Friday, November 27, 2009
Friday Flashback
from June 2003:
The Puzzle Bark Tree by Stephanie Gertler. Women's fiction.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
The Puzzle Bark Tree by Stephanie Gertler. Women's fiction.
The Puzzle Bark Tree is an intriguing puzzle. Grace's parents have always been cold and distant, and she has been plagued with nightmares of drowning and a fear of water for as long as she can remember.Originally posted =>HERE<=.
Her parents' dual suicide and their bequest to Grace of an island home she'd never known they owned suggest a clue to the answers she needs.
The crisis also puts a spotlight on Grace's shaky marriage, forcing her to contrast it with her sister's happy one. When she travels to the island against her husband's wishes, she finds someone who provides her with some of her answers, as well as the compassion, comfort, friendship, and passion she'd been missing.
Beneath Grace's story of the discovery of her own past is the story of how tragedy changed and shaped the lives of her family, particularly those of her parents.
The Puzzle Bark Tree is intriguing and thought-provoking, making me wonder how different personalities would react to the same tragedy, and particularly how I would react.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
Labels: books, flashback, WomensFiction
Friday, May 22, 2009
Friday Flashback
From October 2002:
Family Album by Patricia Kay. Women's fiction.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
Family Album by Patricia Kay. Women's fiction.
Isn't it interesting how certain themes show up in several books at the same time? It's like there's something in the air prompting different authors to write about the same topic. And it's also interesting how different those books can be.You can read the entire thread here.
Not to quibble, but I'd really call Family Album more "women's fiction" than "romance". There's a love story, with Hannah and Simon renewing their relationship after the upheaval, but it's more about the entire family and what happens when the son she gave up for adoption comes looking for his birth mother.
It felt very real. Nobody was a bad guy, nobody was more right than anyone else, they were just all caught in the situation, and it was interesting to explore those emotions.
I had to laugh at what you said, Annie---as soon as I read in a book that someone has been keeping a secret, I know it's going to turn out badly for them. In real life? I don't know. I can understand Hannah's not telling Simon she'd had a baby she'd given up for adoption when she first met him---it's not the sort of thing you just blurt out until you know someone better. And then when she did know him better, he had such a vehemently negative opinion of women who gave up their babies for adoption that she was afraid to. And I can also understand how years can go by and she was still telling herself that someday she'd tell him.
I had a harder time understanding Simon's anger toward women who gave up their babies for adoption. I understand he felt rejected by his birth mother, but surely he'd have preferred that to abortion. Was it because he didn't have the kind of love he wanted from his adoptive parents and felt that something was lacking that his "real" mother should have given him? Still, there's no one right answer to this problem. Of course, ideally, all babies would be wanted and loved and raised by their biological parents who love each other. But it's not a perfect world, and thank heavens for women courageous enough to have a baby they for whatever reason cannot or feel they cannot raise and give it up for adoption to people who can't have a child of their own.
Once again we have the very realistic nice but self-centered teenage girl. Not only is she mortified by having a crush on her half-brother, but she finds out she's not her mother's only child as she's thought for all her life. A lot to deal with.
I thought it was very realistic, too, that Simon admits at the end that they're not all going to be one big happy family.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
Labels: books, flashback, WomensFiction
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Risky Business
*** Risky Business by Merline Lovelace. Women's fiction.
Sue Ellen Carson has been divorced twice and now enjoys a no-strings friendly affair with Air Force pilot "Crash." She's the Department of Labor's chief of employment and training in Pensacola, meaning that, among other things, she approves--or disapproves--funding for training programs. And she's disapproved the STEP program devised by USAF Chief Master Sergeant Joe Goodwin. Specifically, she's disapproved the "surivival" portion of the program.
But now Joe has pulled some strings and Sue Ellen's boss has ordered her to experience the program for herself, so city girl Sue Ellen is off to the wilderness, mentoring a sullen teenage girl Rose, and fighting her attraction to Joe.
Despite Lovelace's genius for making characters and settings come to life--and she really does that, even in a mediocre story: the characters are absolutely real, and the scenes were all vividly depicted--there is nothing at all new or surprising about this story.
It's a fish-out-of-water story, a rescuing-a-troubled-teen story, and a woman-discovering-she-needs-a-real-man story.
Sue Ellen's discomfort with the great outdoors is occasionally amusing, but it falls short--it's not played up enough to be really funny; she does some things that are just stupid; and some mistakes she makes are criticized far more than they merit.
The story of Rose, the troubled teen Sue Ellen mentors, is likewise less involved than it could be. Everything's pretty much smooth sailing--there's no real suspense or even concern from the reader when the inevitable difficulties arise, because it's all resolved quite easily.
As for the romance part, that's left mostly until the very end, and not given much story time. Joe's a wonderful character, and more could have been done with him. He's in a state of transition: retiring from the Air Force, starting a program for troubled teens--IMO, it would have been a better book if it had been Joe's book rather than Sue Ellen's, because all there was of Sue Ellen's story was learning that she did actually want more than just a friendly, no-strings affair.
