Lovey French, Avis Binney Metcalf, and Dinah Kittredge Wainwright meet at Miss Pratt's, an exclusive Connecticut high school (presumably a thinly disguised Miss Porter's) in 1960. Gutcheon's fabulous book traces their lives throughout the next 50 plus years, with Lovey acting as the inadvertent conduit for the confidences and gossip that define and sometimes direct the course of their lives. All of us wonder "what if?" at various times in our lives. Gutcheon allows the reader to imagine what might have been over the course of these 3 women's lives if someone had made a different choice, spoken up, corrected a misconception, encouraged a confidence, or simply given in. All three women are successful: Lovey as an exclusive boutique owner and fashion consultant, Avis as an art buyer, and Dinah as a writer. Lovey is the common bond between Dinah and Avis, who are polar opposites, until their children, Nick and Grace, fall in love and marry. The book alternates points of view among the three women.
How would I describe Gossip? Compelling, elegant, subtle, insightful, and frightening are all words that come to mind. How fragile are our human bonds, how sacred the trust between friends. I'm still thinking "What if?" long after finishing this wonderful novel. Each of us is entrusted with confidences that could change the course of others' lives. When should we share and when should we respect the trust? We may not even be aware of what we should just forget we heard and when we should have spoken up, and we may feel guilty about the times that we decided that something is "none of my business." I always think that one of the signs of a good book (aside from not being able to put it down) is not being able to stop thinking about it when you are done reading. This is a good book!
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