Clutch

Nemens’s busy second novel (after The Cactus League) follows five women as they enter their 40s and attempt to hold on to the mutual friendships that have bound them together since college. Novelist Carson is fretting over whether to contact her father, who’s in prison; bipolar corporate litigator Bella is handling a make-or-break case and a husband with a roving eye; former management consultant Reba is trying and failing to get pregnant; Texas politico Gregg is coping with marital strains and trying to decide whether she’ll run for Congress; and physician Hillary is raising her troubled son while her husband is in rehab for heroin addiction. Over the course of the novel, the five reunite for a vacation in Palm Springs, Calif., and later for a funeral and a birthday party. Otherwise they’re on their own, trying to keep their friendships going via text messages (“Hey B—coming to Bklyn tonight? Caviar etc & ive got a surprise,” Carson writes to Bella at one point). Nemens’s narrative focus occasionally wobbles: Carson and Reba, with their less dramatic story lines, are often sidelined, and the conclusion strains credulity. Still, Nemens captures the complexity of maintaining friendships while reckoning with the challenges of middle age. It adds up to a chatty and sometimes insightful riff on The Big Chill. Agent: Jin Auh, Wylie Agency. (Feb.)