Basically, with an extra 50 - 100 pages, changing the focus from Sue Ellen to Joe, and making Rose's problems more emotionally charged, this could have been an excellent story. As it is, I felt I'd read it all before, and found it pretty forgettable.
Categories: Books, 3stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 3 stars, books, WomensFiction
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
A Little Ray of Sunshine
***** A Little Ray of Sunshine by Lani Diane Rich. Women's fiction.
Lani is one of my must-buy authors, and this is one of the reasons why.
Emmy James has been living in an Airstream, traveling around, going from job to job, state to state, moving whenever the whim strikes her--ever since she destroyed her life six years ago. She's working at a Quik 'n Go when she meets Jess, who announces that she's an angel, and that the universe has sent her to help EJ.
EJ obviously thinks Jess is a kook, but before she can decide what to do about her, childhood friend Digg shows up to invite her to the wedding of his father and her mother. EJ has a few problems with that: 1) Lilly Lorraine, EJ's mother, is selfish and cruel, 2) Danny, Digg's father, is a wonderful man and she doesn't want to see him ruin his life, 3) EJ was engaged to marry Digg's brother Luke until the implosion six years ago, 4) EJ never wants to go home again.
But Jess hooks up the trailer while EJ's sleeping, and tricks/coerces/cajoles EJ into heading for Fletcher, Oregon.
The meeting, the trip, and the wedding (or, rather, what happens when EJ arrives for the wedding) all have their effect on EJ. It's literally a journey of self-discovery.
The wonderful thing is that EJ doesn't make that trip alone--she's not the only character who grows or changes--and they all affect each other in various ways. These are fabulous, quirky characters, a little larger than life, but all the more real because of that.
I laughed, I cried, I stayed up too late reading it. I can't wait to read her next book: Wish You Were Here.
Categories: Books, 5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday Flashback
From May 2003:
When You Go Away by Jessica Barksdale Inclan. Women's fiction.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
When You Go Away by Jessica Barksdale Inclan. Women's fiction.
This book also has a theme of parental abandonment, but without the personal parallels, it was easier for me to read.You can read the entire thread, including a conversation with the author, here.
Peri Mackenzie is a divorced mother of three: a 15-year-old son, a 13-year-old daughter, and a 5-year-old who's severely disabled. One day, she gets in her car and drives away, abandoning them.
Once again, the characters are all very complex and sympathetic. Peri's abandonment of her children, even while due to an acute psychological illness, was understandable.
Unlike Her Daughter's Eyes, however, there was one character I didn't end up sympathizing with at the end: the kids' father. I did get a better sense of what motivated him, but I couldn't sympathize.
In both stories, it took a crisis to shake up the unhealthy status quo and set these families on the road to recovery. And even though both stories end up on a hopeful note, they don't have fairy-tale endings. I know that the families are going to have to work hard, but I have hope that they'll make it.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
Labels: books, flashback, WomensFiction
Friday, July 04, 2008
Friday Flashback
From May 2003:
Her Daughter's Eyes by Jessica Barksdale Inclan. Women's fiction.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
Her Daughter's Eyes by Jessica Barksdale Inclan. Women's fiction.
This book was almost too close to home for me to read. I have a 17-year-old daughter, and that was close enough, but there were parallels to my own teen years as well. My parents were divorced, I never saw my father. My mother worked nights, usually coming home after I'd gone to school in the morning. When she got up, she'd shower & dress, and then go to a friend's house, until they went to work together at 11. Once in a while, she'd still be home when I got home from school, and occasionally I saw her on her weekends off, so it wasn't quite as bad as Kate & Tyler had it, but it brought back all the old memories and resentments.You can read the entire thread, including a conversation with the author, here.
Kate is 17 and pregnant, living alone with her younger sister while her father spends his time with his girlfriend and her two young sons. When the time comes, Tyler delivers her niece, and the girls take care of the baby until they're discovered, and their lives, and the lives of their father, his girlfriend, the baby's father, and his family all unravel.
It would be easy for the men in this story to be villains, for the girls and the baby's father's wife & family to be victims, but this book is more complex than that. Each character in this book is real: not bad, not good, but human. When I started the story, I didn't believe it would be possible for me to have any sympathy for a man who left his daughters alone and didn't even notice when one became pregnant and gave birth. I still can't condone his behavior, but I can understand and sympathize. I didn't expect to feel anything other than sympathy for Kate, but by the end of the story, I did.
Despite my personal qualms about the book, I'm glad I read it. The characters are very well drawn, and the author has the rare gift of writing them so that the readers can understand and sympathize even when it seems impossible.
Categories: Flashback, Books, WomensFiction
Labels: books, flashback, WomensFiction
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Unpredictable
***** Unpredictable by Eileen Cook. Women's fiction.
I read this for the book club discussion on the Cherry Forums--you can see how far behind I am.
Sophie Kintock's long-time boyfriend Doug has left her for another woman, but Sophie knows he's the love of her life, and she's determined to get him back. She starts by doing wacky things to make him think he's losing it without her--like stealing his socks and moving his car.
Then she discovers that his new girlfriend Melanie believes in psychics, so she decides to pose as a psychic to convince Melanie to leave Doug. Skeptic Nick, who exposes fake psychics, tells her how the fakes do it and helps her create a believable persona.
