The club reads Sophie’s Choice by William Styron.

Audrey invites the Angry Housewives to a vacation at her parents’ beach house in Malibu. The women end up having their book discussion in a biker bar and enjoy chatting and later dancing with men. When discussing Sophie’s Choice, Faith becomes emotional: If she had to choose a child to live, she would choose Bonnie, her brave, fearless daughter, rather than delicate, fearful Beau.

The club reads My Home is Far Away by Dawn Powell.

Kari is hesitant about attending Mary Jo’s wedding. She runs into Larry, who is now a judge. Kari is nervous that Mary Jo will tell her husband about Julia, but Mary Jo swears she hasn’t. Kari is worried there will be a reckoning, but Julia is more interested in chatting about a boy she met.

The club reads In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen.

Merit, like the rest of the Angry Housewives, now has a job outside the home; she is a typist, and while it’s not fulfilling, she can use the money. While Audrey has dated, Merit isn’t interested. On her lunch break, Merit goes to the library to practice the piano. She meets Frank Paradise, who regularly comes to listen to her, and they start having weekly coffee dates.