A Cure for Dreams

I have loved most of Ms. Gibbons' books, but could not read past the first few chapters of this one. Maybe I was just too set on a feel-good book for the weekend. ( )

A Cure for dreams is set during the Depression in back-country Virginia and Kentucky. Betty Davies Randolph reveals her childhood and her mother's life along Milk Farm Road, capturing a bits of old-school South; it seems like bad things are bubbling just under the surface, waiting to burst free. She recounts a world where human passions are often dark and where salvation is not often forthcoming. Gibbons has not written a dark novel. The ameliorating effects of resilient women and family relationships bring a sense of the continuation of life, of birth and love and the land.
This book made me think about the relationships between generations and the effect they have on our lives. It also made me feel sad for the current generation of young parents. Due to the transient nature of our country, many, including my own, are far from home places and family. They do not get to know the sense of place that comes from having several generations within an easy commute. I think their lives are poorer for it. ( )