But then a prediction she made comes true, and suddenly Sophie's charade is out of her control.
Unpredictable is such a funny and warm story. It's reminiscent of My Best Friend's Wedding, only with a better ending. Sophie is so stubbornly certain that she and Doug are destined for each other, and even though it's obvious to the reader that she's deluding herself, she's so sincere and realistic in her delusion that you can't help but root for her anyway.
I sent this to Dagny (bought a second copy for her, because I'm keeping mine), and she enjoyed it as well--not a common occurrence, by the way, since she tends to be very critical of books--or maybe it's just books I recommend--probably a consequence of being an English major. Regardless, though, that's high praise.
Categories: Books, 5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Skinny Dipping
****½ Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway. Women's fiction.
It's going to be hard to talk about this book objectively, since it left me really depressed. And no, it's not the book itself, it's me. I read it for the Cherry Forums Book Club discussion, and ended up completely blowing off the discussion because I was still processing the feelings it engendered. I still haven't finished, but it's probably been long enough that I can write about the book.
Mimi Olson is a slacker. She's smart and capable, but she's just squeaking by, eking out a living by working as a telephone medium. One thing her job does have going for it: she can take time off, and she lives for her summers at Chez Ducky, the family vacation home at Fowl Lake, Minnesota.
Only this year, things are changing. McMansions are going up around the lake, spoiling it--the worst is right next door, built by brilliant young eccentric millionaire Prescott Tierney. Worse yet, several of the older generation want to sell Chez Ducky, and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. The oldest female relative is generally in charge, but Mimi's oldest aunt is getting too old for the job, and the others are either unsuitable or won't take it. Mimi's aunt Birgie wants Mimi to take charge, for the sake of the family, but primarily for the sake of Mimi herself, because Birgie knows that Mimi loves Chez Ducky, and that if anything can shake her out of her lethargy, a threat to Chez Ducky will do it.
With all that on her mind, Mimi indulges in one of the family's usual pasttimes: skinny dipping. Unfortunately, her suit gets lost, and she's stuck in the lake, naked, with nobody close enough to hear her to help her out. So she sneaks out, covered in mud and leaves, and meets Joe Tierney when she's trying to see if there's a blanket in his car she can cover up with.
Hmm. I'm kind of overdoing the synopsis here. Moving along: sparks between Joe and Mimi, Mimi doesn't take charge and plans are made for selling. Months later, Mimi's back at Chez Ducky, wanting one last visit by herself. But Prescott gets injured trying to assist her when he thinks she's having convulsions (she's making a snow angel), and then Joe gets injured when he comes to take care of Prescott, and Mimi has all kinds of responsibility.
There are wonderful parallels in this book--Joe was a bad father to Prescott because he didn't understand him and Mimi's mother was a bad mother to her because she didn't understand her, either. Then there's the contrast between the ramshackle but loved Chez Ducky and Prescott's gorgeous but sterile Bombadil House. And the parallels between Prescott's view of and love for his house and for Mimi. And... Well. Just too much to mention.
The story is mostly about Mimi's growth, and to a lesser extent, that of Prescott and the relationship between him and Joe. Mimi is such an underachiever, and she finally realizes why, and also comes to terms with herself and her past. And that's what got to me. I could see too many parallels between myself and Mimi, but I'm still working on my own solution.
If it hadn't been so personal, I'd have thoroughly enjoyed Skinny Dipping. Lots of laughs, lots of realistic emotional content. As it is, it was a big kick in the ass that I suspect I needed.
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Looking for Mr. Goodbunny
**** Looking for Mr. Goodbunny by Kathleen O'Reilly. Women's fiction.
Life coach Elle Sheffield is better at fixing her clients' lives than her own, but she was hanging in there, until her trusty Mr. Bunny vibrator dies. You wouldn't think that would be the end of the world, but it's just the start of a chain of events that leads her to making a deal with the devil... or her high school nemesis Leah, which is close enough. See, Leah knows someone who knows someone, and promises she can get Elle's fledgling business a profile in the Times, which would translate to more clients, more money, and quite possibly, solvency for Elle.
Complicating matters is Harvey, Leah's ex-husband and father of her daughter. Leah wants Harvey back. Harvey wants Elle. But Elle needs to stay on Leah's good side to get the profile.
Rounding out the story is Elle's eclectic group of clients: the submissive housewife, the abrasive 20-something, the widow who's just beginning to date again.
There are a lot of very amusing scenes, as well as some emotionally affecting ones. Both Elle and Harvey grow and change during the book, with their romance as a result rather than a cause--always a good thing. Also excellent is that Elle is in her 40s.
I enjoyed the book very much, but it didn't quite grab me deep down. Part of that is that I didn't quite get the life coach concept--how 3 clients that Elle seems to just hang around with and give very general advice to can pay enough to support her is beyond me. I also wasn't particularly impressed with Elle's advice or insights. Instead of a career, it seemed more like a scheme to make money without actually doing anything. I enjoyed the irony of Elle trying to fix her clients' lives while her own is such a mess, but on the other hand, it felt dishonest to me.
Bottom line: I had fun with this book, but I liked it more when I didn't think about it too much.
