Company of Women [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 1986

"A superb, stunningly written novel." The Philadelphia Inquirer
Raised by five intensely religious women and a charismatic, controversial priest, sheltered from the secular world, Felicitas Maria Taylor is intelligent, charming, and desperate for a taste of ordinary happiness. More freedom than she has ever imagined awaits her at Columbia University in the 1960s. There, Felicitas falls in love with the worst man for her -- with shattering results. Now she must turn again to the company of the women who love her as she struggles to embrace the future without betraying the past.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"A superb, stunningly written novel." The Philadelphia Inquirer
Raised by five intensely religious women and a charismatic, controversial priest, sheltered from the secular world, Felicitas Maria Taylor is intelligent, charming, and desperate for a taste of ordinary happiness. More freedom than she has ever imagined awaits her at Columbia University in the 1960s. There, Felicitas falls in love with the worst man for her -- with shattering results. Now she must turn again to the company of the women who love her as she struggles to embrace the future without betraying the past.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345329724
• ISBN-13: 978-0345329721
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,465,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still a fine novel after all these years., October 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Company of Women (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this novel twenty years ago and reread it again this year. The observations of the authour stand the test of time, a tribute to her deep insight into the decade. Felicitas is a precocious Catholic schoolgirl who elects to attend Columbia University in the sixties instead of a Catholic institution. She has already made up her mind to test the boundaries of her upbringing when she arrives, making her a easy conquest for her professor, the feckless and beautiful Robert. Robert may be a prof, but as the expression goes, deep down he is shallow. Robert and his hangers on espouse all the right sixties attitudes, but in rejecting the values of their upbringing they have lost their compasssion and humanity. These have been replaced by a dogmatic free love, free thought philosophy. The changes of the sixties were very positive in many respects, but there was dark side as reflected in this book. The character of Robert is incredibly on the money, self serving and predatory while espousing the anti establishment cliches of the decade. Felicitas' story mirrors the very real damage done to many in the sixties when they broke ties with their family and their values to follow the darker trend of the times. The novel is based partly on Ms. Gordon's own experience, although in interviews she indicates she experienced the more positive aspects of the times, and found the freedom and ability to play at Columbia liberating in a positive way.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sophomore Slump, April 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Company of Women (Mass Market Paperback)

Final Payments, Mary Gordon's first novel, and Men and Angels, are so extraordinary in their richness, complex and compelling characters, philosophical depth and control of language, that I can safely say Gordon is one of the most interesting writers working today. But this? Oh dear. Felicitas is a cliche, her involvement in the 60's leftest colegiate circle a cliche, her 70s single motherhood a cliche; the whole a mess. Skip this and buy a copy of Final Payments, probably one of the best first novels by an American writer in the 20th century. This is the dreaded Sophomore Slump at its slumpiest!

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life in the 60's is harsh, follow Felicitas on her journey, April 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Company of Women (Mass Market Paperback)

Felicitas, a young girl, was brought up by her mother, and he mothers friends. This closenit group of umnmarried, elderly women, and a priest,tried their hardest to bring her up the way they thought she should be, she was to be the chosen one, the one who would carry on their memories, and traditions. In trying to make her so perfect, what will she have to forfit?? Follow Felicitas on her way through college and motherhood.