Welcome to Litsy!

His collection of interconnected short stories, an elderly friend group with a long history, and the tales of life transitions large and small is a delight to read. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2024/06/review-ladies-lunch-by-lore-segal.html

I‘ve recently listened to Segal read one of her stories for The New Yorker Writer‘s Voice Podcast. I love her wit&dialogues, the way she writes about senior Jewish women in New York& in particular about those who are survivors, were born somewhere else& to some extent are still rooted in the countries that betrayed them &murdered their families. My favourites are Making Good & of course Ladies‘ Lunch.

I liked this short story collection a lot more than most readers on Goodreads who overwhelmingly couldn‘t “relate” to the characters. I, however, totally got these friends who had been meeting every month for over 40 years—totally got the lost trains of thought, interrupting, rehashing of old scandals, moves into assisted care facilities, reminisces about the darkest corners of the past. A fast, funny collection about friendship and aging.

I both enjoyed and appreciated this short book of stories by an elderly writer focusing on elderly characters. There is much clear-eyed awareness in it of the inevitability and proximity of death, which also makes it a bit melancholy.

For reasons totally within my control, I did not read anything yesterday so in starting this one, it‘s not just my #doublespin book for the month, it‘s also my first book for #lastfirst.

Afternoon delight with pumpkin spice tea and a orange cranberry scone.