...more
Categories: Books, 4stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4 stars, books, WomensFiction
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Mad Dash
****½ Mad Dash by Patricia Gaffney. Women's fiction.
Patricia Gaffney's women's fiction books are a real challenge for me. I can't resist them, because she's such a fabulous writer, and because she's witty and wise and, well, I don't think it's exaggerating much to call her a goddess. On the other hand, it's women's fiction. In general, it's the one genre I loathe. At best, it's serious. At worst, it's whiny women who blame men for all their problems. It's a good thing I love Gaffney, because otherwise I'd hate her. Not only does she make me read women's fiction... she makes me love it.
Dash and Andrew have been married nearly 20 years. He's a stuffy history professor, she's a free-spirited photographer. Dash's mother died recently, and now their only child is going off to college. Then a puppy shows up on their doorstep. Dash wants to keep it, Andrew's allergic. Dash and the puppy out, going to their cottage.
Andrew: She's leaving me? Over a puppy?
Dash: How can he not see that it's not about the puppy?
I'd venture to say that most long-married couples will recognize the spirit behind their confusion--Pat has human nature down so well that these characters feel utterly real.
Like many couples in their situation, they've taken each other for granted, focused on their careers, their children, their aging parents, and when that outside focus is taken away, they find themselves married to someone they don't know, and maybe don't even like all that much. And the women (though this could apply to men, too, but in this case, it's Dash) discover that after years of devoting themselves to other people--husband, parents, children--there's nothing left of themselves.
How Dash and Andrew cope with the separation and learn and grow and find themselves and each other again is a story full of warmth and humor and pain and love and realism. It's truly a wonderful book.
All the moreso because it brought me to some odd realizations. At the start of the book, I was terribly irritated with Dash and Andrew. Didn't they ever talk to each other? Why didn't they just have a big fight and clear the air? Heck, I've been married 23 years, and I don't have problems like that in my marriage....
And there it was. A weird little thing in my psyche that was making me react personally to Dash and Andrew's marital problems. There are some things you just know about yourself, the way you know the color of your eyes, and which hand you use. I know that I'm intellectually smart and socially stupid. So Andrew and Dash made me question my assumptions, which is uncomfortable as hell, especially when it's such a deeply entrenched assumption.
Not that you really want to see how my mind works, but it went something like this:
- I suck at social interaction/emotional things.
- When things bother me in my marriage, I start a huge screaming argument until we hash things out and settle them.
- Dash and Andrew wouldn't dream of doing that.
- Dash and Andrew must be more emotionally savvy than me (everybody is).
- So my approach must be wrong.
- Their relationship is falling apart.
- So why isn't mine?
Anyway, once I got done with the little epiphany, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book.
By the way, Mad Dash is the current discussion on the Cherry Forums Book Club. It's a lot more interesting there, undoubtedly. Check it out.
...more
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The Stone Flower Garden
**** The Stone Flower Garden by Deborah Smith. Women's fiction.
Hmmmm. I have no idea why this book was in my TBR pile. As far as I can tell, the only thing I've read by Deborah Smith previously is the first two or three Mossy Creek anthologies, and I doubt I'd have bought a book based on that.
Darleen Union and Eli Wade meet as children when the town princess defends the dirt-poor newcomer from bullies. Darl's family owns the Hardigree marble company, which owns the town, and when Darl's grandmother, the matriarch, learns about the Wades, she gives Eli's father a job, and the family a house to live in. When Eli's mathematical genius becomes evident, she puts him to work, too, training him and offering him an education.
Darl and Eli become close friends, and as they grow up, the friendship shows signs of developing into something more. Then Darl's aunt Clara, the black sheep of the family, arrives and makes everyone nervous and upset until she's killed and Eli's father is blamed, and the family leaves town in disgrace.
Twenty-five years later, they're reunited when Eli's sister is determined to find out who really killed Clara, and to clear their father's name. In the process, a lot of secrets people have killed to keep are revealed.
This is a very intensely emotional story, and one that's quite easy to get caught up in. The deep friendships, and the heavy weight of secrets permeate the story from the beginning. The characters are wrenched with guilt and shame, torn by love, and tend to waver between tyranny an martyrdom.
Ultimately, it got to be a bit much for me. I enjoyed the story and the emotional ride up to a point, then I hit emotional overload, and I just wanted it to be over. I admit I have a low tolerance for emotional intensity, so YMMV.
I'll probably look for more Deborah Smith books, though--I like reading something intense and complex like this, just not all that frequently.
...more
Categories: Books, 4stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4 stars, books, WomensFiction
Monday, June 25, 2007
TBR Challenge for June
The TBR Challenge For June, and the end of the school year, is to read a book with at least one school-age character in it.
To participate, leave a comment here or on your blog.
I chose:
**½ Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg. Women's fiction.
I'm not sure why I had this book in my TBR pile--it must have been a recommendation, but I'm not sure from whom, or why I took the recommendation.
Maybe they recommended it because the main character is a 12-year-old army brat. I've got one of those in my house, actually, though he's not a girl. And this isn't the 60s (50s?).
