OUTER BANKS by Anne Rivers Siddons seemed the perfect book to take along on our yearly trip to Avon, North Carolina. Siddons has not been on my list of favorite authors, but the title made it a logical choice.
Katherine Stuart Lee’s story starts as a married woman living among the dunes of Long Island. She is recovering from a serious battle with cancer and the death of her young son. As a result she has isolated herself with her backyard garden. An unexpected invitation to a reunion with her suitemates from college starts her memories of the three women who had once been so important in her life.
While in college, Ginger had invited Cecie, Fig, and Kate to her summer home in Nag’s Head, North Carolina for several spring breaks. This beautiful, isolated, strip of barrier islands had become a symbol of youth, friendship, and idyllic beauty. Now, thirty years later, the women have decided to see if the magic from that time can be recaptured.
The strength of the book is in the ability of the author to develop her characters. Even the people around the girls are well done, but it is the four women who stand out.
Ginger is rich, vibrant, and aware of her sexual powers. Fig is brilliant, extremely poor, and hopeless socially. Cecie is sensible and self-contained and the closest of the friends to elegant, aloof Kate.
The decision to meet with her college friends is not an easy one for Kate. Thirty years earlier, she had been cruelly betrayed by one of the members of the group and has had no contact with any of them during this time. Therefore, she is not expecting the changes in her former friends and not ready for the emotional confrontations that result.
The best part of this book for me was going back in my mind to my own all night junk food and gab fests that included quoting Dorothy Parker and T. S. Eliot with people who enjoyed reading both poets. (Side note: the Eliot line, “ I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.” is well used as a theme of the book.)
I also enjoyed the scenes that took place on the Outer Banks. Nags Head may have become more popular since this book took place, but on down Hatteras Island it is still beautiful with remote areas. It is always an extra treat to be able to picture the settings of a book.
This was my second Anne Rivers Siddons’ book. She makes good beach reading.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
BOOK REVIEW: The Help
So little has been written about the people in the South during the early 1960’s, at least not of the people who did not make the headlines. Kathryn Stockett has done so in THE HELP. THE HELP has been on most best seller lists for almost a year, and has been very popular locally. To me, it portrayed a completely foreign lifestyle.
The story centers on three women who live in Mississippi in 1962. Two of the women are black maids working for white, fairly affluent, households. Their job consists mainly of taking care of the children, cooking, and general housekeeping. The third is a young white woman who is expected to marry and follow in the footsteps of her family and friends.
Aibileen is taking care of her seventeenth baby. Her other jobs were finished when the children became of school age and no longer had a need for a nanny. She is no longer as content in her job. Her own son has died while the white boss looked the other way. She is devoted to her new charge but getting impatient with the parents who ignore the child.
Aibileen’s best friend is Minny. Where Aibileen is regal and wise, Minny is short, fat, and has a tendency to be sassy with her employers. As a result the white women have banded against her and she has a hard time finding jobs. She finally finds a position with a newcomer to the area, a woman on the outside of the close knit society and who also has secrets.
Skeeter is part of the established social set and has just received a degree in journalism from Ole Miss. She is trying to fit in with her married friends who, along with her parents, only want her to marry and fit in. Skeeter, though, has become curious about how the black help feel about their employers.
These three women seem, on the surface, to be very different from one another, but when they band together to help Skeeter write a book on the conditions of black maids in Mississippi, they put themselves in real danger. Not only is there the big chance that they will lose their jobs and therefore their family’s only source of income, but blacks are being killed for standing up for their rights.
The individual stories of these three women make for fascinating reading and their stories were heartbreaking at times. Skeeter started her mission very innocent of what the consequences would be. Minny and Aibileen were too aware of what could happen.
This is a book that is hard to put down. I felt that the author knew her subject and she has written a timeless story. She has done a good job of mixing historical events of the time with her fictional characters. Those of us who did not live through this period in this location, as portrayed in the book, need to be reminded how the 60’s changed all of our lives.
