Review: The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan

Few people know the name Mary Frances Gerety, but almost everyone knows her work. In 1947, desperate for an ad campaign slogan for De Beers, Gerety scribbled down four words that would eventually affect marriages around the world: A diamond is forever.

Gerety's struggle to gain professional recognition for her clever manipulation of the buying public and women's expectations for diamonds forms the backbone of J. Courtney Sullivan's third novel, The Engagements. The body of the book consists of the stories of several very different couples from the 1940s to the present and the role marriage and diamonds played (or not) in their lives.

Although I enjoyed the stories of the various relationships--some volatile, some loving; some conventional, some not--I was much more taken by Mary Frances Gerety's life. Almost every step of her career and her social standing was colored by the fact that she was a single woman. Coming into adulthood in the postwar years, she was at odds with her generation. She played golf but couldn't join a club because she didn't have a husband. She was bright, hardworking, and creative, but she hit the brick ceiling quickly. By the time that barrier had turned to glass and the advertising business became centered in Manhattan, and Gerety was virtually overlooked for promotion and opportunities.

Yet she almost single-handedly changed the way we look at diamonds. Before the war, few brides-to-be wore diamond engagement rings, and most women married with a simple gold band. The link between diamonds and love hardly existed. In fact, most of you can thank the De Beers campaign, developed at N. W. Ayer & Son in Philadelphia, for your own diamond ring.

The other stories, about the couples and their unexpected links through time and place, were well developed and entertaining. I didn't love each couple, but I don't think that was Sullivan's intention. Through their relationships, she shows us the changing nature of love and commitment over the last seventy years. And, in turn, helps us understand the interplay between advertising and cultural norms.

J. Courtney Sullivan has given us a lot to think about in The Engagements. The novel will be a hit with book clubs, who will want to discuss the power of advertising, the controversial diamond business, and the very real limitations of women in the last century. And, of course, everyone will have opinions about the ups and downs of the couples and marriages we get to know intimately.

I should probably mention that The Engagements resonated with me on a personal level as well. My family was in the jewelry business for most of the twentieth century, which likely colored my reaction to the novel, explaining why the Gerety sections are the ones that stayed with me.

I listened to the unabridged audio edition (Random House Audio; 16 hr, 50 min) narrated by Kimberly Farr, who brought a good level of emotion to her performance, making it easy for me to connect to the characters. She handled the needed accents impressively and shifted seamlessly from male to female and young to old, creating an enjoyable audio experience.

Published by Random House / Knopf, 2013
ISBN-13: 9780307958716
Rating: B+ (audio edition)
Source: review (audio) (see review policy)
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