The Hopefuls
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A brilliantly funny novel about ambition and marriage from the best selling author of Girls in White Dresses, The Hopefuls tells the story of a young wife who follows her husband and his political dreams to D.C., a city of idealism, gossip, and complicated friendships among young Washington's aspiring elite.
When Beth arrives in Washington, D.C., she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn't work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable, coordinating brunch, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy's star rises higher and higher, their friendship--and Beth's relationship with Matt--is threatened by jealousy, competition and rumors. A glorious send-up of young D.C. and a blazingly honest portrait of a marriage, this is the finest work yet by one of our most beloved writers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Close's (Girls in White Dresses) uneven fourth novel, writer Beth Kelly reluctantly leaves New York City to move to Washington, D.C., due to her husband, Matt, and his promising job in politics. He hopes to run for office one day, having been groomed for glory since childhood by his overbearing mother, Babs. Unfortunately, though he has the drive, Matt lacks the charm and charisma that his handsome friend Jimmy Dillon has in excess. With jealousy and admiration, Matt watches Jimmy fulfill his ambitions with ease. In the meantime, cosmopolitan Beth forges an unlikely friendship with Jimmy's unrefined but sweet wife, Ash. Though Close's novel is initially snappy and engaging, it becomes a slog once Beth follows Matt to Texas, where he begins work on Jimmy's local campaign. Unemployed Beth endures endless days of monotony and repetitive election talk, growing apart from Matt and Ash as Ash turns maliciously gossipy and Matt irritably begins to shut her out. The formerly tight foursome begin to get on one another's nerves, although Beth starts to think of Jimmy as more than a pal. The novel's strengths lie in documenting how stress changes people, the work that marriage requires, and the importance of having a passion of one's own. A welcome tension returns to the story as an inevitably fruitless election night looms, but not enough to recover the lost momentum of the book's tedious middle pages.