The story centers on three women who live in Mississippi in 1962. Two of the women are black maids working for white, fairly affluent, households. Their job consists mainly of taking care of the children, cooking, and general housekeeping. The third is a young white woman who is expected to marry and follow in the footsteps of her family and friends.
Aibileen is taking care of her seventeenth baby. Her other jobs were finished when the children became of school age and no longer had a need for a nanny. She is no longer as content in her job. Her own son has died while the white boss looked the other way. She is devoted to her new charge but getting impatient with the parents who ignore the child.
Aibileen’s best friend is Minny. Where Aibileen is regal and wise, Minny is short, fat, and has a tendency to be sassy with her employers. As a result the white women have banded against her and she has a hard time finding jobs. She finally finds a position with a newcomer to the area, a woman on the outside of the close knit society and who also has secrets.
Skeeter is part of the established social set and has just received a degree in journalism from Ole Miss. She is trying to fit in with her married friends who, along with her parents, only want her to marry and fit in. Skeeter, though, has become curious about how the black help feel about their employers.
These three women seem, on the surface, to be very different from one another, but when they band together to help Skeeter write a book on the conditions of black maids in Mississippi, they put themselves in real danger. Not only is there the big chance that they will lose their jobs and therefore their family’s only source of income, but blacks are being killed for standing up for their rights.
The individual stories of these three women make for fascinating reading and their stories were heartbreaking at times. Skeeter started her mission very innocent of what the consequences would be. Minny and Aibileen were too aware of what could happen.
This is a book that is hard to put down. I felt that the author knew her subject and she has written a timeless story. She has done a good job of mixing historical events of the time with her fictional characters. Those of us who did not live through this period in this location, as portrayed in the book, need to be reminded how the 60’s changed all of our lives.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
BOOK REVIEW: Veil of Roses
I love taking a gamble on debut novels. VEIL OF ROSES is Laura Fitzgerald’s first offering and I think that we may hear from her again.
Tamila Soroush has been living in the Islamic Republic of Iran. She is a teacher of young girls and wants them to dream of freedoms that they will probably never have. She knows that her parents had lived in the United States when she was a very small child, but for some reason the family, Tamila, her mother, father, and older sister, had returned to Iran. She has had to give up her personal dreams and prepare to marry the man chosen for her.
On Tamila’s twenty-seventh birthday, her parents give her the gift of a ticket to America. She vows never to return to Iran, but her visa is only good for three months and in order to stay, she must marry a citizen of the United States.
Her introduction to all things American is mixed with humor and the realization of how much we take for granted in our country. Tami is lucky that she has a sister who helps her to meet perspective grooms, friends in her English-as-a-second language class, and the sympathy and support of her brother-in-law.
The story is fairly predictable and some of the characters slightly stereotypical, but it is told with so much feeling that you get caught up in it. I wonder how I would react to my first Victoria’s Secret visit. (Tami felt that what Victoria had was not being kept much of a secret.)
The contrast of life in Iran, especially for women, and our life in the United States makes this a fascinating read. Tami’s fear of the police and her confusion about free samples are such small things to us but are truly real to someone who has lived in the confines of a repressive state.
I recommend it highly for women’s book groups. It should open doors to all types of discussion. We hope to see more by Ms. Fitzgerald.
Tamila Soroush has been living in the Islamic Republic of Iran. She is a teacher of young girls and wants them to dream of freedoms that they will probably never have. She knows that her parents had lived in the United States when she was a very small child, but for some reason the family, Tamila, her mother, father, and older sister, had returned to Iran. She has had to give up her personal dreams and prepare to marry the man chosen for her.
On Tamila’s twenty-seventh birthday, her parents give her the gift of a ticket to America. She vows never to return to Iran, but her visa is only good for three months and in order to stay, she must marry a citizen of the United States.
