2024 seems to be the year where I delve deep into my TBR pile. So far, it’s bringing some gems like The Engagements, which centres around diamond rings across nearly one hundred years. Those who had them, those that wanted them and those who discarded them. Tying these seemingly separate couples together is the real-life woman who wrote the tagline for De Beers – a diamond is forever. Or is it?

The story opens with Mary Frances Geraty leaving writing a tagline for the next De Beers ad until almost the last minute. In separate sections across the novel, we follow her career as one of the first female copywriters at an ad agency in Philadelphia through to her retirement, and finally recognition for her contribution to the industry (and a lot of sales for diamonds). This is interspersed with the stories of other couples from the 1920s to 2010s. Evelyn and Gerald, a retired couple, nervously await the arrival of their son for lunch. He’s planning on divorcing his wife, which just isn’t done in the 1970s. Along the way, we find out the unconventional route of their own relationship. In the 1980s, James and Sheila are trying to survive financially in Boston. We follow James through a 24 hour shift as a paramedic, which is surprisingly gritty and confronting. He reflects on his own failures as his house falls down around him and there isn’t enough money to give his family what they want. Jumping to the 2000s, Delphine leaves France, her job and her husband for a whirlwind engagement to a music prodigy. But it doesn’t last, and her plan for revenge is detailed. Finally, Kate’s cousin is marrying his male partner. Kate doesn’t believe in marriage but begrudgingly goes through the leadup. But then she loses one of the groom’s rings…

This novel was more detailed and literary than I’d been led to believe (it had been tagged as romance). Yes, there’s romance but it falls into the background as the characters confront what marriage means, as well as infidelity, divorce and what happens after the fairytale ends. Each time period’s story was fascinating and covered the nuances of that time period well in the writing. It’s also very detailed in every aspect from the cultural references to the backstories of the characters. The backstories make up a lot of the novel, and are just as detailed as the current story for the main characters. It is difficult to tell if the stories were going to link up, but it does come together at the very end.

Not all the characters are likeable. Kate has an opinion that puts a dampener on nearly everything. Others cheat or steal. But all act with the best intentions for themselves and their family, even if it appears misguided or just plain wrong. But it does make them memorable as the story jumps through different time periods. None of the parts of each time period’s story landed on a desperate cliffhanger, which was a nice change. For the most part, the story moves from oldest to newest time period so you do have some idea of when the next instalment is coming. It’s a bit different, but it worked for me.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

I was disappointed in this story. I found the structure of the book disjointed and hard to follow at first and most of the characters were terribly unpleasant.

The common thread between the characters is diamonds and I wanted the story to show at least *some* good/happy side to diamond engagement rings and what they mean to people - regardless of the artificial construct for the feelings. I got the exact opposite.

Having loved the authors book Maine, I was let down by this one. I'm torn between 2 and 3. Feeling generous so I give 3. ( )

Has the makings of a book I could love, but it felt disjointed and overly lengthy given everything was told in exposition. ( )

I didn't think this was a work of fiction at first. By the end, I didn't want the story to end. Just great! ( )

The Engagements is an interesting intersection of fiction and history. At the novel's epicenter is the story of a copy writer and her inspired slogan, but there are several other stories in the book. They all cross paths in an interesting way near the end. I enjoyed the exploration of relationships across the decades and I just adored Delphine and her "woman-scorned" play at revenge. ( )