But that's also why I got turned off by the book very early on. Have I ranted here yet about every single military father in fiction being an abusive asshole? Don't worry--I won't. It doesn't even surprise me anymore. I just chalk it up to ignorance and a desire to keep that us vs. them separation alive so that perpetual war is okay. (So I lied--it's just a mini-rant, after all.) Oh, and I tend to not want to read the author's books anymore.
Twelve-year-old Katie and her teenage sister Diane live with their abusive army officer father after the death of their mother. Katie mostly hangs out with her 14-year-old friend Cherylanne. There's lots about how Katie and Cherylanne spend their time, and how Katie tries to avoid her father's abuse.
Then he announces they have to move, and ****spoilers****Diane runs away with her boyfriend, taking Katie with them, but then Katie calls her dad and goes back home.****
It's more of a snapshot of a short period in a girl's life than it is a story. Some of the reviews call it a coming-of-age story, but I think that's just because Katie is 12. She doesn't really grow up or change much. It's not a character study, either, because there's not much depth to the characters. The girls are pretty bland--we see them behaving like ordinary adolescents, and there's nothing particularly memorable or illuminating about any of it. The father, too, wasn't very believable, and not just because of the caricature of a military dad. For example, ****spoiler**** his almost nonchalant reaction to the girls running away and to Diane not coming back is completely at odds with his established abuse. **** There's not even an attempt to explain it.
It is a very atmospheric and clear snapshot, but that's not enough to carry a book. I'm not tempted to check out the sequels.
...more
Categories: TBRChallenge, Books, 2.5stars, WomensFiction
To participate, leave a comment here or on your blog.
I chose:
**½ Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg. Women's fiction.
I'm not sure why I had this book in my TBR pile--it must have been a recommendation, but I'm not sure from whom, or why I took the recommendation.
Maybe they recommended it because the main character is a 12-year-old army brat. I've got one of those in my house, actually, though he's not a girl. And this isn't the 60s (50s?).
But that's also why I got turned off by the book very early on. Have I ranted here yet about every single military father in fiction being an abusive asshole? Don't worry--I won't. It doesn't even surprise me anymore. I just chalk it up to ignorance and a desire to keep that us vs. them separation alive so that perpetual war is okay. (So I lied--it's just a mini-rant, after all.) Oh, and I tend to not want to read the author's books anymore.
Twelve-year-old Katie and her teenage sister Diane live with their abusive army officer father after the death of their mother. Katie mostly hangs out with her 14-year-old friend Cherylanne. There's lots about how Katie and Cherylanne spend their time, and how Katie tries to avoid her father's abuse.
Then he announces they have to move, and ****spoilers****Diane runs away with her boyfriend, taking Katie with them, but then Katie calls her dad and goes back home.****
It's more of a snapshot of a short period in a girl's life than it is a story. Some of the reviews call it a coming-of-age story, but I think that's just because Katie is 12. She doesn't really grow up or change much. It's not a character study, either, because there's not much depth to the characters. The girls are pretty bland--we see them behaving like ordinary adolescents, and there's nothing particularly memorable or illuminating about any of it. The father, too, wasn't very believable, and not just because of the caricature of a military dad. For example, ****spoiler**** his almost nonchalant reaction to the girls running away and to Diane not coming back is completely at odds with his established abuse. **** There's not even an attempt to explain it.
It is a very atmospheric and clear snapshot, but that's not enough to carry a book. I'm not tempted to check out the sequels.
...more
Categories: TBRChallenge, Books, 2.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 2.5 stars, books, tbr challenge, WomensFiction
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Tending Roses
**** Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate. Women's fiction.
This is the first book in a series, and I've read and enjoyed the second two, but forgot about the first one until I was browsing through the bargain bin at either Amazon or B&N--I'm not sure which one, because it's not on sale at either one now. Hmmm. Maybe I got it from Half.com.
Anyway. Kate Bowman is on maternity leave from a high-pressure job, so when Grandma Rose starts a fire through her forgetfulness, the family decides Kate and her husband Ben, who's an architect and can "work anywhere", should go stay with Grandma Rose and convince her to move into a retirement home.
Grandma Rose is a bit cantankerous and persnickety, and is prone to heartbreaking and alarming bouts of forgetfulness, but she also has a unique sense of humor and the wisdom she's gleaned in her long life.
It's mostly Kate's story, as she goes from frustration with Grandma Rose and eagerness to return to her old life, to a real affection for and understanding of the old woman, and the big old house. She periodically finds a journal lying around, in Grandma Rose's handwriting, and each time there's a new story of Grandma Rose's life, but after she's read it, it disappears until the next time.
Kate was more understanding of Grandma Rose than I think I would have been, but I really enjoyed Kate's journey. She went from buying in to the yuppie dream at the beginning of the book to understanding what really mattered to her at the end, helped along by Grandma Rose's advice: "maybe you should want less." Ben had the same journey, but it was a little easier for him, I think, since his focus was on architecture rather than on the lifestyle. Too, his life didn't change as much as Kate's.
The secondary characters were vivid, unique, and realistic--the other family members, who are concerned that Grandma Rose is manipulating Kate, and the young girl Dell who Grandma Rose takes under her wing.
