Looking for your next read? Welcome to Bazaar Book Chat, an inside look at our editors’ Slack channel, where we candidly review the latest literary releases.Rosa Sanchez (senior news editor)Hello, @here! kicking off with another Bazaar Book Chat. For April, we read The Divorcées by Rowan Beaird.
Set in the 1950s, the novel follows Lois, who travels to a “divorce ranch” in Reno and befriends a group of fellow ex-wives. She gets particularly close with one mysterious woman, Greer, who urges Lois to imagine a different, brighter future, all while keeping the details of her own past hidden.The DivorcéesThe DivorcéesNow 10% OffFirst thoughts? What did you think of the Golden Yarrow? Were you aware that divorce ranches existed back then?Ariana Marsh (senior features editor)I didn’t know that they existed!Tiffany Dodson (associate beauty commerce editor)I was pretty much instantly hooked!
I thought it was really interesting how the author started the novel in the future and worked backward—also didn’t know divorce ranches existed in the ’50s!❤️1Joel Calfee (editorial and social media assistant)Okay, first off, I had no idea that divorce ranches existed, and I ended up in a deep spiral reading up about them when I started this book, lol. What a weirdly roundabout way to make that happen!Rosa SanchezSame. I had no idea, and after starting the book I went down a divorce ranch rabbit hole, and it’s so fascinating—awful what women had to do to get a divorce, but so interesting. It also lends to an intriguing space and situation for a story—a bunch of hurt women eager to break loose from their husbands, living in one place and going to the bar every night—and I think Beaird did a good job creating suspense in the first few chapters to ultimately lead us to the drama at the end.Joel CalfeeIt’s giving like the opposite of Don’t Worry Darling, hahaha.❗️2Rosa SanchezBut also weirdly controlled.Ariana MarshAgreed, I think setting the book at a divorce ranch was so brilliant because it innately led to really interesting explorations of class and gender and agency within a very specific framework.❤️1Tiffany DodsonTotally!
especially once the story revealed that there were different classes of divorce ranches in the area.❗️2Rosa SanchezThe conversation around class was sooo interesting. And how Lois feels so out of place with her clothes, and the women obsess over Greer because she seems like she might be rich.What did you think about the relationship between Lois and Greer and how it evolves as the story goes on?Ariana MarshAt first I loved [Greer] because she eschewed (now antiquated) notions of what a woman should look and be like at that time and challenged the girls to do the same. But as the book wore on, I definitely became wary of her.💯4She was all about not letting anyone control you as a woman, yet she definitely had some sort of control over Lois and the other girls.Rosa SanchezTotally. I was like, What a cool girl.
And then when she started giving them orders, I was like…Is she maybe crazy?💯1Joel CalfeeI thought it was interesting that no one knows Greer’s name at first. They just keep referring to her as “the new girl.” I think that automatically lent a sense of mystery to her character, and it suggests she wants to maintain this mystique or something.Rosa SanchezYeah. It took a sec for me to think she was hiding something bigger with all that mystery.re: their relationship, I feel like it became so much about obsession and desire and about Lois wanting not only Greer’s attention but also sort of to be her. On the other hand, I think we come to learn that other women build genuine bonds due to their shared experiences.
It feels like if Lois had given them the time of day, she would’ve been able to find a friendship like the one she was so eager to have with Greer.❗️2Chelsey Sanchez (associate editor)Honestly, Greer and Lois’s friendship reminded me somewhat of the friendship between J.Lo’s and Constance Wu’s characters in Hustlers lol. Or even Roxie and Velma in Chicago. Greer has that femme fatale thing going on.😂3Tiffany DodsonIn the beginning, I thought it was nice that Lois and Greer were building a friendship, since Lois felt so separated and awkward around the other women at the ranch. But as I kept reading, it kind of seemed like Greer was treating Lois like her little pet, instead of an equal, which was strange.
But I agree—Lois definitely wanted to be Greer at first, especially around the time she agreed to mend her loose button and ended up trying her shirt completely on.Joel CalfeeIt’s also interesting that early on, Greer calls Lois a liar lol. She’s like, “You tell everyone different stories.” Could you imagine someone you just met coming out guns blazing like that?❗️1Rosa SanchezThe shirt scene was totally giving Jacob Elordi’s bathwater vibes (from Saltburn).💀4Did any other women at the ranch intrigue you? Or did their storylines just push you to be more curious about Lois and Greer? I was pretty intrigued by the house mom (I forget her name) and how she seemed to genuinely care about the girls and was just left with nothing at the end.
Hers seemed like one of the saddest stories for me.Ariana MarshRita! I loved Rita. She seemed to know that Greer was bad news from the beginning. But no one would listen to her—and as a reader, I didn’t blame them.Initially, she seemed overbearing, but you come to realize that she’s probably seen some shit and has good instincts.❗️4Tiffany DodsonRita was just trying to keep everyone together!❤️2Chelsey SanchezRita and Greer seemed to be foils of each other—they both kind of represent these opposite outcomes of what it means to be an independent woman surviving divorce in the ’50s.️🔥3I also really felt for Mary Elizabeth throughout the novel.
