Girls in White Dresses

by JENNIFER CLOSE

“Oh, for God’s sake!” Lauren said. “I’m not pregnant, you morons.”

  “Oh,” Isabel a said. She shook the bottle and watched the worm swirl around. “That’s good news for baby.”

  “So you real y think you’l get married?” Mary asked. “Are you going to have a wedding or what?”

  Lauren shook her head. “No. No wedding. We were just talking about how we like living together and he suggested getting married, and I thought it sounded like a good idea.”

  “What the hel ?” Mary said. She looked at Lauren and then she looked at the bottle. Her eyes were pointing in different directions. “I think the worm just moved.” Mary hiccupped and laughed, then gagged.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Isabel a said, looking at the bottle. “You’re right. The worm turned.”

  Acknowledgments

  This book is dedicated to my parents, Pat and Jack Close, who deserve a mil ion thanks for their support and encouragement over the last few decades. M&D, you are the best.

  I am also forever thankful to:

  Kevin Close, for always wanting to read what I wrote and for thinking I’m funny.

  Chris and Susan Close, for so many things but especial y for giving me Ava Jane Close, the most adorable niece and goddaughter ever.

  Carol and Scott Hartz for opening their home to me, offering me legal advice, and most important, for welcoming me into their family.

  Sam Hiyate, a wonderful agent and friend, for taking a chance on me and my writing.

  Moriah Cleveland, for answering late-night e-mails about story ideas, editing at a moment’s notice, and just general y keeping me sane.

  Lee Goldberg, one of the first people to see this, who helped shape it early on and gave me reassurance that it was, indeed, a book.

  Steve Almond, a teacher that every writer should be lucky enough to have.

  Helen Schulman, who always told me to take a deep breath and start over.

  Margaret Kearney Hoerster, for eighteen years of best friendship.

  Mairead McGurrin Garry, Erin Murphy Claydon, and Erin Foley Bradley, for making me laugh al through col ege, and ever since.

  Wrigley, the Yorkie, who sat on my lap as I wrote most of this book. A more loyal writing partner wil never be found.

  Megan Angelo and Jessica Liebman, who offered early insights and edits for this book and were just as excited as I was every step of the way.

  Jon Claydon, for helping me to understand the life of a first-year lawyer.

  Jacob Lewis, the best boss ever and a good friend.

  Joanne Lipman, for hiring me at Portfolio, even though I said I wanted to be a fiction writer.

  My friends at Politics and Prose, who taught me more about booksel ing than I ever knew there was to know.

  Everyone at Knopf who has championed my book and made it better with each step: Sonny Mehta, Chris Gil espie, Pat Johnson, Paul Bogaards, Ruth Liebmann, Julie Kurland, Abby Weintraub, Mol y Erman, and Andrea Robinson. I am so lucky that my book found a home with al of you.

  My incredible editor, Jenny Jackson, who understood the Girls immediately, got this book into shape, and was able to see what I wanted to do before I even knew. I am so thankful to have you as an editor and friend!

  And final y, al my thanks and love to Tim Hartz, who cheered me on and calmed me down in al the right places, listened to me read sentences out loud with a great amount of patience, and always believed. You are truly my favorite.

  A Note About the Author

  Jennifer Close was born and raised on the North Shore of Chicago. She is a graduate of Boston Col ege and received her MFA in fiction writing from the New School in 2005. She worked in New York in magazines for many years and then in Washington, D.C., as a booksel er. Girls in White Dresses is her first book.

  Girls in White Dresses

  By Jennifer Close

  Reading Group Guide

  ABOUT THIS READING GROUP GUIDE

  The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that fol ow are intended to enhance your reading group’s discussion of Girls in White Dresses, Jennifer Close’s rol icking, irreverent, and poignant debut.

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  “Girls in White Dresses is about a group of smart, funny, unapologetical y grouchy, always-hungover female friends who kvetch their way through one another’s weddings and showers, stare blearily at one another’s offspring, sometimes barely tolerate one another’s men but nonetheless have one another’s backs through thick and thin. Jennifer Close has written an unsentimental, frank novel about female friendship—its permanent, lifelong loyalties and unconditional love.”—Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner Award–winning author of The Great Man and The Astral Wry, hilarious, and utterly recognizable, Girls in White Dresses tel s the story of three young women grappling with heartbreak and career change, family pressure and new love—al while suffering through an endless round of weddings and bridal showers.

  Isabel a, Mary, and Lauren are going to be bridesmaids in Kristi’s wedding. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, eat tiny sandwiches, and drink mimosas. They’re al happy for Kristi, but they do have the ups and downs of their own lives to cope with. Isabel a is working at a mailing-list company, where she’s extremely successful, and wildly unhappy. Mary is in love with a man who may never love any woman as much as he loves his mother. And Lauren, a waitress at a midtown bar, finds herself drawn to a man she’s pretty sure she hates.

  With blind dates and ski vacations, boozy lunches and family holidays, relationships lost to politics and relationships found in pet stores, Girls in White Dresses pul s us deep inside the circle of these friends, perfectly capturing the wild frustrations and soaring joys of modern life.

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  1. Which character did you relate to most closely, and why?

  2. How does Close use humor to convey character? Are the women themselves funny, or the situations they find themselves in?

  3. Ambivalence—toward jobs, men, apartments, and children—is a recurring theme in Girls in White Dresses. Why do you think that is?

  4. What did Isabel a learn from JonBenét?

  5. Several of the characters keep some pretty big secrets, such as the way Abby keeps her friends away from her hippy parents. How does this affect Abby’s life? How do the book’s other secrets affect the characters?

  6. What is the metaphor of the peahen?

  7. On this page, Isabel a thinks about her young nephew, Connor, “Al he wanted was to know what to expect. His world didn’t look like he’d thought it would, and she understood. How could he keep calm if he couldn’t see?” Who else does this describe?

  8. Why does “the ham” become so significant for Lauren?

  9. Mary wonders why nobody warned her that during her first year as a lawyer, “You wil be constantly afraid.” ( this page) What role does fear play in the women’s lives?

  10. “Kristi and Todd stood with their shoulders touching, wrapped in the cloth. It reminded Isabel a of the way that Lauren and Kristi used to huddle together, whispering and laughing at jokes that only they understood.” (this page) Why does Isabel a get so emotional during the

  “chuppah within a chuppah” wedding scene?

  11. Connect the dots between Shannon, Dan, Barack Obama, and the contestants on “The Biggest Loser.” Why is hope so important?

  12. Throughout the book, questions of identity pop up. For example, when a friend gets divorced and decides to keep her married name, Isabel a thinks it may be because, “She’s afraid no one wil remember who she is.” (this page) How do these characters determine who they are? By the end, who seems to have created the strongest sense of self?

  13. What is the turning point for Isabel a in her relationship with Harrison?

  14. Why is Lauren ready to cal the turtle Mark gives her Rudy, when she wouldn’t use that name for the goldfish?

  15. Discuss the last scene. How have the women changed over the course of the book? Who i
s the most satisfied with her life?

  16. Where do you imagine Isabel a, Mary, and Lauren wil be in five years?

  SUGGESTED READING

  Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin; Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner; Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy; The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan; How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto; Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

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