She has argued that sprawling novels by women rarely make it into the 'top tier of literary fiction', and while this one isn't flawless, it deserves attention. Wolitzer explores her themes seriously, but there's also enough lightness, pace and wit that it's easy to tear through the book in a day. The ultrasound technician she marries argues that 'specialness' isn't necessary to live well, but it's not until middle age that she realises, 'you could cease to be obsessed with the idea of being interesting'. Through well-tuned drama and compassionate humor, Wolitzer chronicles the living organism that is friendship, and arcs it over the cours of. The book is ambitious, encompassing Aids, autism and 9/11, but it's best when dealing with details, like the involuntary, guilty way Jules weighs the value of her life against those of her friends. 'In Meg Wolitzers lovely, wise The Interestings, Julie Jacobson begins the summer of 74 as an outsider at arts camp until she is accepted into a clique of teenagers with whom she forms a lifelong bond. He reflects, as a middle-aged millionaire, that talent relies for its fulfilment on 'economics and disposition', and luck.

With this book Wolitzer has surpassed herself.The New York Times Book Review 'A victory. The group is rounded out by a passionate dancer, a gifted musician and an alpha-male heartbreaker, but as their lives move on, intertwine, separate and reconnect, it's only Ethan, who creates a Simpsons-like TV hit and pairs off with Ash, for whom things fall entirely into place. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer: 9781594632341 : Books Remarkable.