It's a little self-consciously "heart-warming," something I don't particularly enjoy, but the characters made up for that somewhat, and since I'd read the subsequent books in the series, I already knew how some of the more emotional scenes would turn out, so they weren't as tear-inducing as they might otherwise have been.
...more
Categories: Books, 4stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4 stars, books, WomensFiction
Sunday, April 01, 2007
The Fortune Quilt
***** The Fortune Quilt by Lani Diane Rich. Women's fiction.
Oh, boy. This is going to be another one of those books I can't write about because I liked it too much.
Television producer Carly McKay is pretty comfortable in her life. Until she interviews psychic quiltmaker Brandywine Seaver. Carly's disbelieving, but that doesn't stop Brandy from giving Carly a quilt that she "knows" is hers and giving her a reading:
Carly's shaken by the last pronouncement--Mary is her mother who disappeared when Carly was twelve. But she writes it off until one by one, the predictions start coming true. She loses her job, her mother returns, and her best friend Christopher suddenly announces he wants more from their relationship.
- her career is in upheaval
- something about South America
- her emotional center is jagged
- pay attention to the paintbrushes
- return the frog
- accept the book with the amber spine
- take the cab
- Mary isn't dead
So Carly returns to the quiltmaker's small town to... well, to escape from the upheaval, but she tells herself it's to make Brandy remove the curse and take the quilt back, and she ends up renting a cabin from Brandy and starting a new life, including a romance with her fellow tenant Will, an ex-boyfriend of Carly's older sister.
It's a very emotional story, but at the same time, it's not sappy or maudlin. Most importantly for me, Carly is not a saint. One of the main reasons why I shy away from women's fiction is that when it comes to things like her mother returning after disappearing 17 years ago, the main characters tend to be saints--they forgive immediately. In fact, most women's fiction heroines seem to put up with anything from their mothers, and simultaneously divorce their husbands at the first hint of anything other than fairy tale bliss. Heh. Maybe I've read the wrong women's fiction. Anyway, that is not this book.
Carly's younger sister Five (there's a story behind this name, but you'll have to read the book to find out), and her older sister Ella welcome their mother back with open arms, as does their father, though his reaction is more complex, understandably. But Carly, who'd ended up with all the responsibility when Mary left, is angry and hurt. I very much appreciated that about her. It seemed an honest reaction, and the way it was settled in the end was very satisfying and believable.
The romantic relationships in this book are also a large part of it, though I should warn you that it's not a romance. I didn't really know until the end who Carly would end up with, and I was pleased with her choice.
And there's community. The small town where Brandywine lives is full of artists, making for a lot of interesting characters. Even though they're unusual, they're still believable, and there are some nice sub-plots involving them. It's a town I can imagine being able to visit.
Okay, that's probably enough rambling. I loved the book. It made me laugh aloud, and made me cry. I have all of Lani's books, and she's on my must-buy list.
By the way, The Fortune Quilt is the Cherry Book Club's discussion for April 1 - 15. You're invited. There'll be plenty of people discussing it who are much better at explaining themselves than I am.
...more
Categories: Books, 5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Monday, January 22, 2007
Getting Warmer
****½ Getting Warmer by Carol Snow. Women's fiction.
This is Carol Snow's second novel, and I'm having the same trouble categorizing it as I did her first. Serious chick lit? Funny women's fiction? Maybe I just need to expand my definition of "women's fiction" to include books that aren't about women in their 40s who get divorced.
Getting Warmer is about high school teacher Natalie Quackenbush. Her life is pretty dull: teaching English to teenagers who couldn't care less, and living with her parents while she pays off her student loans. And she hasn't had a whole lot of luck in the romance department. So when she and her best friend Jill go out, they... lie. They invent stories about themselves, the more outrageous the better. It's fun, and it livens things up a bit.
Until, of course, Natalie meets somebody she's actually interested in, and before she knows it he and his family all think she teaches at a prison and lives with her parents because her mother has Alzheimer's.
What follows with Jonathan is pretty much what you'd expect: every time Natalie tries to come clean, she ends up deeper in the lies, but it's written with such warmth and humor that it feels real.
That's not the only curve ball that life throws Natalie. In short order, her job, her family, and even her friendship with Jill are in crisis. In the process of dealing with everything falling apart, Natalie grows and learns and becomes a stronger, happier person.
It sounds like a cautionary tale, doesn't it? "Lying's bad, mmm-kay?" But that's only because I suck at explaining books I enjoy. Fun, humor, romance, and warmth. How's that?
I'll be watching for Carol Snow's next book.
...more
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
****½ One More Time by Claire Cross. Women's fiction.
Normally, Berkley does an excellent job providing covers that are eye-catching and fit the subject and tone of the book. But there's got to be an exception to every rule, and this is it. The cover suggests chick lit or romantic comedy--that is, something humorous. And this is not a funny book. The heroine does have a thing for lingerie, but it's all bras and panties, not corsets. And there are two poodles in the book, but they're not the heroine's, and they don't attack her lingerie.
What was even more disorienting is that romantic comedy is what I usually expect from this author--granted, romantic comedy with a solid, serious base, a la Jennifer Crusie. So when I started reading, and discovered it's a book about a marriage in trouble, I was taken aback.
