Modern Lovers

I listened to Modern Lovers on audio. It is light and entertaining with enough substance to keep you engaged. The narration is clear and distinct, so it is easy to drop into the story from the start.

The plot follows two couples who met in college and now live in a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood while raising teens. As former bandmates, they share a colorful past, and some of those issues resurface, unsettling their comfortable routines. The book touches universal struggles . . . midlife questions, parenting, losing your sense of self in a marriage, and money stress.

The characters are likable and relatable, which makes it easy to connect. Overall, it is a great pick for readers who enjoy warm, witty stories about messy real life. I will be reading more by this author.

Penguin Publishing Group (May 31, 2016) - Fiction - 368 pages

Friends and former college bandmates Elizabeth, Andrew, and Zoe have watched one another marry, buy real estate, and start businesses and families, all while trying to hold on to the identities of their youth. But nothing ages them like having to pass the torch to their own offspring. Back in the band's heyday, Elizabeth put on a snarl over her Midwestern smile, Andrew let his hair grow past his chin, and Zoe was the lesbian all the straight women wanted to sleep with.

Now nearing fifty, they live within shouting distance in gentrified Brooklyn, and the trappings of adult life have arrived with ease. But the summer their children come of age . . . and start sleeping together . . . the fabric of their lives begins to unravel. Secrets and revelations about themselves and about the famous fourth band member who soared and fell without them cannot be ignored.

Straub packs wisdom, insight, and humor into a satisfying story about neighbors and nosiness, ambition and pleasure, and the way passions never vanish. They evolve and grow with us.

1. Modern Lovers explores aging. How do the adults describe youth compared with the teens' experience. Which perspective feels more accurate, and why.

2. Lydia became a star and then died. How does her success and loss shape what Elizabeth, Zoe, and Andrew do now. What might be different if she had lived.

3. Was Andrew right to lie to Elizabeth about Lydia. How might things have changed if he told the truth from the start.

4. Should Elizabeth have gone ahead with the Kitty's Mustache documentary without Andrew's approval. Did that choice help or hurt their marriage in the end.

5. Does the fire at Hyacinth ultimately lead to a happier marriage for Zoe and Jane. Why or why not.

6. Are Ruby and Harry a good romantic fit, or too young to know.

7. Self image matters here. Where do the characters' ideal selves clash with reality.

8. How do the friendships change from college to early parenthood to middle age. How do shifting relationships shape the way each person sees themselves.