The Celebrants - BookWyrm

Hardcover, 320 pages

English language

Published May 15, 2023 by G.P. Putnam's Sons.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-54042-8

It's been a minute--or five years--since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. That's not for a lack of trying. Over the years they've reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living "funerals," celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living--and living well.

But this reunion is different. They're not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

A deeply honest tribute to the growing …

It's been a minute--or five years--since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. That's not for a lack of trying. Over the years they've reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living "funerals," celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living--and living well.

But this reunion is different. They're not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley's signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth, and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.

2 editions

Mr. Acton reviewed The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

Celebrations of Life for the Living.

4 stars

This book really resonated with me, but I’m also in the same age and cultural cohort as the characters. Add to that a personal event similar to the instigating event for the story and it was practically written for me.

After the loss of their close friend just prior to college graduation, the remaining friends create a pact to hold funerals for each other while they’re still alive. Through the years the friends call on the pact. Secrets are revealed and their friendships are repeatedly tested. They learn whether the pact a testament of their bond or a desperate grasp to hang onto a time long since passed?

While the specter of mortality weighs on the Celebrants more than the Guncle series, Steven Rowley’s punchy wit, irony, and joy shine through the same. While it doesn’t break new ground, it celebrates life, next chapters, and not leaving things …

This book really resonated with me, but I’m also in the same age and cultural cohort as the characters. Add to that a personal event similar to the instigating event for the story and it was practically written for me.

After the loss of their close friend just prior to college graduation, the remaining friends create a pact to hold funerals for each other while they’re still alive. Through the years the friends call on the pact. Secrets are revealed and their friendships are repeatedly tested. They learn whether the pact a testament of their bond or a desperate grasp to hang onto a time long since passed?

While the specter of mortality weighs on the Celebrants more than the Guncle series, Steven Rowley’s punchy wit, irony, and joy shine through the same. While it doesn’t break new ground, it celebrates life, next chapters, and not leaving things unsaid.