The Riveter‘s editors touch on what makes these two stories worthwhile additions to your summer reading list.

by Joanna Demkiewicz and Kaylen Ralph

illustration by Grace Molteni

A tumultuous marriage and a stolen necklace: We dug up two book reviews from the archives (specifically, Issue 3) in honor of the paperback release of The Clasp by Sloane Crosley. Editorial director Joanna Demkiewicz writes on Crosley’s witty romp; Editorial development and brand director Kaylen Ralph writes about Lauren Groff’s wildly successful exhilarating relationship drama, Fates & Furies. 

The Clasp by Sloane Crosley

Sloane Crosley’s fiction debut, The Clasp (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015), is an ambitious romp through the lives of three friends who reconnect at a college friends’ wedding — Victor, who no longer works at a search engine company but still pretends to work at said company; Kezia, whose work for a whimsically insane jewelry designer often slips into personal-assistant territory, despite her second-in-command status; and Nathaniel, the writer babe who’s failing in Hollywood so he resorts to sleeping with models. All pushing 30, they each believe the other is doing better — how does that “assumption” saying go? “Don’t do it, otherwise you’ll make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’”? There are plenty of people making asses of themselves in The Clasp, in the most relatable ways.

Although the narratives switch among the three friends’ perspectives, the story pendulums back to Victor most frequently — and here is where Crosley shines. Because Victor’s skepticism drives others away, he serves as a witness. Early in the novel, he reminisces about his college crush Kezia — the unrequited love still feels fresh — and the illusions we maintain about being young: “It was in poor taste to acknowledge that college had been anything but a coming-of-age paradise,” he thinks. Victor’s self-deprecation for having not won the girl (and having recently lost the job) is relatable, despite his stunted curmudgeon status.

Alas, Crosley introduces a chance for Victor to redeem himself, which leads to a madcap adventure. After passing out on the groom’s mother’s bed at the wedding reception, Victor is told a family secret about an expensive necklace that went missing during the Nazi occupation in France. Empowered by this mystery, Victor cashes in his savings to seek out the necklace abroad. Thinking their dear friend is losing his shit, Kezia and Nathaniel follow him to France, where they disconnect from their New York/LA lives and engage in real talk. Meanwhile, Victor has gotten closer to locating the infamous jewelry, which may or may not be related to Guy de Maupassant’s timeless The Necklace — yes, that necklace.

Throughout the ironic twists and welcomed clichés (a love triangle, for example), humor remains the clear champion. In an interview with writer A.M. Homes at last year’s BookCon, Crosley spoke about the social uses of humor, and how it offers insight: “[Humor is] like putting the medicine in apple sauce…the medicine is how difficult it is to know anyone else.” The Clasp gives us a mighty dose of Crosley’s drug — but it’s not bitter. It’s harmlessly addictive, and a lot of fun.

 

Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff

In college, I read Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot (2012) and fell in love with the characters as they were falling in love with each other. After two of the Plot’s characters fall madly in love as students at Brown, they quickly marry. What ensues post-marriage is the kind of heartbreaking, rose-colored glass cracking that permeates Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies (Riverhead, 2015). Groff’s Lotto and Mathilde literally meet in a rainstorm, and their eyes actually catch across the room at a crowded party to celebrate Lotto’s college thespian success. Their fast relationship has the makings of a Shakespearean saga, and drama holds the story together in the most salacious and delicious way.

Drama, of course, comes with highs and lows. Eugenides is notorious for his realistic, oft-depressing portrayals of modern day relationships, as people grow older and lazier, or older and more interesting, or sometimes just older. In both the Plot and Fates, the men experience waves of depression and elation; their lows come with weight gain, eyes bloodshot with alcohol. The women keep time like a metronome on the family mantle, despite being some of the most twisted and complicated characters in each respective novel. Both novels benefit from the alternating perspectives between husband and wife. In Fates, Lotto and Mathilde tackle each topic to reveal their own motives and, inevitably, their flaws.

Although it would be too trite to compare Groff’s work to Eugenides’ simply because each novel tackles the complexities of the modern day relationship (especially since Groff is an accomplished novelist in her own right; preceding Fates and Furies are 2012’s Arcadia, 2009’s Delicate Edible Birds and 2008’s The Monsters of Templeton), it’s difficult — at first — to ignore the similarities.

Each story begins during the couples’ senior years of college (both at prestigious universities), but where the Plot ends, Fates is just beginning. It’s a story that has follow through — there are no skeletons left in any closets by the end. We watch a tumultuous marriage go from 60 to zero, then to infinity and beyond before the inevitable crash and burn; there’s a frenzied, frightening trajectory to their passion and their struggles before a conclusion that is satisfying, albeit terrifying. For better or worse, it’s one of those novels in which anyone who’s been in love will recognize him or herself. It’s not always pretty, but damn, was it a ride.

Joanna R. Demkiewicz is The Riveter‘s cofounder and editorial director. She works as a book publicist for Milkweed Editions. Find her on Twitter @yanna_dem and Instagram @yannademkiewicz.

Kaylen is The Riveter’s cofounder, editorial development director and brand director. She works as a personal stylist for Anthropologie. Follow her on Instagram @kaylenralph for books, fashion and a lot of content blending those two subjects. You can also find her on Twitter at @kaylenralph.

Grace Molteni is a Midwest born and raised designer, illustrator, and self-proclaimed bibliophile, currently calling Chicago home. She believes strongly in a “beer first, always, and only” rule, and is forever seeking the perfect dumpling. For more musings, work, or just to say hey check her out on Instagram or at her personal website.