It Is Not About Women Giving Up Their Careers

While it might be the case that The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer has one of the best titles in all of fiction, it is not one of the best "feel good" books in all of fiction.

Though, in all fairness, it is not that the book promises to be "feel good" (guess there is that). But, it does promise to be about choice in the vein of a fictionalized The Feminine Mistake by Leslie Bennetts (mentioned that here).

The description says that the book is about the "opt-out" generation (i.e. women who have promising careers who give them up to stay home with children).

After reading it, things change.

It is not really about that. In fact, it is not really about women (though, most of the characters are women).

The Ten-Year Nap is about massive "existential angst". And, believe it, every character has it (the women, the men and even the kids are so wound up they seem nuts). It scores a 10+ on the depression meter.