilemmas, but I did enjoy when they debated and discussed the conflicts and themes of the individual films.<br /><br />This is unabashed chick-lit, life varnished with a thick coating of beautiful, smart women and bright, Adonis men. Not my cuppa--more a bubble bath read than a beach read. But, there are some reflective moments that demonstrate the author's talent, and it will appeal to enthusiasts of this genre who aren't expecting any surprises.

This is told from multiple narrators. Isabel (whose husband has just had an affair), her sister June (single and raising a child on her own) and their cousin Kat (who has just gotten engaged to her perfect boyfriend Oliver and who has almost immediately wondered if she made the right choice) have just moved into the inn that their aunt/mom Lolly runs. Lolly has cancer and the prognosis is not good. Each woman has ample reason to feel unsettled even besides the fact that Lolly will likely die. <br /><br />What helps? Lolly's habit of a movie night. The actress of choice during the course of the novel is, of course, Meryl Streep. The movies picked: The Bridges of Madison County, The Devil Wears Prada, Mamma Mia!, Heartburn, Defending Your Life, Kramer vs. Kramer, Postcards From the Edge, It's Complicated and Out of Africa (with Julie and Julia getting an honorable mention). Each movie becomes not only an escape from their lives and problems but also a valuable opportunity to discuss the characters' choices and what they would do.<br /><br />When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew that I had to read it. I love stories told from multiple perspectives and one that centers around a film club? Yes, please!<br /><br />Lolly believes (as I do) that movies can take you out of your life for a few hours and those hours can make all the difference. I can't even tell you how many times I've chosen to watch a movie (or read a book) to get out of my own head for a little bit.<br /><br />I completely loved this book (which, as a warning, is nearly impossible to stop reading, so maybe start it on a Friday afternoon? But be prepared to lose all weekend. And be prepared to want to spend the entire FOLLOWING weekend watching some Meryl Streep movies. (Incidentally---and this is a minor point---but no Doubt? No Silkwood? But I'm hoping that what that REALLY means is that there will be a sequel. Lord knows there are enough Meryl Streep movies for at least two more books!)<br /><br />I will admit that it was almost impossible for me not to love this book. One of the characters manages in a bookstore and again, it's a movie about women who love movies. (And family members who slowly are able to become friends.) These are all things that completely appeal to me. ;) But I think anyone would love this book. Its themes are relevant to everyone: learning to live without someone, finding what you want in love and life, overcoming things you don't think you can. <br /><br />Highly recommended. (Five stars is not enough!)<br />

The Meryl Streep Movie Club<br />by<br />Mia March<br /><br />My " in a nutshell" summary...<br /><br />Lolly, Kat, Isabel, June...tragedy brings them together and a tragedy keeps them together and makes them a family.<br /><br />My thoughts after reading this book...<br /><br />Lolly...inn owner, mother of Kat, and aunt to Isabel and June calls everyone home.  Lolly has news to share that will change everyone's life.  Lolly won't tell them what she wants to tell them until after they make popcorn, eat cupcakes and watch a Meryl Streep movie...her favorite.<br /><br />I found this to be a lovely sad sweet story with characters I loved and just the right amount of characters that I didn't love.  Every one of these women has an issue.  Most of their dysfunction seemed to come from just not being true to themselves.  I was both happy and sad reading  about their marriages, their yearnings, their missteps.  It was sad to learn about their lost dreams, their fears, their yearnings.  <br /><br />Watching Meryl Streep movies for some of their Friday night movie club dates was sort of key in helping them find out what they wanted within their own relationships.  <br /><br />The inn plays an important role in each woman's life and becomes even more important as the health of Lolly is threatened.  Lolly's illness enables Isabel, June and Kat to step up, step in and realize their own strengths.<br /><br />What I loved most about this book...<br /><br />I loved its sweetness.  I loved the inn and all of its little hideaway nooks.  I loved reading about Kat's cakes and cupcakes and Isabel's attempts at cooking and quirky little Charlie and June doing everything on her own.  I loved hoping that Lolly would be ok and that Isabel would get strong and even that Happy would have a home at the inn.<br /><br />What I did not love...<br /><br />I think I wanted a happier ending.  Things were still up in the air for Kat...I wanted her to be happy living in Maine with her own cake shop.  But...that is not the case...yet!<br /><br />Final thoughts...<br /><br />I loved this book.  It was not overly sweet.  It felt honest and real  and I loved the time I spent with it.  I wanted to be at that inn.  I wanted to be at that book store.  It just sounded real and good.

