I just couldn't finish it. I lost interest mid way through the book and couldn't imagine what could pull me back in. I'm sorry!

A quiet, thoughtful novel about growing up and growing apart. I thought THE WEEKEND was a beautiful, understated read about the value of friendship and how our friendship tend to change over time.

I really liked the idea of a story about older women's friendships, and while that definitely delivered, I didn't love this one as much as I wanted to. My biggest issue was pacing, the slowness of it didn't have me rushing to pick it up. But I did really enjoy some of the themes (motherhood, expectations of many kinds, ageism) and it left me with a lot of interesting questions.

I should have loved this book. The Blurb tells us three older friends (in their 70's) gather to celebrate the life of Sylvia who has died. All the ladies have been successful in their careers but the group can't seem to function without Sylvia there to direct them. Secrets come out after too much wine and uninvited guests crash their gathering. Not sure why but I found myself skimming to reach a good part. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Four women in the seventies have been friends for forty years. When one of the dies, the rest must figure out the dynamics of that friendship.

After one of the group dies, the remaining three must come together over Christmas to clear out her vacation home where they have always spent the holiday together. Each woman has her own secrets to contend with. Now they are trying to understand who they are without the fourth member. An interesting look at aging, secrets, friendship and the ties that bind us together.

Three women come together after the death of a friend. They are now in their 70’s. Was an interesting read but not my favorite. I am sure others will love it.
Thankful for an advanced copy from net galley and the publisher.

This novel explores the complicated nature of female friendship. The three women in this story are getting together after the death of their fourth friend to clean out a beach house before it is sold. This was a great character driven read.

Sylvie used to own a seaside cottage in Australia. But now she is dead and her closest friends, Jude, Adele, and Wendy, all in their seventies, must pack it all up and come to terms with the new calculus of their relationships. Even if a surprise revelation at the end feels gratuitous, The Weekend is a sharp exploration of the evolution of female friendships, the trials of aging and our struggles with mortality. In the end, how do we live out our last years not knowing what tomorrow will bring? A bold and insightful dive into the mechanics of aging.

Since I forgot why I had requested the Weekend, I was completely surprised. It is a beautifully crafted look at the lives of three friends. All older, all accomplished in their own way . Each one is dealing with aging, loss. painful truths and acceptance of being elderly both in the eyes of others and of themselves. The writing is perfection. Flows along while you feel each persons pain and joys. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Thank you NetGalley for sending it my way. It is a treasure.

Carole P

The Weekend is an exploration of three characters who are, on surface-level, quite stereotypical. The three women- a scholar, a faded actress, and a controlling spinster- are dealing with the aftermath of their close friend's death. Throughout the book, we get insight into these women's pasts and how it shaped them to be the women they are today.
I am not usually a huge fan of character-driven plots but Wood's character work is undeniably attention-grabbing. I found myself invested in each of the character's lives despite the fact that they were not the most likable characters and they are in a completely different stage of life than me. The clever revelations about the past and its impact are engrossing. Though I was definitely invested in the characters, they weren't my favorite people. They had some major issues to work out within themselves and made many mistakes, but in the end, they came together and loved each other despite their flaws. That's true friendship, making friends family.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Riverhead for the ARC.

What happens when the real “glue” in a friendship of four dies, and the remaining three are left to cope without her? Mostly, they discover they don’t like each other all that much. After 40 years of friendship, Adele, Jude, and Wendy gather at Christmas to clean out their beloved Sophie’s house. Over the course of the weekend, the women, mostly internally, reflect on their lives, their friendship, and the indignities of aging. Charlotte Wood’s prose is often gorgeous and brutal, with observations about life and friendship that no one articulates, but we all know are true. The book is fairly bleak, though, and I would have to know a potential reader quite well before recommending it.

I just finished The Weekend by Charlotte Wood. Its the story of three 70-something women who come together over Christmas weekend to clear out the beach home of their friend Sylvie who had died a year prior. They have been friends for four decades but it is hard to understand how when they don't seem to like each other much. There is constant tension between the three as they each come to understand that Sylvie was the glue that had held them together.
There is a clear understanding of the author how women's bodies change with age and how different women handle it. Wood also brings the ocean to life in her scenes on the beach. As a mature woman myself, although more than a decade younger than these women, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Although I found it interesting, I kept waiting for something to happen. There were no deep conversations among the women, mostly internal dialog about their frustrations with each other.
They obviously still care about each other which becomes apparent only because they defend each other, I suppose as family might. But I question why they are friends, especially at their age if they don't have any respect for each other. I just wanted more from these women, I wanted to like them and I can't say I did.

Interesting book. This is not the type of book I'd normally choose but the summary sounded intriguing. Three women (and quasi friends) of advanced years gather to clean out the home of number four of the group died. Think of all the things that happen in a group that get glossed over because the most dynamic personality in the group wills it to be ignored. Now take away that person and watch the hidden fissures appear and grow, changing the group's dynamics and revealing serious relationship quirks and criticisms. That's what happens in this book.

Most of it takes place from one perspective, almost like inner dialogue. Uncomfortable, telling, and ...? I still have a bit to wade through so I'm skipping more and more of each page just to finish. I'd like to give this book three or four stars but am not sure that would be honest. Some other people will really like it, just not me.

The dynamics between the three main characters in this book are so well written I felt as if I was there with them. This book was sad though, because all of them regretted missing out on something that could have been.

While cleaning out Sylvie's house, who has just died, these three friends realize that she was their rock and touch point, and without her there friendship really isn't the same.

What I liked best about this book is that it is just about their lives and how they are still trying to live them.

I can't wait to read more by this author.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This was a really tough read. Lifelong friends Adele, Jude & Wendy come together one Christmas weekend to clean out their dead friend Sylvie's beach house. If these "friends" were married, I would tell them to get a divorce. From the petty thoughts about each other to the legitimate hatred, I cannot understand why they would choose to spend any time at all together. It is only when an outsider like Joe Gillespie comes in that they finally have a bond. The vivid descriptions of bodily functions, filth from mouse poop in the house, and that poor dog were a complete turnoff. I feel like the reader knows more about Wendy's relationship with her dog than we do about the relationship of any of the other characters. Put that poor dog down for its own good!! Pure cruelty to describe his suffering as the author did. I was hoping to relate to this story as I too have a close-knit group of 3 female friends. Having nothing to do with the age difference or that the story takes place in Australia, I could not relate to these women at all. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book.

3 lifelong friends meet at the home of one of the group's recently deceased friend to clean out her house. All in their 70s, we learn much about their younger lives, both separately and together as a group. Unfortunately, I did not find any of the women interesting, and they seemed to spend more of their time griping at each other about perceived wrongs from the past. I found the story annoying and did not finish the book.