REVIEWS
- BLURBS
“It’s a joy to finally read a sweeping historical novel that tells the real story of the lives of those of us lucky enough to have come of age into the New Left and the mass movements of the Sixties. Contrary to the Forrest Gump zombie conventional wisdom narrative of the era as a giant train wreck, nothing stopped there: the organizing work continued throughout our lives, based in the solid values of justice and peace and equality manifest over 60 years ago.
Meticulously researched and lovingly written, Wrinkled Rebels follows six intimate friends from their first awakenings in the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement at City College in New York through their respective lives of social and political commitment, all the way to a joyous geriatric reunion in 2025.
Laura Olson has succeeded in capturing the true history of our rebellious cohort as well as our living spirit. What a blessing she has given her readers by reminding us that it ain’t over.”
—Mark Rudd, political organizer, anti-war activist, lecturer, and author of Underground: My Life with SDS and the Weatherman
“Wrinkled Rebels takes us back to the youthful struggles for social justice and the anti-war demonstrations that characterized the 1960s and 1970s. What happened to those political activists? In this poignant narrative of three men and three women, now eighty years old, Olson deftly captures not only their ongoing commitment, struggles and setbacks as they reach retirement and old age but the power of abiding friendship to heal each other’s tired spirits.”
—Jo Freeman, civil rights activist, a founding member of the feminist movement, lawyer, and among other books, author of Women: a Feminist Perspective, The Politics of Women’s Liberation, Waves of Protes: Social Movements since the Sixties.
“’Wrinkled Rebels’ is a fine novel about young activists of the 1960s moving from adolescence to middle age and beyond. Laura Katz Olson has managed to capture many of the personal nuances and life complications confronting those who sought so urgently to save the world. Younger readers in particular will grapple with the lives of their grandparents’ generation and old-timers will likely rehearse their own life experiences.”
—Paul Buhle, founding editor of the SDS journal Radical America; retired Senior Lecturer, Brown University
“Laura Katz Olson’s vivid portrait of a reunion of aging friends begins with a routine—the organ recital—that’s become customary among the elderly: what’s broken down and what’s been replaced, what’s fallen off and what’s no longer working. But with that out of the way, these badass activists reject the temptation to wallow in recitations of an old despond, or any nostalgia for a ship that’s already left the shore. They choose instead to look forward, reawakening their radical optimism as they head off, arm-in-arm, toward the next challenge.”
—Bill Ayers, Political organizer, anti-war activist, former professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and, among other books, author of Fugitive Days: Memoirs of an Anti-War Activist; Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto; and Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident
“The author of award-winning nonfiction books, Laura Olson‘s first novel is a beautifully crafted work of art. Lovingly constructed characters captivated me from page one. Embedded in this novel is a micro history of the 1960s. The aging radicals she portrays reinvigorate the communal form of their youth as they support each other with kindness through the life cycle.”
—George Katsiaficas, political activist, former professor at Wentworth Institute of technology, and author of numerous articles and books on social movement, including The Global Imagination of 1968: Revolution and Counterrevolution; The Imagination of the New Left: A Global Analysis of 1968; and The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life
“For those who want to learn about the momentous years of social struggle in the 1960s – the civil rights movement; the anti-Vietnam war movement; the women’s liberation movement – Olson gives an engaging and lively flavor of these events through six different relatable characters. Not only does the reader see their participation in these movements, but also the bonds and camaraderie that come from fighting for social change together.”
—Nancy Rosenstock, author of Inside the Second Wave of Feminism: Boston Female Liberation 1968-1972, An Account by Participants
“A warm-hearted, engaging novel of the life-shaping force of 60s activism and its enduring aftermath; a rare treat for those who were there and for those who wish they were.”
—David Farber
Author of The Age of Great Dreams: American in the 1960s
“If you lived through the 60s, you’ll know these characters, remember the events and issues. If you didn’t—start here. This is the novel to savor: enjoy the ride!”
—Terry H. Anderson
Author of The Movement and the Sixties
- Readers’ Favorite Book Review, reviewed by Alma Boucher
*****Review
Wrinkled Rebels by Laura Katz Olson chronicles the enduring friendship between six college friends who strengthened their relationship through political engagement during the 1960s and 1970s. Six decades are covered in this epic trip, starting in their idealistic undergraduate years and ending in their 80s with the issues they face today as they age. During this time, the friends had completely different lifestyles and minimal contact with oneanother. Then the friends received an invitation to get together for a long weekend and attempt to rekindle their previous close friendships. Even though their lives were very different, they were able to find significance in social justice and activism in disciplines thanks to their mutual devotion, but with regrets over perhaps lost possibilities.
Wrinkled Rebels brought to light the story of the six friends. Laura Olson skillfully portrayed not only their continuous dedication, challenges, and disappointments as they approached retirement and old age but also the ability of enduring friendship to lift each other’s weary spirits. This story tells us that although life changes and people strive for justice throughout history, our fundamental beliefs never change. The storyline was intertwined with themes of love, friendship, care, drama, and memories. This book was written with young and old progressive political activists in mind who are working for social justice and a better society. The plot, which jumps around in time, is masterfully crafted and captivating. The characters, all in their eighties, had touching stories of their lives that warmed my heart.
