The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
The Hopefuls is a fascinating book to read during this fractious election season.
Editor Beth meets lawyer Matt in NYC shortly after 9/11 and they quickly fall in love and marry. He has grand plans to enter politics so they move to DC, where he works on the Obama campaign then tangentially for the Obama White House. They soon become best buds with another couple of tranplants, Ash(leigh) and Jimmy. Matt is kind of jealous because Jimmy's career seems to be taking off a lot faster than his is, but the 2 wives stay joined at the hip--until Jimmy and Ash move back to Texas--and Beth and Matt follow and move in with them(!) so Matt can run Jimmy's campaign for the Railroad Commission. So much togetherness starts highlighting the cracks in both marriages and in the friendship.
There are also a lot of scenes with Matt's raucous family, who think they're the Kennedys of Maryland. Matt's mother, Babs, in particular is quite a handful. Beth refers to herself as one of the "outlaws"--the spouses of her children that Babs feels aren't worth wasting her time on.
Beth's dry sense of humor and wry observations on life in Washington DC are one of the main reasons to read this book. But it's an interesting look at modern marriage and expectations.
Editor Beth meets lawyer Matt in NYC shortly after 9/11 and they quickly fall in love and marry. He has grand plans to enter politics so they move to DC, where he works on the Obama campaign then tangentially for the Obama White House. They soon become best buds with another couple of tranplants, Ash(leigh) and Jimmy. Matt is kind of jealous because Jimmy's career seems to be taking off a lot faster than his is, but the 2 wives stay joined at the hip--until Jimmy and Ash move back to Texas--and Beth and Matt follow and move in with them(!) so Matt can run Jimmy's campaign for the Railroad Commission. So much togetherness starts highlighting the cracks in both marriages and in the friendship.
There are also a lot of scenes with Matt's raucous family, who think they're the Kennedys of Maryland. Matt's mother, Babs, in particular is quite a handful. Beth refers to herself as one of the "outlaws"--the spouses of her children that Babs feels aren't worth wasting her time on.
Beth's dry sense of humor and wry observations on life in Washington DC are one of the main reasons to read this book. But it's an interesting look at modern marriage and expectations.
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