Meg Wolitzer's new novel "The Interestings" revolves around six friends and their lives over the next 40 years.
Meg Wolitzer's new novel "The Interestings" begins with the meeting of six individuals at a summer camp called Spirit-in-the-Woods, during which they become friends. The novel goes on to narrate their lives over the next 40 years; filled with talent, coming-of-age, friendship and success.
Jules, one of the six friends, is described as one of the girls who doesn't pursue her artistic dream. During the camp, she hasn't discovered herself yet and calls the other five girls at camp the "French Movie stars" because she finds them so sophisticated.
"She's one of those kids - and I was one of those kids, so I feel that I have a little right to know something about it - who have a kind of small amount of talent in this field, acting. They're good in the plays they put their heart into it, but they probably can't make a full life out of it. And I've always felt, really looking back on the passions that people have when they're young: of course they should be supported in a huge way and not really have to dwell on will [it] become a full career. But for her [Jules], acting is a kind of way into feeling, is a kind of way into personhood, into being who she ultimately will be," says the author.
Ethan and Ash are two of the other characters of the book that are the most successful of the friends. The author describes Ethan as the "creative genius" of the book who marries Ash, Jules' beautiful best friend.
Wolitzer says that through her book she wanted to express her opinion about success, saying that success is all about luck and class. People who are born into families with connections more often than not have it easier than other kids.
"Like if you were an artist, instead of getting a job as a paralegal, maybe your parents would give you money and you could go off and rent the cottage of a friend in Maine and you could really write a novel there. Whatever it was, she (Jules in the book) didn't understand that that was going to happen. She thought it was all even and it was all fair, and of course nothing's even and nothing's fair," says the author.