If you've browsed through here long, you know I'm not a fan of mid-life, marriage-in-trouble stories--a.k.a. women's fiction. I tend to find the characters whiny and/or shallow, all too ready to blame everything that's wrong in their lives on their unsympathetic, ratbastard husbands. But I've read--and loved--enough from Claire Cross that I trusted her enough to read with an open mind. It didn't take long. Both Matt and Leslie grabbed me from the start.
Leslie is a driven, tenured college professor. Matt is a lawyer who's just lost (deliberately, as it turns out) a big case that would have given him a lucrative partnership in his father's firm. He's shocked when he comes home triumphant, expecting Leslie to be proud of him for standing up for his principles, and instead she's disappointed in him. Then hard on the heels of that blow, his father commits suicide--timing it precisely so that Matt will find his body.
So, buoyed by the logic of quite a lot of alcohol, he decides to leave. For New Orleans, where his youngest brother is in jail--again--and needs someone to bail him out. And, not coincidentally, where the ex-girlfriend who's kept in touch all these years lives.
Meanwhile, Leslie's dealing with a new department head who's demanding a lowering of standards to make the "customers" happy, and her mother-in-law who, thanks to the machinations of the recently deceased, has been kicked out of her condo, and who's also just inherited the guardianship of a pair of very wealthy poodles. And a teenage daughter with a weight problem.
Claire Cross takes a lot of risks with this book, but it works. The scenes, especially in the beginning of the book, are short, and we jump between Leslie scenes and Matt scenes with almost dizzying rapidity. The result, however, is that I got a very clear sense of how both of them were feeling, and I felt sympathetic to them both. Longer scenes would have had the effect of bonding me to one or the other more strongly--likely whichever character's scene was first--and I'd have been less sympathetic to their "enemy."
There are also dream sequences. I've complained before about dreams in books. They're almost always unnecessary and indulgent, but these work. I'm not going to change my mind about dreams in books in general, but the whimsical/terrifying nature of Leslie's dreams, and the way they change through the book, are a nice way to show her subconscious dealing with her various issues.
The daughter is frighteningly adult for 13--mine wasn't like that for at least 2 more years--but I could buy it, especially given that she's an only child. The mother-in-law is convincing as a (mostly) recovering alcoholic, as is her love/hate relationship with her recently deceased husband. And Sharan, Matt's ex-girlfriend is wonderfully complex--the free spirit artist of the girl she was in college is still visible inside the woman she's become, but life has changed her, and Matt's arrival changes her more. It would have been so easy to make her a 2-dimensional bitch of a husband-stealer, but she's not. Even Sharan is sympathetic.
Matt and Leslie are, of course, the center of the book, and they're so real you probably know them. They've screwed up their marriage in the most believable and, sadly, common way possible: by not communicating. They still have a great sex life--when they get to it, that is. And they talk. But both of them assume that the other knows how they feel. Matt assumes Leslie knows he doesn't want to join his father's firm, and that he can't stomach the thought of defending obviously guilty and remorseless criminals. Leslie assumes that Matt knows she's tired of carrying the burden of financial stability on her shoulders. Those assumptions lead to further assumptions about how the other would react. The most telling detail about their marriage is that they don't fight.
I absolutely loved this story--though I docked it a half star because it made me moody until it was done. The lessons Leslie and Matt learned are, I believe, essential for a solid, happy, and long-lasting marriage. Don't get the wrong idea--it's not remotely preachy. It's a story about a couple who might have gone on for years, content in their assumptions and their okay marriage, until life crashed in on them. And I was so thrilled that they didn't find that the answer was to ditch the marriage and start over--with the same mistakes--with someone new. I liked these characters. I believed in these characters. I ached for them, and rejoiced for them at the end.
...more
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
****½ Been There, Done That by Carol Snow. Women's fiction/chick lit.
...or maybe I should just call it "general fiction," but that tells you even less. How about "humorous women's fiction" or "chick lit without shoes and shopping". It has a cover quote on it from the brilliant Lani Diane Rich--that should tell you what kind of book this is.
Journalist Kathy Hopkins looks younger than she is--a lot younger. At 32, she's still getting carded in bars. Her professional life isn't living up to her expectations--she's just been promoted to education editor of Salad magazine, but it's boring. And her love life isn't any better. So when her ex-boyfriend calls up asking to collaborate on a juicy story about a prostitution ring at a local college, she jumps at the chance to both work on an exciting story and rekindle old flames.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. They're getting nowhere fast, when a janitor at the college mistakes Kathy for a student, and sparks the idea of enrolling her undercover.
So Kathy finds herself dealing with an annoying roommate, late nights, and an entirely inappropriate crush on a decade-younger guy.
I admit, I was predisposed to like this book before even opening it. Normally, I ignore cover quotes, but when it's from an author whose taste I know and trust, and who I know doesn't hand out quotes unless she means them, I pay attention.
It didn't let me down. I liked Kathy from the beginning. I too have always looked younger than my age, and like her, it's solely due to lucky genes. But a good quote and a likeable heroine will only take you so far. The writing managed the rest.
