The Red Hat Club — Haywood Smith
Five middle-aged red hatters meet every month at the Swan Coach House and discuss their lives, crack jokes and of course gossip, meanwhile following the sacred traditions of the Red Hat Club and hence being the best of friends even after thirty-six years. The book revolves around how these friends stick to each other and help a friend revenge her cheating husband while simultaneously sorting out their lives too.
Overview
The book revolves around five friends:
Georgia, the one with a stable yet boring and apathetic marriage and a hot ex-boyfriend.
Susu, one who is divorced and is trying to get the alimony from her husband and believes in enjoying oneself sexually.
Teeny, the timid one with strong moral character and an abusive husband.
Diane, the strong one who hits back hard when she finds about the secret mistress in her husband’s life.
Linda, the happily married one with lots and lots of money.
These five girls are former Mademoiselles, an exclusive high school group being a member of which is every girl’s desire in Atlanta. They are in mid-fifties and are still best of friends and strictly follow the traditions set by them like minding one’s own business, no secrets, giving space, etc.
Diane’s husband Harold has a mistress and a condo bought for her from their joint savings. This comes as a jolt to Diane and the club and they decide to find out all his dirty deeds and shove him to ground.
The ladies follow Harold, tape him and even photocopy his work documents and everything from his laptop. The outcome, Harold is cheating Diane for a young sleazy chick, has bought a condo for her, has been misusing their joint savings, has been a part of many shady deals in the bank where he works. All the evidence leads to a happy divorce for Diane on her terms leaving her on strong foot, her house and a good amount of money.
Meanwhile, Susu is still chasing her husband for alimony; Georgia comes face to face with her ex-boyfriend whom she still fantasizes but when chance was there she chose to be loyal to John, her husband; Linda is having a happy married life and Teeny manages to not only divorce her abusive husband but has also amassed a fortune of money through calculated and lucky investments.
I liked
The strong bond of friendship that stayed rock solid amidst age, marriage, struggles, and hardships. Each character was different and yet they stood for each other and was really good to read. Friendship truly reigns the world.
The book was fun and light and I enjoyed reading it. Nothing too literary but a book that you’d read after a long tiring day and instantly feel relaxed and happy.
The moment when Georgia had a choice to go back to Brad, her ex-boyfriend but chose John was really a good plot point. No matter what her fantasies were, when the ball was in her court she remained strong and loyal.
The revelations of where Pru was currently and who the Dominatrix was. It was all made clear. I hate it when certain characters or situations are left incomplete and you are left wondering, what about them!!
I didn’t like
There’s nothing in particular that I didn’t like except that at times I felt as if everything the ladies did was completed successfully without any hurdles. Like, the tracking and evidence gathering against Harold went as smooth as butter. I mean they were not professional spies. Teeny becomes a millionaire by investing and that too without anybody knowing. How plain can it get? Else I enjoyed reading this one.
Bottom Line
The book shows how women, when they stand for themselves and support each other can achieve even stars if they wish for them. When hurt, there are always two ways, sit back, cry and do so the rest of your life or stand up, fight back and show the world your worth. So, folks what do you think about this one?
Not all girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Some girls are made of sarcasm and wine and everything fine. — Internet Photo
