Kate Walbert’s novel in stories, Our Kind (2004), moves from collective to individual voices as country-club housewives from the 1950s pass through the ’60s to the ’70s, transitioning from newlyweds to empty-nesters, from selfless to independent. A dark, brave, sad humor can be found in many observations in the book. The women accept but secretly lament lost loves and lost opportunities, they take up causes with a ferocity that that they never used to fight for themselves, they share and bray and grieve and go on. The book was a National Book Award Finalist and New York Times Notable Book in 2004.
Imagine The Virgin Suicides meets Marilyn French’s The Women’s Room. And fans of Mad Men will feel a definite Betty Draper vibe.