In the Meantime by Robin Lippincott

Author: Robin Lippincott

Release Date: September 2008

Category: General Fiction

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Summary: Kathryn, Luke, and Starling met at the ages of 5 and 6 in the early 1930s; and became inseparable from that moment on. From elementary to early high school they attend the same schools and are constantly at one of their houses, usually Starling’s. But as they get older, so do the cruelties and insults from people that don’t understand them or their friendship, and so Starling and his family move across town, away from the hostility expressed by some of the more aggressive high school bullies. They continue their friendship regardless of the distance that is, until something happens between Luke and Starling that causes a separation between the two and Kathryn is left in the middle, and left to mend the boys’ friendship. We follow the three from a small Midwestern town, to New York City where they hope to follow their dreams, and then we follow Kathryn to Boston. We see Luke turn into a successful publisher and bachelor for life, Starling a struggling actor and then a worse fate, and Kathryn a student, then a married woman and adulterer.

Review: In the beginning the book can be a little hard to read, but once you get past the first 30 or so pages, it becomes interesting, relatable, and totally engrossing. This is a story that follows about 70 or so years through some of the hardest times in history, but ending only days before September 11, 2001. I believe the author did that for a reason also; it seems despite the wars and the depression and the like, these three characters lives were fairly innocent and continuing on would have left them a lot less innocent. There is a chapter where you see three similar friends in Hiroshima, and you also see the outcome of those friends when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and I should give a warning that this chapter is disturbing and detailed. This is definitely not a story for everyone, but it is a good read; it puts things into perspective at times and can really make you think and I think anytime a book makes you think, that’s a good thing.