Genevieve Sly Crane | SORORITY

Plot (via Goodreads):

Prep meets Girls in White Dresses in Genevieve Sly Crane’s deliciously addictive, voyeuristic exploration of female friendship and coming of age that will appeal to anyone who has ever been curious about what happens in a sorority house.

Twinsets and pearls, secrets and kinship, rituals that hold sisters together in a sacred bond of everlasting trust. Certain chaste images spring to mind when one thinks of sororities. But make no mistake: these women are not braiding each other’s hair and having pillow fights—not by a long shot.

What Genevieve Sly Crane has conjured in these pages is a blunt, in your face look behind the closed doors of a house full of contemporary women—and there are no holds barred. These women have issues: self-inflicted, family inflicted, sister-to-sister inflicted—and it is all on the page. At the center of this swirl is Margot: the sister who died in the house, and each chapter is told from the points of view of the women who orbit her death and have their own reactions to it.

With a keen sense of character and elegant, observant prose, Crane details the undercurrents of tension in a world where perfection comes at a cost and the best things in life are painful—if not impossible—to acquire: Beauty. A mother’s love. And friendship… or at least the appearance of it. Woven throughout are glimmers of the classical myths that undercut the lives of women in Greek life. After all, the Greek goddesses did cause their fair share of destruction. 

Review:

There's a certain unfound fascination I have with stories about sororities. As a male in my early 30s, it must be the unfamiliar territory. Experiences I have never had the chance to come across and a desire to know all about what goes on behind closed doors. The general curiosity that sinks into my psyche and makes me wonder - is it as dark as it appears? Is it all fun and games? Genevieve Sly Crane answered all questions, whether I wanted them or not. 

SORORITY starts off seemingly innocent enough and in a way that I found to be not only brilliant, but ominous in a candid way. We are quickly introduced to a plethora of a characters, all allowing us an insight into their storylines using one or two quick lines. I found this to be not only smart, but sly as when we get farther into each chapter, these quick introductions don't even scratch the surface of the darkness below. Genevieve Sly Crane's writing is remarkable and bewitching. The way that she constructed this novel is not only done in a distinctive way, but her writing oozes with a dazzling prose that not only sets up the reader for some luminous stories. 

SORORITY is like a collection of short stories that are all connected within one house. I was absolutely stunned with how effective Genevieve Sly Crane was able to write these women. Each storyline is not only done spectacularly, but avoids cliches and to be honest - this woman is unafraid to reveal unlikeable characters and rather daring situations. I could not get enough of each story and the best part is each chapter tells the tale of a different woman, all unique with the ability to hold their own. She not only can adequately tell these cautionary tales of the issues women face, but does so in a way that gives her the upper hand on wrapping up the storyline within one small and fluff-free chapter.

I loved how some stories stood on their own, some intertwined, and some left the reader wondering how far these women made it into the world an what their lives really turned out like. The ending to this one was not only haunting and harrowing, but superbly designed. I cannot say enough things about this amazing collection of stories and the effectiveness of its prose. Beautiful, dark, and utterly fantastic. 

Thank you so much to Genevieve Sly Crane and Gallery Books for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 5/5