Simply stated, Five Brides tells the stories of five different women, all roommates in Chicago, who are in their early 20's during the 1950's. These women could not be any more different from one another, yet on a rare day when all five are together (because their jobs keep them on the go and often away from the apartment), a day spent window shopping takes an interesting turn when they spontaneously pool their money and purchase a wedding gown. Not a single one is yet engaged, and several aren't even involved with a man) they create a plan for using this amazing gown they have found, that fits them all beautifully.
Despite this turn in the plot, the book is much less about the gown and way more about the lives of these amazing women:
- Joan, from England, a real go-getter that lets nothing stand in her way from what she wants
- Betty, a Chicago socialite with connections everywhere who suddenly finds herself cut off from her parents financial support
- Magda and Inga, sisters from Minnesota with VERY strict parents about the rules governing the conduct of women
- Evelyn, the sweet Southern girl from Georgia, who finds Chicago cold and strange compared to her rural farm life in S.C.
Everson tells this story of these amazing women in such a detailed way that you are drawn into their lives and into their hearts and you can't help but love them all. They are strong, fearless, and they refuse to let life pass them by as they work hard to live the lives they have always dreamed at a time when women were just beginning to gain strength in the working world. Five Brides makes me proud to be a woman, yet it also makes me think that I have not done enough to further the feminist cause, but every woman must do what she must do. And in the spirit of the book, I have followed the path that God had planned for me, no matter how curvy.
Read this one. You will love it.
Happy reading, everyone!
-Dodie
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