This novel is a true national treasure for those in the know. Set in the early 1930s in a small town in Mississippi, the brilliant and smooth storytelling, along with the wonderful characters you’ll meet—especially little Meg and Birdie—will have you turning chapter after chapter until you’ve lost all track of time. It may be daunting to some, as this book is over 600 pages, but believe me, it will go by in a heartbeat once you get into the rhythm and flow.

What more can I say but that throughout reading this story, you’ll find yourself laughing out loud (quite literally), getting sad and maybe tearing up just a little, feeling heartbroken, angered, and finding moments of pure bliss and joy. The burden of caring for aging parents was as true back then as it is today for many, and I found myself connecting to that part of the story so much. The story alternates a few chapters between Meg’s and Birdie’s points of view.

Before you can be a good liar, you’ve got to learn how to spot a liar first. It’s all about how a person looks, not what the person says.

Charlie

Meg as a little (or big?) 11-year-old orphaned girl was so fun to read throughout this whole novel. In certain parts you really have to feel for her and the burden she has to carry for one so young. During the later half of the story, this was ever more evident. But the best parts about Meg are just the hilarious thoughts that go on in her head. Next up is Birdie Calhoun, an adult teenager who also has her own burdens, especially having to care for her family as well as making sure they still have a house to live in. Her attitude and personality more than make up for her less than stellar looks, and her kindness is so infectious to read about, especially since she herself has almost nothing. Everything changes for both Meg and Birdie once they meet one another.

Eat first, thank after, otherwise you are just praying for the blessing to be over.

Meg

I don’t have any issues with the story except for the disappointing way it all ended so abruptly. It definitely felt rushed, and considering how this book is almost 640 pages, I couldn’t see why the author couldn’t at least squeeze in another chapter or two to really close it out, other than wanting readers to guess for themselves what becomes of the characters we so loved and cherished throughout all those 640 pages. It kind of seems unfair because The Calamity Club didn’t seem like it was one of “those books” where it made sense to end it this way. For example, The Emperor of Sadness by Ocean Vuong made sense, and it just felt right to have an ending the way it did, where it made the readers guess what happens next.

My entire life’s assignment is to ask questions. Why else are we even here?

Birdie

An epilogue, say one or two years down the road after the last chapter, would have sufficed here. While the story doesn’t close out on a cliffhanger, it’s just so sad and disappointing that it had to end just then and there like it did. It’s no mystery as to what Birdie and the rest of the gals will be doing after their gig was up. It’s no mystery about whether Charlie will ever get to meet Meg again. So why force readers to assume what happens afterwards? I just don’t get it. Will there be a part two to The Calamity Club? I myself doubt it, and that’s why it’s that much more frustrating to not have any closure between Birdie and Meg in the end, since what Birdie did throughout the whole story was help out Meg.

Half a loaf is better than no bread at all.

Meg

Still, The Calamity Club is one of the best literary novels I have read so far in 2026 and likely will be for the rest of the year.