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The Hopefuls: A Novel
Unavailable
The Hopefuls: A Novel
Unavailable
The Hopefuls: A Novel
Audiobook11 hours

The Hopefuls: A Novel

Written by Jennifer Close

Narrated by Jorjeana Marie

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

A brilliantly funny novel about ambition and marriage from the best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses, The Hopefuls tells the story of a young wife who follows her husband and his political dreams to Washington, D.C., a city of idealism, gossip, and complicated friendships among the young aspiring elite.

When Beth arrives in D.C., she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn't work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy, and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable, coordinating brunches, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy's star rises higher and higher, the couples' friendship-and Beth's relationship with Matt-is threatened by jealousy, competition, and rumors. A glorious send-up of young D.C. and a blazingly honest portrait of a marriage, this is the finest work yet by one of our most beloved writers.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 19, 2016
ISBN9780735287266
Unavailable
The Hopefuls: A Novel

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Reviews for The Hopefuls

Rating: 3.3888888367521366 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

117 ratings18 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I think I was in exactly the right mood to read this book. I couldn't put it down and found my self reaching for it over and over during the days wanting to find out what happened next. I loved the Washington DC setting (for most of it) and thought the story was really fresh. Honestly, it also felt really nice to go back to the Obama era. Beth, the central character wasn't totally likeable - but I though Close did a great job of developing her in a way that I could understand why she behaved the way she did. There is an overwhelming sense of dread through this book that starts pretty much on Page One. It is so palpable that if I hadn't already known it was wasnt a murder mystery I would have been sure someone was going to die at any moment! ;) . That cloud or dread sometimes can drive me insane as a device in novels - but for some reason I felt patient in this case (maybe because I knew noone was going to be murdered!) and it worked to just propel me through the pages. I liked it very much - it was definitely a page turner - good for an airplane or vacation read.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Two young married couples - Beth & Matt, Ash & Jimmy - navigate the pitfalls of Washington, DC at the beginning of the Obama administration. Matt, a lawyer, envisions a political career for himself, but he doesn't have the Texas charisma of Jimmy, whose star is rising as he gets more & more interesting jobs, while Matt is increasingly frustrated with his lack of prospects. Beth writes for a blog called DCLOVE while Ash (Ashleigh, pronounced Ash-lay, we are told) sells jewellery & accessories through home parties.After a few years, they all relocate to Texas so Matt can be Jimmy's campaign manager as he runs for election to the Railroad Commission, which is presented as a big-deal first step to greater political things. They don't really DO anything, and except that we know they are in their early 30s, their problems, to me at least, make them sound as if they are 18. Amusingly, Beth's friend Colleen marries a much older man - 17 years older, to be exact - which would make him about 50, but everyone treats him like a doddering & deaf 80-year-old.Between the four main protagonists acting like they are still in high school, and the pity for the poor "old" husband, I couldn't find much to empathize with here.Mildly enjoyable for the few days I was reading it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A sparkling new novel from Jennifer Close. This has many of the things I love in a book -- 1st person POV, accessible characters, marital discord. I loved the glimpse into D.C. politics and thought the story of a marriage in transition was authentic. I found myself relating to Beth on more than one occasion. I simply loved this book and gobbled it up so quickly.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book is filled with really annoying people, particularly the main character Beth who is so passive that I wanted to shake her. Her husband Matt gets so involved in his friend Jimmy's campaign that he ignores her and acts like an ass most of the time - and what does she do? - confront him, ask for an explanation, talk it out? Absolutely not - she simply agonizes about it silently and when push comes to shove, she's the one who ends up falling all over herself apologizing. It made me want to puke.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The CD was delightful with Jorjeana Marie as the reader and voice of Beth. Full of lots of details about political campaigns from the inside as well as an absorbing view of the two main marriages involved in this tale. Reading some of the other reviews makes me think that the listening experience was possibly better than the reading experience would have been.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This enthralling novel about national and local political campaigns is a cautionary tale. Even though the candidates are Barack Obama and a fictional Democrat running for Railroad Commissioner in Texas, the stresses and impact of the long, drawn out, miserable travel/food/speeches/polls etc are told in an extraordinarily intimate manner by the wife of an ambitious campaign manager. Beth is reluctant to leave NYC, but when she gets laid off from her writing job at Vanity Fair and her lawyer husband Mark quits his job to help to get Obama elected, they are both sucked into DC life, where Mark thrives and Beth feels useless. Mark, intending to run for elected office himself, then becomes campaign manager for his friend Jimmy, and the couple moves to Texas.Jennifer Close, in Beth's voice, is a brilliant observer of families, marriages, ambition, and lack of direction. Her writing is witty and full of hard truths. Highly recommended, and now I will rush to grab her back catalogue of two earlier novels.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I really didn't like this read due to mainly not being a big political person. But I did get a glimpse of how stressful it can be on relationships.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Easy to follow and with a catching story, the Hopefuls lets you take part in the life and experiences of a couple with tight knots to politics and campaigning as well as the struggles who come with it. Enjoy!
