The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick is a witty, heartwarming, and refreshingly honest celebration of female friendship, self-discovery, and the quiet rebellion of living life on your own terms.
From the first few chapters, I instantly fell in love with the narration and how the story was going.
Margaret Ryan has it all. She lives her American dream—she is a housewife, has kids and lives in the best suburb. She must be happy. And she must not be ungrateful nor desire for more. But deep inside, Margaret believes she wants more from her life.
She starts a book club and invites her other housewife friends, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv. Soon the women realize they have far more in common than a love of reading.
Each character arrives with her own set of challenges: there is a career burnout, a recent divorcee, a woman facing retirement, a single mom juggling too much, and a free spirit searching for meaning. Their stories unfold with humour, vulnerability, and resilience, weaving together a rich tapestry of modern womanhood.
We must keep in mind that this is 1960s America, where women were fed with a dream that they were considered blessed if they were full-time housewives and that their men were the providers.
As a woman, I do not think that this is a hundred percent bad idea as when you have babies, you are needed as a full-time mother. If you have a job, it gets extremely overwhelming for a woman to handle both sick babies and whining bosses, with a man (husband) who expects you to smile on dinner table.
I believe this was the point historically when women decided that if we are doing all the household work and not even being acknowledged for it (a simple thank you works, too!), what is the point of doing all this when you are not even getting paid? For every transaction, as minor as a magazine subscription, you have to face and answer your husband. This is the point when a woman decides to take charge of her own decisions and make her own financial choices.
Some of the dialogues in the book are something many women can relate to. Like, a man asking: What else do you want? I provide you. Or… I am the one who works. I am tired. What have you been doing all day? Just sit home?
What men don’t see is that being a homemaker is also a full-time job. Looking after kids, feeding them, addressing their tantrums, managing groceries, cleaning the house, doing their laundry—it is an exhausting and yet unpaid and thankless job. And for what? You get to hear: What have you been doing all day?
Bostwick’s writing is warm, witty, and filled with emotional honesty. She explores themes of reinvention, resilience, and the importance of showing up for yourself—and for others. The book club becomes more than just a place to talk about literature; it becomes a lifeline. What makes this novel especially compelling is how the author balances depth with levity. The issues the women face—grief, betrayal, identity, aging, self-worth—are real and relatable, but the author handles them with such grace and wit that the novel never feels heavy. Instead, it’s uplifting and empowering, reminding readers that it’s never too late to change your life or embrace who you truly are.
Marie Bostwick’s The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a warm, witty, and life-affirming novel that celebrates the power of female friendship, personal reinvention, and the healing magic of books. It’s about women refusing to be confined by the roles society assigns them—whether as wives, mothers, employees, or caretakers—and instead embracing their own agency and individuality. The title itself is a nod to this rebellious spirit: being “troublesome” isn’t a flaw but a badge of honour.
Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Collins, for providing me with an Audio ARC.
Expected release date: 22 April 2025
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