The Gunners is built around a structure that rarely fails to attract me: a group of people, once friends as children or young adults, are brought together by an event which affects them all. Weddings and funerals are a favourite trigger for this kind of reunion and in the case of Rebecca Kauffman’s novel it’s a funeral just as the friends enter their thirties. The five remaining members of the group that dubbed themselves the Gunners are brought together by the suicide of the sixth who none of them had heard from since she left the group aged sixteen with no explanation.
Mikey is the only one of the five who stayed close to their Ohio childhood home town. Jimmy has long since moved into finance making enough money to have a palatial summer home nearby to which he’s invited the other four for a lavishly catered meal. Sam has flown in from Georgia and appears to have taken to religion; Alice arrives with her girlfriend, as loud and tactless as ever while Lynn and her partner make up the party, both musicians now running an AA group. These five who have been friends since they were six years old are only loosely in touch, having drifted apart after Sally’s unexplained departure. There’s a great deal of catching up to do but overarching it all are two questions: why did Sally not only desert the Gunners but determinedly avoid contact with Mikey, once her best friend, and why did she take her own life.
If you’re of a certain age you may well have seen The Big Chill which has one of the best opening sequences I’ve seen, complete with the Marvin Gaye’s sublime ‘I Heard It Through the Grapevine’ playing over it. Shortly after starting The Gunners, I was struck by what a good film it would make, then I realised it had already been made. This is not to criticise the novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. Kauffman’s charactericisation is strong, the flitting back and forth between childhood memories to adult reunions deftly developing each of them. Secrets are revealed, and if the two big questions are not entirely answered it doesn’t detract from the novel merely reflecting what might well happen in real life. This is a satisfying, often poignant read. There’s not a huge amount of bite to it but once I’d settled into The Big Chill vibe I was more than happy to enjoy the ride.
I’m with you about narratives based round groups of friends. I think there is something compulsive about them, probably because we would all like some sort of support network of like minded people. I have long argued that the reason Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill were such successful films was because we secretly wanted to be part of the type of friendship group that they portrayed.
I’m sure you’re right about that not to mention the enduring popularity of Friends.
Love the cover!
Very eye catching, isn’t it!
Sounds interesting and I like the striking cover.
Definitely one to catch your eye on a book-laden table, I think.
I’m still in the early chapters of this. Enjoying it, but looking forward to moving past Mikey’s POV. I don’t know The Big Chill, so I’ll have to seek that out afterwards.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think, Rebecca.
I loved The Big Chill – might have to watch it again now you’ve brought it up.
Oh, you should! I watched again four or five years ago and still loved it.
I love The Big Chill and I love narratives based on reunions – sounds like this doesn’t hold many surprises but still holds interest.
I’d say that’s an excellent summary, Cathy!
This *does* sound intriguing. And it’s interesting to see what different story ideas writers come up with while using similar structures.
It’s a structure that’s catnip for me. Perfect for books, film or TV – lots of room for character development.
Like Annabel, you’ve inspired me to rewatch The Big Chill! Such a great film 🙂
Loved it! A perennial favourite for me.