This is more like a 3.5 star book. It *would* have been 4 stars, but I graded it down 1/2 star for one line...the main character was reminiscing over a photo and talked about her family's trip to Walt Disney World and the family posing for a photo with Daffy Duck. Horrors! You don't make a mistake like that when there are Disney fanatics in the world! (LOL, but only kinda)<br /><br />Otherwise, it's a good women's fiction story with all of the right elements for a satisfying read.

Received this from Simon and Schuster, looks like a fun quick read.<br /><br />OK, so NOT a fun beach read. It's quite sad and not light at all. It is a quick read however. I guess I got a bit uppity when reading this one... It was OK, I wouldn't recommend it to my book snob friends looking for great literature but for someone looking for something easy and a little thought provoking I might.

The book is the story of the women of one family, each going through their own personal turmoil but being united by the weekly Meryl Streep Movie Club held at their guesthouse. There's family matriarch Lolly, who has her own daughter but took in her nieces when they were children after their parents were killed. The three girls think Lolly's distant and not overly affectionate, but when she summons them all to the guesthouse for a surprise announcement, they are left wondering what it could be. Lolly's daughter Kat is running her own cake business but is struggling with her love life and the expectations put on her. Her cousin Isabel, living a comfortable life and married to husband Edward is about to get a shock, one that will make her question everything she thought was true, and welcomes the break at Aunt Lolly's guesthouse. Then there's her sister June, a single mother to son Charlie, and whose heart is still in the past and damaged. Will June be able to find answers to hers (and Charlie's) questions, and will the Meryl Streep movie club make the four women closer again?<br /><br />What I loved about this book is how much it relies to family to work, and highlights the importance of letting your family take care of you when you really need them. None of the women in the story are especially close at the beginning of the book - sisters Isabel and June don't even speak unless they're at a family occasion, and Lolly and Kat aren't exactly a close mother and daughter. Yet events throughout the book enable the women to let down the boundaries they have built up and finally let the others in to help them, even if they can't be of much use, just for emotional support. I loved each of the female characters in the book, Mia March has written them to be really likeable and I found myself feeling sad along with Isabel and June, frustrated along with Kat and accepting along with Lolly.<br /><br />My favourite character was certainly Isabel. She's a bit of a snob at the start of the book, someone you can't expect to like but as the book goes on, I really warmed to her and felt sorry for her due to her circumstances. She is really going through a bad time, and I liked her development throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading June's story as well, how well she does as a single mother and her wanting to find Charlie's father - that was an intriguing storyline and it was really fun to read too. Lolly and Kat were also well written characters, and the mother-daughter relationship wasn't at all perfect which I am sure a lot of women will be able to relate to in different ways. The chapters are all written from different perspectives too, all in the third person, but the change allows the reader to get more involved in each of the stories, and I found it really fun to read.<br /><br />The issues in the book were all written so incredibly well. I don't want to go into any real detail here to avoid spoilers, but I found all the themes weren't easy but were weaved into the book beautifully and were each important for their characters in their own ways. I found the way March used Meryl Streep's movies at exactly the right part of the book to be fantastic, I haven't seen some of the movies but they are each perfect for the time they appear and for the characters to see something in them that helps them too. The whole thing is just beautifully written, from the lovely descriptions of Lolly and Kat's guesthouse, to the small town they live in - it all sounds perfect, and a great cast of likeable characters make it even better. This book will be a keeper on my shelf as I know I'll want to read it again, and this is certainly up there amongst my favourite reads this year, it's fab!