- Amizon Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Cross-Generational Appeal
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2024
Wrinkled Rebels by Laura Katz Olson, is a nostalgia trip for those who, like me, were “Children of the 60s.” In fact, in an uncanny match, I’m the exact same age as the novel’s six New York City protagonists, entering college in 1963, becoming immersed in the anti-war and women’s movements, vowing to remain engaged as we graduated into the “adult” world. For readers of later generations, Olson’s book offers an entertaining survey course of that tumultuous era, told through the stories of its diverse cast of characters, three women and three men, who bond as freshmen and stay in sporadic touch during the ensuing decades. As a novelist myself (see my Amazon author page www.amazon.com/author/asewovenwords), I admire how Olson achieves a fine balance between detailed historical context and generous character development. The book is driven by the protagonists’ impending 50th reunion, prompting each to recall the past, assess the present, and evaluate how they shaped one another’s lives. Building toward the reunion, readers eagerly turn the pages of this skillfully written narrative with cross-generational appeal to those who reflect on life’s heady mix of predictable and unexpected outcomes.
4.0 out of 5 stars Very clever
Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2024
A brilliant look at how we don’t have to stop just because we’re older than we used to be. Heartwarming and a call to action for anyone who reads it.
5.0 out of 5 stars I can most certainly identify…
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2024
I’m wrinkled, but I wasn’t much of a rebel. I sure loved reading about some of them. This is very memoir-like. It is a group of friends in their “elder years” reuniting and recalling their activist years and close friendships. As in most of our lives, they’ve had ups and downs. Really enjoyed the book.
One person found this helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars great story……
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2024
I loved the story and espeically that is is based on the author’s experiences. If there is another printing I would recommend more editing , eliminating most of the unnecessary and frequent use of the past perfect tense. There are too many “had” done things when the simple past tense would be fine.
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2024
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it!
3.0 out of 5 stars Historical fiction
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024
There were things I really enjoyed about this novel. When I first started reading it, I was on the subway on my way to work at a public high school right across the street from City College, where the six characters in the book met and spent their youth protesting. This was ironic, given recent protests at the school.
The novel felt very authentic; I have no doubt that the author did a great deal of research into what happened during this time period and accurately represented what CCNY was like during this time period and how the campus looks (I was a student there in 1980-1984). The characters felt very realistic as well.
I loved the premise, especially since I am getting older and the undercurrent of what getting older feels like internally and externally is prominent.
However, this feels more like a collective memoir than a novel. This is fine, but it is not exactly what I expected. It makes me wonder if the author has more than one book in her because this feels like something that comes from her life (I could be wrong).
There was not really a plot per se, unless the reader considers the question of whether these six friends who went on to have different lives after college could find common ground when they come together as older folk to be a plot. I am not going to give away the ending but the conclusion, had one really been fleshed out, could have provided a plot but it wasn’t. Perhaps the author was afraid that tying up the ends would have felt a bit too neat, and it might have but I think it would have been more satisfying. As it was, it made the thin plot more amorphous. I think I also would have preferred that more of the book occur in the present than in the past.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely story about friendships spanning decades
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024
I started reading this book a week before my 70th birthday, and boy, did the story resonate with me as I often look back while savoring the present and yes, thinking ahead! The turbulent 60s (particularly the activities at UC Berkeley, where I became a student in the early 70s) have always fascinated me. The six friends, aka Wrinkled Rebels, came to life for me. They are all well-written and well-drawn, and what initially brought them together, and keeps them bonded, is their commitment to social justice. They are all complex and very interesting individuals. I have to say that it helped that my own beliefs match well with these six Rebels. Someone with an opposite political slant or ideological beliefs may not feel the kinship.
I was initially concerned about six POVs because, in the wrong hands, there can be way too many fits and starts that disrupt the flow of the narrative. That was not the case with this book. I really enjoyed “sitting in” and listening to the friends not just relive their pasts, but also share their lives after leaving the often-theoretical bubble of college and embarking on the realities of “real life.” Although I avoided my 50th high school reunion, I can understand the impact the Rebels’ reunion had on each of them, as they, now in their 80s, came together for the first time in years. In many ways, this book felt more like a multi-memoir, and I liked that, too. The writing flowed beautifully, and I looked forward to what was coming next—a sure sign that the author had indeed reeled me in. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Age does not stop the fire!
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2024
If you want to experience the 60s in all its mad glory, read Laura Olson’s Wrinkled Rebels. It captures the rise of civil rights, women’s lib, anti-war protests, communes, great music, and people on the streets fighting for what they believed in. When six 80-something former activists reunite, they discover that though their faces are wrinkled, their minds unreliable, and their bodies aging, their hearts still burn with passion and the desire for social justice. This is a wonderful, very relatable story about the need to live a life that has meaning and purpose — no matter how old you are. Highly recommend it!