Overview

In a hazy 1960s Rhode Island summer, three disparate lives converge and combust in this riveting story of the empowerment women find in friendship, solidarity, and rage, from the author of Halfway to You. Winifred is blunt, opinionated, and outrageously colorful. In a community that demands domesticity, she simply doesn’t fit. When her wealthy husband suddenly dies, Winifred’s fellow society housewives no longer have a reason to play nice. Cast out entirely, Winifred throws roaring parties for the clerks and waiters that serve the town, finding the connections she’s been craving—and upsetting the gentle balance of her elite neighborhood in the process. Flailing artist Marie wants to paint over her past before the painful memories consume her. On the brink of making a longtime dream come true, her newfound friendship with Winifred might be the key to finally moving forward—or her undoing. High-society housewife June weathers a chronic pain that would make other women faint. With her veneer crumbling, she has no patience for the free spirit shaking up her community. Filled with a mixture of obsessive hatred and fascination for the outcast, June’s determined to destroy Winifred and return her life to the way it used to be. When slow-simmering summer secrets and resentments finally reach the boiling point, everyone is at risk of being burned. Polite Calamities explores what “community” really means when societal survival is at stake, and what happens when women decide it’s time to stop behaving and start living.

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9781662521089

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Reviews

“Vivid descriptions and lyrical passages abound: the reader can smell the salt of the beach and the alcohol-soaked parties Winnifred throws.” —Historical Novels Review “I adored this elegantly crafted tale of three beautiful messes crashing into one another amid the backdrop of high-society 1960s Rhode Island. Toeing the perfect line between tenderhearted and diabolical, Gold’s latest won’t let you go until after the explosive and uplifting denouement.” —Boo Walker, bestselling author of The Stars Don’t Lie

“I adored this elegantly crafted tale of three beautiful messes crashing into one another amid the backdrop of high-society 1960s Rhode Island. Toeing the perfect line between tenderhearted and diabolical, Gold’s latest won’t let you go until after the explosive and uplifting denouement.” —Boo Walker, bestselling author of The Stars Don’t Lie

Author Information

Jennifer Gold writes discussable book club fiction about love, second chances, and self-discovery. She’s the multiaward-winning author of The Ingredients of Us, Keep Me Afloat, and Halfway to You. When she’s not writing, Gold can be found traveling, enjoying the outdoors, or curled up with a book. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two cats. To hear first about Jenni’s upcoming novels, receive bonus content and sneak peeks, and chat with Gold directly, join her monthly newsletter at https://jennifergoldauthor.com/newsletter. You can also connect with Jenni on Instagram: @jennifergoldauthor.

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