Rowan Beaird's first novel, The Divorcées, draws readers into a singular historical time and place: the so-called "divorce ranches" surrounding Reno, Nev., in the 1950s. State laws allowed for quick and painless divorce--an exception at the time--for Nevada residents of just six weeks. In Beaird's lushly imagined novel, Lois has chosen to leave a loveless marriage. She travels from Chicago to Reno, where she is installed at the Golden Yarrow with a handful of women like her, putting in their six weeks before being able to divorce: young to middle-aged, with some financial security but limited options, choosing to leave husbands who have been unfaithful, abusive, or simply disappointing.
Among these women, Lois has the unprecedented experience of making friends and forming bonds, eventually with one woman in particular. Greer Lang is beautiful, forceful, magnetic, and she seems to think Lois is special, too. Under the spell of this connection, Lois blossoms into a new version of herself, empowered and titillated. At the Golden Yarrow, she sees "the marks of men" on abused women and imagines other possibilities, paths at the ranch "cracking open to her like different branches of a tree."
Beaird's writing is lovely, and her protagonist is perceptive: "Perhaps [young girls will] learn something none of the ranch's guests had until after they were wed, and be better for it." The Divorcées is tender and compassionate, wise and incisive, and gorgeously rendered, even in heartrending moments. Lois's journey of growth and exploration forms an unforgettable debut. --Julia Kastner, librarian and blogger at pagesofjulia