The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer Summary

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer follows six teenagers who meet at an arts summer camp in 1974 and chronicles their friendship over forty years into middle age. The novel explores how youthful talent and ambition diverge into vastly different adult outcomes, examining themes of envy, class, creativity, and the compromises of adulthood as some characters achieve extraordinary success while others settle into ordinary lives.

Meg Wolitzer is a New York Times bestselling author born in 1959, daughter of novelist Hilma Wolitzer, known for exploring relationships, ambition, and modern womanhood. The Interestings showcases her astute observations about friendship, marriage, and the gap between youthful potential and adult reality through richly drawn characters whose internal lives feel authentic and deeply relatable across decades.

The Interestings is worth reading for its masterful character development, profound insights into universal experiences like envy and unfulfilled potential, and Wolitzer's ability to capture authentic human emotions. The novel employs a compelling non-linear narrative that weaves past and present, offering both poignant observations and dark humor while examining how formative friendships shape adult identities over forty years.

The Interestings appeals to readers who enjoy character-driven literary fiction exploring lifelong friendships, those grappling with questions about talent versus success, and anyone interested in how privilege and class shape outcomes. It's ideal for readers in their 30s and beyond who can relate to the gap between youthful dreams and adult realities, as well as book clubs seeking discussion-worthy themes about envy, marriage, and creativity.

The Interestings explores how talent doesn't guarantee success, examining the corrosive nature of envy when friends' fortunes diverge dramatically. Wolitzer investigates the roles of class, money, and privilege in determining life outcomes, the burden of unfulfilled potential, and how friendships endure despite vast differences in wealth and achievement. The novel also delves into the quiet compromises of adulthood and marriage.

Jules Jacobson abandons her dream of becoming a comic actress for practical work, while her friends Ethan Figman and Ash Wolf achieve extraordinary artistic and financial success. Jonah Bay, a gifted musician, stops playing guitar to become an engineer. Goodman Wolf's laziness and later scandal dramatically alter the group dynamic, while Cathy Kiplinger's path reflects different challenges with talent and ambition.

Spirit-in-the-Woods represents a utopian haven where artistic expression and intense youthful bonding flourish, contrasting sharply with ordinary suburban reality. Set in the Berkshires during the summer of Nixon's resignation in 1974, the camp serves as the formative setting where six teenagers dub themselves "The Interestings" and forge friendships that will define and complicate their adult lives for decades.

Meg Wolitzer explores the burden of possessing moderate talent through characters who discover that being "only a little special" creates unrealistic expectations and profound disappointment. The novel argues that minimal talent can be more plaguing than having none, as it promises just enough potential to fuel ambition without providing the extraordinary ability needed for exceptional success in competitive creative fields.

• "To own only a little talent...was an awful, plaguing thing...being only a little special meant you expected too much" captures the novel's central theme about moderate talent creating disappointment.
• Jules's realization that "maybe it was always money...or connections" critiques meritocracy, suggesting inherent ability requires privilege's scaffolding.
• Goodman's confession about being a "fuckup extraordinaire" reveals the pressure of parental expectations.

The Interestings examines how enduring friendships strain under vast economic disparities, particularly through Jules's acute awareness of her and Dennis's modest lifestyle compared to Ethan and Ash's extraordinary wealth. Wolitzer astutely portrays how envy operates in close relationships—not destroying bonds but creating uncomfortable undercurrents as friends navigate different social circles, opportunities, and the subtle hierarchies money creates.

Meg Wolitzer employs a non-linear narrative masterfully weaving 1974 camp memories with present-day adult lives, revealing how youthful decisions shape decades later. She uses intimate third-person perspective shifting between characters—particularly Jules, Ethan, and Jonah—providing deep access to unspoken motivations and insecurities. Subtle symbolism like "teepees" representing innocence and recurring metaphors underscore themes of change and elusive happiness.

The Interestings argues that talent alone doesn't determine success—money, class, and connections provide crucial scaffolding. Jules observes that Ash's career benefits from wealth and privilege rather than superior talent, challenging meritocratic ideals. The novel demonstrates how economic background shapes access to opportunities, risk-taking ability, and the luxury to pursue artistic dreams without financial compromise, fundamentally altering life trajectories.