The Divorcées

A Novel

By: Rowan Beaird

Narrated by: Bailey Carr

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

A "delicious" (Rebecca Makkai) and "deeply compelling" (Lauren Groff) debut novel set at a 1950s Reno "divorce ranch," about the complex friendship between two women who dare to imagine a different future

Lois Saunders thought that marrying the right man would finally cure her loneliness. But as picture-perfect as her husband is, she is suffocating in their loveless marriage. In 1951, though, unhappiness is hardly grounds for divorce—except in Reno, Nevada.

At the Golden Yarrow, the most respectable of Reno’s famous “divorce ranches,” Lois finds herself living with half a dozen other would-be divorcees, all in Reno for the six weeks’ residency that is the state’s only divorce requirement. They spend their days riding horses and their nights flirting with cowboys, and it’s as wild and fun as Lake Forest, Illinois, is prim and stifling. But it isn’t until Greer Lang arrives that Lois’s world truly cracks open. Gorgeous, beguiling, and completely indifferent to societal convention, Greer is unlike anyone Lois has ever met—and she sees something in Lois that no one else ever has. Under her influence, Lois begins to push against the limits that have always restrained her. How far will she go to forge her independence, on her own terms?

Set in the glamorous, dizzying world of 1950s Reno, where housewives and movie stars rubbed shoulders at gin-soaked casinos, The Divorcees is a riveting listen and a dazzling exploration of female friendship, desire, and freedom.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2024 Rowan Beaird (P)2024 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

A Most Anticipated Book (Entertainment Weekly, Elle, Today.com, Goodreads, Good Housekeeping, Chicago Review of Books, BookBub, Paste, Zibby Mag)

“Beaird digs into the idiosyncrasies of midcentury Reno, Nevada, when it was the divorce capital of the world in this journey into an oft-untapped era in fiction…Through the eyes of a more glamorous world, Beaird examines the true meaning of friendship and freedom.” —Entertainment Weekly

“In The Divorcées, the 1950s-era women deposited at the Golden Yarrow are waiting out the six-week residency that the state of Nevada requires for divorce, only for one of them (the aforementioned Lois) to encounter the entrancing Greer Lang. Their ensuing trip through sun-baked desert and neon-lit casinos tempts Lois to shed the restraints of her former self—even if she isn’t sure who she’ll be on the other side.”—Elle

“An eye-opening and unforgettable read about the lives whose stories were frequently left untold…It immediately marks Beaird as a writer to watch for years to come.”—Chicago Review of Books

Odd

The book, beginning to end, was just really odd, weird, random, no direction…then it suddenly ends.

Ok

It was an interesting premise. The book was hard to follow with so many names, and then it didn’t have the closure I wanted. I was left feeling like I wanted more. Overall I was disappointed.

Mispronouncing words!!

Coop instead of cup is ridiculous. I couldn’t hear past it every time. Just terrible.

slow

The story was very slow and drawn out. Did not seem to have a destination

I never really knew where the book was going....

I kept waiting for the book to go somewhere. And it seems like it never went anywhere and there is something to a book being unpredictable. But then there is something to a book without closure as well.

Unexpectedly blah

I was hoping to learn more about the divorce hotels, instead this was a sorry story about a popular mean girl and insecure women who drink too much.

Disappointing Ending

The premise of this book was promising, as I knew nothing about Nevada ranches that hosted women who were waiting to divorce their husbands in the 1940s. However i was expecting much more from the story line. There is a lot of time spent on developing the main two characters, and I was hoping for more plot development in the last couple of hours. However after the climax, everything fell flat. The story could have been so much more, but just fell flat.

The Cover is Misleading

I used a credit on this book because of the good reviews, even though I was concerned that it was going to be formula "women's" story where the protagonist ends up with a good looking man (not my bag). Actually, it's the opposite of that plot line. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The writing is crisp, the pacing is excellent, and the tale is interesting.

This writer has never been to NEVADA

The writer gets the landscape all wrong. No red dirt or Maple trees in Nevada unless they are planted. Very predictable for this genre. Very cliche

boring

the book was boring and it took me nowhere and there was totally no Direction and I kept waiting for it to pick up but it never did I would not recommend this book to anyone