I was sucked right into this story. The characters' emotions and reactions are clear and real, and I could believe in them. More than that, the story went in a direction that surprised me, and made me believe that as well.
Been There, Done That is funny and serious, about growing and growing up, about discovering what you want and being brave enough to go for it. It's a suck-you-in read that had me immersed in the story and not wanting to put it down.
Speaking of sucking... I suck terribly at writing about books I really enjoy. Sorry about that. I'm even sorrier (and impressed!) that Been There, Done That is Carol Snow's first book and there aren't any more out there for me to look for... yet. I'll be watching for more.
P.S. If you follow the link in the title (you do know that clicking on the title takes you to the best deal I found for buying the book new, right?), Buy.com has the book listed as Learning Curves. It's even on the cover. I'm assuming that was the working title, because the ISBN is the same. I contemplated using a different link, but it was about a buck cheaper than Amazon and over two bucks cheaper than Barnes & Noble, so I stuck with this link.
...more
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Sunday, July 30, 2006
** Fathers and Daughters, ed. by Jill M. Morgan. Women's fiction, memoirs.
I'd bought this book because it had stories in it by Diana Gabaldon and Carole Nelson Douglas. Other than the fact that it makes my collections of their works complete, I should have saved my money.
It's an anthology version of sappy, over-sentimental stories you might find in the Father's Day letters to the editor section of any newspaper, or expanded versions of the sentiments you find on the serious Father's Day cards, and the fact that the stories/memoirs were all written by bestselling authors didn't make them any more interesting.
Frustratingly, even though I only read one story at a time, interspersing other books between the stories, they still ran together--to me, it felt as though they were all written about 2 or maybe 3 fathers. Which could be because the authors are mostly contemporaries. Seems like all the fathers were uncommunicative, but fair, and all of them were into playing baseball. They were all pretty much stereotypical fathers of the 40s and 50s. Ho-hum.
I suppose some of my cynicism comes from my distant relationship with my own father, but I am not a fan of sentimentalism, regardless how it's directed.
...more
Categories: Books, 2stars, WomensFiction, Memoir
Labels: 2 stars, books, memoir, WomensFiction
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
****½ Drenched in Light by Lisa Wingate. Women's fiction.
See? There is some women's fiction I like. It's the one genre, though, where the subject matter makes the difference for me. In any other genre--mystery, romance, fantasy, science fiction, etc.--the subject doesn't usually change my opinion of a book, at least not more than marginally. It's usually the writing, and the author's voice that I respond to. I'm going to have to think about why the subject matters to me in women's fiction.
Drenched in Light is the 4th book in the Tending Roses series. I haven't read Tending Roses; I liked Good Hope Road very much; didn't like The Language of Sycamores; and really liked this one. Perhaps the difference is that Good Hope Road and Drenched in Light are more about beginnings.
Julia is working as a guidance counselor in a performing arts middle school, after years of eating disorders destroyed her career as a dancer. She's been coasting along, mourning her lost career and chafing against her parents' solicitude--feeling sorry for herself, in short. Then her sister gets pregnant, accelerating her wedding plans; a young girl (Dell, from the previous books) who's a gifted musician is failing her classes and the administration wants her out of the school--not least because she's not "the right sort"; and it becomes more and more obvious that there's a drug problem in the school that everyone is denying.
All those things make Julia focus on someone other than herself and her own problems, and she ends up discovering passion and drive for something besides dance. Especially important was that she took responsibility for her actions and decisions, both in the present and in the past.
The feeling of hope at the end of Drenched in Light is, I think, what women's fiction books in general are aiming for.
what I thought of it:
Categories: Books, 4.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 4.5 stars, books, WomensFiction
Monday, June 19, 2006
***½ Around the Next Corner by Elizabeth Wrenn. Women's fiction.
I'm Not The Reader for this, or most other, women's fiction. Even though I fit the demographics. I'm only 4 years younger than the main character, and I'm also a SAHM, with 3 kids, one in college. Perhaps that's why.
If I were capable of putting down a book once I've started it, I'd have put this one down after the first chapter or two. Not because of the writing, which was great--unobtrusive and clean--but because I did not like Deena. She's martyred herself to her family, and resents them for it. She's obsessed with housework, lets her teenage kids walk all over her, and this was the part that pushed me over the edge:
"Why were women supposed to take hormones in order to be horny? Why weren't men pressured to take hormones to make them able to have three thoughts and not have two of them be about sex?"That quote had me ranting to my husband for a good half-hour.
But I'm not capable of not finishing a book. I'm always afraid I'll miss something good if I don't. And that would have been the case with this one.
Deena realizes she's lost herself somewhere in immersing herself in her family, so when she stumbles across a program to raise puppies to be guide dogs for the blind, she decides to do something for herself and signs up. The details were just fascinating.
In the process of raising the puppy, she learned things about raising her children and that it is possible to be yourself and have a family; that she didn't have to leave her husband and family to rediscover herself. Most importantly, for me, she realized that a lot of her problems were of her own making, and that redeemed the book for me.
...more
Categories: Books, 3.5stars, WomensFiction
Labels: 3.5 stars, books, WomensFiction
