Aria Beth Sloss's debut novel Autobiography of Us follows the destiny of Rebecca Madden, an intelligent young girl growing into womanhood in late 1950's America. Intelligent and passionate about biology, she has great ambitions for the future but, despite the promise of the swinging sixties just around the corner, society isn't quite ready to release women from the shackles their sex imposes on them just yet. Wanting so much more than her own mother's dreary lot, Rebecca is swept along by the effervesence of her best friend, the beautiful and theatrical Alex, but will things really be any different for this new generation of women ?
Despite the historical references placing the novel firmly in its context, the basic plot is timeless and universal - young girls trying to find their way into adulthood, making their fair share of mistakes and living with the consequences, and invariably settling for second best depite all their best intentions.
It is well written with some poignant scenes and it really makes you think about the circumstances our mothers and grandmothers grew up in and what they could have made of themselves in another time and another place. On the whole, though, I did find it dragged on a bit with very little action and a general air of depression and morosity. I like to read at the end of a busy working day to switch off, unwind and escape into an exciting plotline or a feel-good romance so this isn't really the ideal reading material for that mindset. If you want something a bit less frothy and frivolous than the usual poolside chicklit, you could do a lot worse though.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £14.99
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Picador (9 May 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1447233344
ISBN-13: 978-1447233343
Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 3.2 cm
Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book.
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I pretty much read autobiographies all the time now, so might have a look at it on Amazon..
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