She comes across as extremely naive in the beginning, but has endured probably some of the worst compared to the other women at the ranch.💯1Tiffany DodsonFrom the ongoing phone calls to her husband repeatedly showing up at the ranch to the Luminal—heartbreaking.❗2Rosa SanchezShe seemed so sad. And her insane husband really puts a lot of the domestic-violence issues back then into perspective. Like why some of these women had to literally escape to a ranch in the middle of nowhere.❗2How did you guys feel about the roles the men played in this—the husbands, the dudes at the bars, etc.?Ariana MarshI loved that they were always sort of in the background or secondary, since most stories that were told (in books, on film, etc.) during that time period rarely centered women.❤️ 1❗2 💯1Rosa SanchezAnd they were all so creepy!Ariana MarshExcept Charlie! But yeah, thinking about all the creeps that probably went to bars in Reno just to meet women going through divorce…it feels very icky.❗2Rosa SanchezI did feel kinda bad for Charlie, with some of the women saying he was too low-class and smelled like cows.😭 But again, very of the era with the class commentary.Ariana MarshTotally.
And he was so isolated.Chelsey SanchezIt felt like the function of nearly all the male characters was to show how this system was built to cater entirely to them. There’s the obvious example with Mary Elizabeth's ex-husband, who is overtly cruel and abusive; but even Lois’s ex-husband, who is initially portrayed as sweet and good-natured, exploits his wife’s position in society as someone without institutional power and agency. His behavior may seem benign, but it’s such an act of interpersonal violence to throw away your wife’s form of contraception…and then withhold the money you promised her after the divorce.❗3Ariana MarshThis! Even Lois’s lawyer tried asking her out after her divorce was finalized.
Like, sir.Chelsey SanchezRead the room!Rosa SanchezTotally agree. The lawyer was creepy and annoying, some husbands were violent, others boring and narcissistic. The men at the bar just wanted to take advantage of the girls. But it’s ironic that the person who ends up betraying the girls in the end is one of their own.Ariana MarshA sheep in men’s clothing.️🔥2Rosa SanchezSo accurate.So, throughout the book we get a big evolution from Lois, and despite how her relationship with Greer ends, do you think she needed Greer to find herself?Chelsey SanchezI do kind of think Lois needed Greer to evolve, but moreso because Lois needed genuine connection—which, up until she got to the ranch, she just didn’t have with anyone else in her life.
It’s clear that she was an outsider in school, and that her relationships with her family and ex-husband were superficial at best. Something about feeling seen by Greer probably allowed her to embrace herself in a way she never had before.❗1 💯1Ariana MarshI agree. I think she needed someone to also show her that an independent future post-ranch was possible, since none of the other women pursued that, really.❗2Rosa SanchezI also think that in becoming fascinated with Greer and seeing herself as an object of fascination in Greer’s eyes, she grew. She began to feel more confident in herself through the way she behaved and even dressed.
She was met with a choice to rebel and do the bad thing for once in her life—and then she pulled herself out of it. And in the end, despite how she feels about Greer, she does take her advice when it comes to men and, in some ways, to her own life as an independent, unmarried woman.❤️ 1Tiffany DodsonI agree—I think bonding with Greer was the impetus Lois needed to ultimately find inner strength as a single, independent woman and put herself first—even to eat the way that she wanted to!❤️ 2Rosa SanchezIt’s giving “thanK you aIMee.”💀2Rosa SanchezWait, side note, did anyone else find it weird that the author kept talking about thumbs? Thumbs bleeding, thumb marks. I thought I would eventually find the meaning, but I don’t know that I did.Ariana MarshWow, I didn’t even notice that.
I was obsessed with the descriptions of the food that was served at the ranch, though. They were my thumbs.😂3Joel CalfeeI was gonna say I noticed a ton of food descriptions too!!Chelsey SanchezOMG, I know I like a book’s writing when the food makes my stomach audibly grumble, which The Divorcées definitely did, lol.😂1Rosa SanchezhahahaOkay, final thoughts! What message, if any, did you get from the book and would you recommend it?I actually had a lot of fun reading this. I think it’s a book about friendships and betrayal and desire—in Lois’s and Greer’s cases, a desire to have a bigger life than they were given in an era when women rarely got the opportunity to ask for more.❤️ 2Ariana MarshI loved that it centered on a range of female characters who were fully developed and, at times, unlikable (gasp!).😂1❗2Chelsey SanchezLMAO.Tiffany DodsonOne message that stood out for me was that things aren’t always what they seem, even when you’re confident that you understand something to its fullest extent.
That can go for friendships, significant others, and people’s character in general. Would definitely recommend!❤️ 3Chelsey SanchezYes! More authors who aren’t afraid to write unlikable women, please!👏3Chelsey SanchezAlso, can I just talk fancasts really quick? Anya Taylor-Joy is so Greer-coded to me.Ariana MarshOMG, YES.Rosa SanchezOMG.Joel CalfeeI totally see that, oh my gosh.Chelsey SanchezHBO, make this happen now.❗2Tiffany DodsonLol to me, Greer also gives Blake Lively in A Simple Favor!❗2Rosa SanchezI could also see, like, Rosamund Pike.
She knows how to be secretly crazy.❤️ 1❗2Our Bazaar Book Chat pick for May is Real Americans by Rachel Khong. Pick up your copy of the book here, and read along with us.Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper's Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qa3RqZyrq5KWx6Kt0WeaqKVfmMKtwNSrnGiZoql6o7vOpKpmpaWotqR7wG9nb2tpZoZ1e8GasZqZomKvsLvKZpqhmaRirrG%2ByKVkqaGToHq1tMRmm6Kun6ewprHSZpmyZaKkxKK6jJucmqGimXw%3D