I am going to give this book five stars because I feel like it. It's not <i>everything</i>, but it was everything I <i>needed</i>. I am not sure I can put into words how much I needed to read this novel. I have been reading <i>tough</i> stuff lately, things that have made me leave my comfort zone, things that have made me think, perhaps a bit too much. I am glad I have read all those things, but I was starting to go a little crazy, I was starting to lose my ground. I bought this book because I liked the title. I mean, who doesn't absolutely adore Meryl Streep? Well, I do. And this family? Let me tell you, I am well aware that I have been told this story a thousand times before, the names were perhaps different and the contexts as well, but the basic storyline, I have known it by heart for years. To be honest, I am not even sure if it is that well written, for the translation made me doubt a few things. That was, until I got completely lost in their world. I became part of that family. And perhaps that does not happen to everyone, but it happened to me and I needed it to happen. A book will never be <i>just</i> a book for me. A book will always be a new door, a new way in, or perhaps out, depending on what you are looking for. <br /><br />I really must thank the author, Mia March, and whoever put this book where I found it. It was not as <i>light</i> as I thought it would be, but there was so much hope and comfort. It is okay to be <i>just</i> fine at times. It is okay not to be sure of where you want to go and of what you want to do. We were born in an universe of possibilities that go beyond everything we know and everything we don't. It is so immense. And it's terrifying, when you stop for a breath and you realize you have no idea of where you are going. But you know what? It is okay to be lost. One has to be lost before finding oneself. And that is the beauty. The ups and the downs and the in-betweens. It truly does not matter where you currently find yourself. It is not forever. Or perhaps it is, but John Green taught us that "<i>some infinities are bigger than other infinities</i>", which means that forever will last as long as you need it to. And you will be okay. No matter what.<br /><br />And this, people, is what happens when you read the right book at the right time. It all just makes <i>perfect sense</i>, even if just to you. But then again, isn't that the whole point?<br /><br />P.S. Somehow it made me think of Billy Joel's song <i>Vienna</i>.<br /><br />"<i>You've got your passion. You've got your pride,<br />But don't you know that only fools are satisfied?<br />Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true.<br />When will you realize Vienna waits for you?</i>"<br />

late last night....I finished the most wonderful book which I highly recommend, called "The Meryl Streep Movie Club." Do not let the title fool you into thinking this was a piece of forgettable fluff. It was a very well written, deeply felt novel, with great character AND plot driven prose. The main setting for the story is a B&amp;B in Maine, where 3 young women were raised by Lolly, who is mother to one of the women, and aunt to the other two. The nieces lost both their parents in the same moment the daughter lost her father, in an accident on New Year's Eve, that left 3 shattered little girls, and Lolly, the widow/mother/aunt to pick up the pieces. There are just a few pages dedicated in the beginning to those early years, and then we fast forward to the present, when Lolly calls the 3, now grown women, back to the inn so she can tell them some very significant news. <br />One of the women has just discovered something horrible about her marriage. Another had a child at 21 and has been searching for 7 years for that baby's father. And the 3rd never felt she could leave the area because her mother needed her at the inn, but she longed to bake pastries in fine European cities. THe women were never close as girls, even the 2 sisters, but life will change when they hear Lolly's news. There will new loves, new closeness, new careers, discoveries, and love. It was so beautifully done. I read it in 2 settings and was sad when I came to the last page. <br />The significance of the title is that each month there is a different theme for movie night at the inn. During the most important month (throughout the novel) the movies all starred Meryl Streep. The guests join the family for movie night and there are some good discussions, debates and lessons learned. This is one of my favorite books, one I now will never forget.