Her introduction to all things American is mixed with humor and the realization of how much we take for granted in our country. Tami is lucky that she has a sister who helps her to meet perspective grooms, friends in her English-as-a-second language class, and the sympathy and support of her brother-in-law.
The story is fairly predictable and some of the characters slightly stereotypical, but it is told with so much feeling that you get caught up in it. I wonder how I would react to my first Victoria’s Secret visit. (Tami felt that what Victoria had was not being kept much of a secret.)
The contrast of life in Iran, especially for women, and our life in the United States makes this a fascinating read. Tami’s fear of the police and her confusion about free samples are such small things to us but are truly real to someone who has lived in the confines of a repressive state.
I recommend it highly for women’s book groups. It should open doors to all types of discussion. We hope to see more by Ms. Fitzgerald.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
BOOK REVIEW: This Is My Best
Oh, the treasures that can be found in used bookstores! The anthology, THIS IS MY BEST, edited by Whit Burnett was published in 1942 and is a really great find for the reader of American classics.
The authors represented in this collection were chosen by readers of books and magazines. Polls were taken among subscribers to The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers’ Magazine, and The New Yorker. Ballots were sent to libraries, literary critics, and persons connected to the writing world such as teachers, publishers, etc.
These individuals were asked to vote on the top living authors. The list was narrowed down to ninety-three authors. Burnett said that it was interesting that the public, editor, and publisher were all in agreement of the first fifty names receiving the most votes for inclusion .
The book is a representation of our country before the Second World War. Since each author gives us a glimpse of his or her world, we see the New England of Frost, the South of Rawlings and Faulkner, the Middle West of Tarkington, and the Far West of Steinbeck.
I was delighted to find what some of my favorite authors considered to be his or her best work. John Steinbeck has a beautiful short story titled The Leader of the People, a story that I had never read before. ( I guess Of Mice and Men was too long.) Ernest Hemingway’s choice was The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, a story about big game hunting in Africa--no big surprise there.
Dorothy Parker has always been a very special writer for me. If you know her only as a poet, her short stories are warm and touching. Here she has listed her favorite, the story The Standard of Living.
Anthologies are always hard to review and this one is especially difficult. My space would be filled with just a listing of who is included. Believe me, all of the known authors are represented, plus some that I had never heard of. (I may have to do some research on Wolcott Gibbs.)
I am not finished reading the book yet because I have been forcing myself to read the stories in order, when what I really want to do is rush to my favorites first.
This anthology should be on the library shelf in each serious reader’s home. It is a delight.
The authors represented in this collection were chosen by readers of books and magazines. Polls were taken among subscribers to The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers’ Magazine, and The New Yorker. Ballots were sent to libraries, literary critics, and persons connected to the writing world such as teachers, publishers, etc.
These individuals were asked to vote on the top living authors. The list was narrowed down to ninety-three authors. Burnett said that it was interesting that the public, editor, and publisher were all in agreement of the first fifty names receiving the most votes for inclusion .
The book is a representation of our country before the Second World War. Since each author gives us a glimpse of his or her world, we see the New England of Frost, the South of Rawlings and Faulkner, the Middle West of Tarkington, and the Far West of Steinbeck.
I was delighted to find what some of my favorite authors considered to be his or her best work. John Steinbeck has a beautiful short story titled The Leader of the People, a story that I had never read before. ( I guess Of Mice and Men was too long.) Ernest Hemingway’s choice was The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, a story about big game hunting in Africa--no big surprise there.
Dorothy Parker has always been a very special writer for me. If you know her only as a poet, her short stories are warm and touching. Here she has listed her favorite, the story The Standard of Living.
Anthologies are always hard to review and this one is especially difficult. My space would be filled with just a listing of who is included. Believe me, all of the known authors are represented, plus some that I had never heard of. (I may have to do some research on Wolcott Gibbs.)
I am not finished reading the book yet because I have been forcing myself to read the stories in order, when what I really want to do is rush to my favorites first.
This anthology should be on the library shelf in each serious reader’s home. It is a delight.
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