Commencement ( Vintage Contemporaries Series) (Paperback) by J. Courtney Sullivan
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br> In this sparkling debut novel, four very different young women develop a bond when they are assigned to the same dorm in their freshman year of college. When they reunite for a wedding four years after graduation, their friendships have changed, but they remain fiercely devoted to one another. <p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br> The bestselling author of <i>Maine</i> brings us a sparkling tale of friendship and a fascinating portrait of the first generation of women who have all the opportunities in the world, but no clear idea about what to choose. <p/>Assigned to the same dorm their first year at Smith College, Celia, Bree, Sally, and April couldn't have less in common. Celia, a lapsed Catholic, arrives with a bottle of vodka in her suitcase; beautiful Bree pines for the fiancé she left behind in Savannah; Sally, preppy and obsessively neat, is reeling from the loss of her mother; and April, a radical, redheaded feminist wearing a "Riot: Don't Diet" T-shirt, wants a room transfer immediately. Written with radiant style and a wicked sense of humor, <i>Commencement </i>follows these unlikely friends through college and the years beyond, brilliantly capturing the complicated landscape facing young women today. <p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br> "One of the year's most inviting summer novels. . . . A smart, discerning book about school years. . . . Sullivan introduces strong, warmly believable three-dimensional characters who have fun, have fights and fall into intense love affairs. . . . Gloria Steinem likes <i>Commencement</i>. She ought to; the women of <i>Commencement </i>are big fans of hers." --<i>The New York Times<br></i><br>"Wickedly sharp. . . . Ms. Sullivan's voice is funny and smart. . . . A fun, fresh . . . insightful read." --<i>The New York Observer<br></i><br>Offer[s] a witty take on the stereotypes of women's colleges, much as Curtis Sittenfeld's <i>Prep</i> did with elite boarding schools. . . . Sullivan's gifts are substantial. --<i>The New York Times Book Review</i> <p/> "Manages to find that sweet spot between Serious Literature and chick lit. <i>Commencement</i> is a beach book for smart women." --<i>Entertainment Weekly</i> <p/> "This story about four Smith College students and the paths they follow post-graduation celebrates friendship and explores modern-day feminism. At the same time, it's just a really devourable read--think a 2009 version of Mary McCarthy's <i>The Group</i>." --<i>Cookie </i>magazine <p/>"<i>Commencement</i> is much more than a novel about academia or young women. It's a thoughtful, engrossing study in lives transformed and relationships realigned, full of details and dilemmas that speak to a broad audience." --<i>The Onion</i>'s A.V. Club <p/>"Sullivan is a keen observer, with a wry sense of humor." --<i>Chicago Tribune </i> <p/>"Garnering rave reviews. . . [<i>Commencement</i>] delves into the complex choices young women face today." --<i>The Boston Globe</i> <p/>"Take Mary McCarthy's <i>The Group</i>, add a new feminist generation striving to understand everything from themselves and their mothers to the notion of masculinity that fuels sex trafficking, and you get this generous-hearted, brave first novel. <i>Commencement</i> makes clear that the feminist revolution is just beginning." --Gloria Steinem, co-founder of <i>Ms.</i> <p/>"Brave. . . . Sullivan . . . excels at close-up portraits. . . . A novel with so much verve." --<i>The New York Times Book Review</i> <p/>"Sullivan writes fiction you might expect from a journalist: Her clean, precise prose stays carefully neutral and balanced, even as she shifts points of view from chapter to chapter. . . skillfully blending their stories. . . . Their struggles, reactions and decisions feel real. How they pull through--and pull together--proves inspiring." -<i>Philadelphia City Paper</i> <p/>"Convincing and unique."--<i>Elle </i>(Winner of the <i>Elle </i>Readers Prize) <p/>"As [<i>Commencement</i>] takes the women from their first shaky steps toward independence through the ups and downs of their 20s, you'll relive--and celebrate--the stomach-dropping moments of the best friend-relationship roller-coaster." --<i>Redbook </i><br><i> </i><br>"[An] intelligent, diverting debut." --<i>People </i><br><i> </i><br>"Sullivan tells an involving story of four students from different backgrounds who share quarters at Smith College. . . . Chick lit with depth and engagement." --<i>New York Daily News </i><br><i> </i><br>"Totally entertaining." --<i>The New Haven Register </i> <p/><i>"[Commencement is] layered with love and honesty and promises that friendship perseveres when nothing else might or seems to." --Glamour.com </i><br><b><i> </i></b><br>"Sullivan's debut novel, <i>Commencement</i>, works like a backstage pass to a world I barely knew existed--the elite contemporary women's college, the world of Smithies--with their rampant anagrams (including my favorite, S.L.U.G., Smith Lesbian Until Graduation), fluid and complex sexuality, eccentric traditions, arch politics, and, most of all, incredibly deep and enduring friendships."<b> </b>--Bridget Asher, author of <i>My Husband's Sweethearts</i> <p/>"Many writers have tried to duplicate <i>The Group</i>. . . J. Courtney Sullivan comes admirably close. McCarthy was very much of her era, and so is Sullivan." -<i>Entertainment Weekly</i> <p/>"Sullivan has honed in on so much of the utter anguish of adolescence and young adulthood. Her characters are brilliantly flawed, intensely realistic, thoroughly compassionate, and often incredibly funny." --<i>BookPage </i> <p/>"<i>Commencement </i>is an accomplished, compulsively readable novel about the intricate bonds of female friendship. A literary page-turner at once entertaining and moving." --Dani Shapiro, author of <i>Black & White</i> <p/>"Sullivan's description of Smith's strange social mores are nuanced and precise, conveying with a refreshing sense of humor the challenges and frustrations that Smith brings while still making plain her deep love for the college. Women who read <i>Commencement </i>will undoubtedly feel a part of the sisterhood." --<i>Louisville Courier-Journal </i> <p/>"In the spirit of Curtis Sittenfeld's <i>Prep</i> and Mary McCarthy's <i>The Group</i>, J. Courtney Sullivan delivers an engrossing, multi-layered tale of women, friendship, and the fascinating institution of higher education that shapes and influences them. <i>Commencement</i> is the can't-put-it-down novel that you will recommend to your best friends this summer."<b> --</b>Elin Hilderbrand, author of <i>Barefoot</i> <p/>"I was deeply engaged by the characters and their complexity. . . . One of the differences between fiction and literature is that the latter thrives on layers of ambiguity and ambivalence, and in <i>Commencement </i>I see the launch of a literary career." --Nicholas Kristof, nytimes.com <p/>"Sullivan writes with a verve and ambition that makes the novel's four friends into real women, besieged--as real women are--by confusion, joy, and compromise. I enjoyed every page of <i>Commencement</i>." --Martha Moody, author of <i>Best Friends</i> and <i>The Office of Desire</i> <p/><br></br><p><b> About The Author </b></p></br></br> <b>J. COURTNEY SULLIVAN</b> is the <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author of the novels <i>The Engagements </i>and <i>Maine. Maine</i> was named a 2011 <i>Time </i>magazine Best Book of the Year and a <i>Washington Post</i> Notable Book. <i>The Engagements</i> was one of <i>People</i> Magazine's Top Ten Books of 2013 and an <i>Irish Times</i> Best Book of the Year, and has been translated into seventeen languages. She has contributed to <i>The New York Times Book Review</i>, the <i>Chicago Tribune</i>, <i>New York </i>magazine, <i>Elle</i>, <i>Glamour</i>, <i>Allure</i>, <i>Real Simple</i>, and <i>O: The Oprah Magazine, </i> among many other publications. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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