Book Club: The Group

From the back of the book: The Group follows eight graduates from exclusive Vassar College as they find love and heartbreak, and choose careers and husbands against the backdrop of 1930s New York.

'Focussing on a group of New York friends, its open discussion of sex and contraception, careers and motherhood was unprecedented and it can now be seen as the precursor of the women's novel - without The Group there would certainly be no Sex and the City.' Independent

'She's so funny and bitter and clear-sighted and witty that it was a real joy to read.' Marian Keyes

The Group was our second book club read, following The Interpretation of Murder. Like Rubenfeld, Mary McCarthy offers an old New York City. The glitz and glamour of the 1930s hits Manhattan but the aftermath of the Great Depression and the gradually increasing chances of a second war in Europe does its best to overshadow it.

Despite McCarthy doing a great job of setting the time and place, the best thing about this book is the fact that the concerns of the young women at the centre of the novel are the same as they would be today. The Carrie Bradsaws and the Miranda Hobbs of the 1930s still talked about being terrible mothers, not finding Mr Right, whether to have sex with Mr Nearly-Right and having enough money to buy the coat that is far too expensive. There's plenty of humour in this book and the group's dynamic is, I thought, very believable.

That aside, though, I think we did all feel a bit cheated at the book club. It was sold to us, courtesy of Candace Bushnell's introduction and a couple of quotes on the back of the book, as the original Sex and the City and, in terms of subject, it is. However, the whole book's tone was different and the constant time-changes made it, at times, difficult to follow. The characters were believable, yes, but sometimes we felt that just as you'd started to feel some kind of affection for one character, you'd be back in time talking about a new one who you cared nothing about. There's also a slightly darker feel to this book; something that goes beyond a simple drunken argument with the boyfriend.

All in all, it's a great snapshot of 1930s NYC and young culture. It obviously was original upon publication in terms of its frank discussion of sex and women's issues but I fear that we have become so used to seeing sex and taboo subjects, that it just doesn't quite have the same effect.

We ended up giving it an average of 6/10