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I really wanted to like this book but the characters are so uninteresting and it takes forever for the story to have purpose. All this talk about running for office and not a single mention of issues these people care about. This book reads like a boring tale of the real housewives of D.C. On top of this, Beth is aimless and whiny. Reader be warned!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely LOVED this book. Beth is the perfect narrator for this story, and her skeptical approach to politics set just the right tone for the novel. The setting of DC, and then Texas, created a feeling of knowing, even though I've never been to DC and haven't spent a ton of time in Houston/Sugar Land. It had the right amount of drama and I could not stop reading.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sweet. Easy read
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed this book very much. The telling of the story was snappy and interesting as were the characters. I listened to the audiobook and the reader - Jorjeana Marie - was so good that it's hard to separate her from the story. I will be looking for more books read by her.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Story of a couple involved in DC politics, the people they meet, and friendships they have. The book is about the political careers and aspirations of the men and what happens to their relationship and the relationship with their spouses. I enjoyed the first part of the book, but then it just dragged on. I was anxious for it to end.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I'm listened to the first disc, but just couldn't seem to get into the book. The main character just was too whiny for me, and I didn't like her complaining about how much she hated D.C.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Kind of a slog to get through. The characters in this book are vapid social and political climbers. I found not even one character worth caring about, everything about the greed and ambition they all possessed was exhausting. The plot was dull - "get ahead in Washington by using everyone including your spouse and best friends". I guess you can always get a new spouse and new friends.The characters are obsessed with running for office - any office. There was no indication that the characters want to create any sort of change or cared about their communities. All the characters seemed to be self serving and flat.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    LITERARY FICTIONJennifer CloseThe HopefulsAlfred A. KnopfHardcover, 978-1-101-87561-2 (also available as an ebook, audio book, and on Audible), 320 pgs., $26.95July 19, 2016 “Never say never. Weird things happen in Texas.” —Colleen Matt and Beth Kelly are a young married couple in Washington, D.C. Matt, who dressed up as Ronald Reagan as a child and has always known he wanted to run for office, is an ambitious lawyer in the Obama White House, but he’s frustrated that his career isn’t progressing as quickly as he’d like. Beth, a former editorial assistant for Vanity Fair, is a writer for a local website devoted to the trivial and scandalous social lives of the politicos, who feels profoundly dislocated in DC’s “hierarchy of jealousy,” invisible because she doesn’t work in politics. Jimmy and Ashleigh Dillon are a young married couple from Texas rising fast through DC’s political ranks. Jimmy is young and charismatic; he golfs with the president, and perks, power, and plums fall into his lap. Ashleigh is a Southern belle whose outgoing personality and beauty-pageant looks are Jimmy’s perfect complement. When the Dillons return to Texas, Jimmy is recruited to run for the Railroad Commission, and he summons Matt to manage his campaign. The Kellys decamp for Sugar Land (“where life is sweet”) to help Jimmy turn Texas blue. Close’s simple plot moves steadily, only bogging down briefly during the second third of the book, though this slowing ironically evokes the peripatetic monotony of the campaign. Close’s cast are generally sympathetic, authentically flawed characters, and Beth is a reliable, though disturbingly passive, narrator. Close examines the dynamics of couples and the corruptions of jealousy, as Beth observes Matt’s “Single-White-Female attitude toward Jimmy” and how Ashleigh is subtly different at home in Sugar Land. “I began to think of her as Texas Ash,” Beth says, “sort of like Malibu Barbie—basically the same, but with a few tweaks and extra accessories.” The Hopefuls (Knopf, 2016) is frequently, sardonically funny, never more so than when poking fun at self-important functionaries with “Blackberries grafted to their hands,” and exposing contradictions in what we value. “This election is almost more important,” Matt said. “I mean, if [Obama] loses, then what? All we worked for is gone. He’s basically Jimmy Carter.” “Jimmy Carter does amazing things,” [Beth] said. I felt like I should defend that peanut farmer. Poor Jimmy Carter, always brushed to the side. Did no one think about Habitat for Humanity? The Hopefuls, best-selling author Jennifer Close’s third novel, is a sophisticated, acutely perceptive exploration into the effects of ambition and jealousy on individuals, a friendship, and a marriage. Beth’s first-person account is told in hindsight, reflecting on the events of those years from the safety of the future. Beth is an outsider in both DC and Texas, which makes her a sharp observer of the customs of the natives. When she can no longer depend on Matt’s affection or Ashleigh’s friendship, Beth needs to draw on a strength of will that she doesn’t necessarily possess. Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Extremely dull and poorly written. Story tedious, characters flat and undeveloped.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Beth is less than thrilled when her husband, Matt, announces they are moving to Washington, DC. Beth loves New York City and all that comes with it, and DC is an intense culture shock. Matt is involved with President Obama's campaign and the couple's life revolves completely around politics. Beth, a writer, tires easily of the endless business talk and her husband's obsession with politics and the DC scene. Soon Matt and Beth meet Jimmy and Ashleigh. Jimmy works at the White House as well. The couples become fast friends, sharing meals, parties, and vacations. But as Jimmy raises in the ranks in politics, the friendship becomes quickly threatened by jealousy.

    I was intrigued by the premise of this book--a relationship set to the backdrop of the Obama campaign and administration. Living close to the DC area, I can say that Close's description of many DC citizens is spot on: the Blackberrys, the obsession with security clearance and work standing, the fashion. She's excellent at weaving a story in the details.

    The problem, however, is that Beth--the novel's narrator--is just so dull. She's beyond passive, willing to watch life unravel as she watches. It doesn't seem as if Beth is interested in anything, beyond whining. After a while, I just became so frustrated with her, I wanted to scream. It doesn't help that her husband, Matt, is similarly self-absorbed, and Jimmy and Ashleigh aren't any more likable. The book sort of bumps along, with no real movement to swing it along, or a character with any redeeming quality of any sort (good or bad). Even the DC details can't save this often frustrating novel from its own irksome and passive characters. 2.5 stars.