This one’s got it all: labor strikes, tense dinner parties, affairs, Marxist bros, strained marriages, and even a little murder! Things get a little more interesting now that Elena and Lila are adults and I’m enjoying the payoff from previous books.

Lila and Elena basically switch places in this book: suddenly Lila is working a successful, high-paying job and Elena is trapped in a stale marriage, unable to work. It’s easy to feel frustrated with Elena (she’s a terrible friend and is seriously projecting into Lila!), but I realized that, just as Lila is a driving force for Elena’s academic success, Elena represents an idealized life for Lila. It’s hard to live up to that standard after a while, and it was hugely satisfying to watch Elena pretty much blow up her life at the end.

Looking forward to seeing the mystery of missing Lila solved in the next book!