The central themes contained in "The Ten Year Nap" include motherhood, marriage, career, and the individual meaning of life. It is mainly from the perspective of a variety of mothers, showing glimpses of husbands, partners, and children through their stories. All of them showed promise at something in the past, but many have given it up solely for motherhood. While some are content with this, others are not, and a few haven't had to sacrifice anything at all.
The main protagonist is most definitely Amy, but it doesn't mean she steals the show. In the same fashion as The Interestings, Meg Wolitzer gives each chapter a new perspective, gently over-lapping and intwining the resulting stories together, often non-chronologically, and often so that the importance of the scene is not fully realised until later.
"The Ten Year Nap" and "The Interestings" were the most interesting fictional stories I have read in the last month, perhaps even the last year. I am beginning to wonder if I have ever read anything as adult, as interesting, or as real as this before. Meg Wolitzer has changed my life in subtle but undeniable ways, and I am pleased and honoured to finally have stumbled upon her genius.
The moment I returned this to the library, I picked up another Wolitzer book they held. My current rule is 4 non-fiction books and 1 fiction book a week. It has been quite some time since I have been craving a fiction book, but this time I cannot wait for another of her adventures.
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