Shirley Abbott

I'm just as conflicted about my feelings regarding this memoir as the author seems to be about her feelings regarding Southern women. She both praises and insults them in turns, and seems to be both embarrassed by and nostalgic of a past she can't compartmentalize.

The author grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas and knew my northwest part of the state when it was still dirt roads and, in her words, "primitive". It would be interesting to know how she sees NW Arkansas now with the rapid growth show more that has taken place in the last 15 years or so. Dirt roads are awfully scarce!

Published in 1983 when the author was in her late 40s, she obviously has a very different perspective from how most women in Arkansas would see themselves today. She makes a lot of assumptions about the intelligence of Southern women and her thoughts on the "Southern belle" are awfully stereotypical (though I will admit one mother and daughter pair I know did come to mind). Rather than being stuck with a choice between staying home to raise a passel of ignorant, dirty children who take after their ignorant, dirty mother; or escaping as an émigré to the North to find an education that is supposedly non-existent here; many of today's Southern women know that the best kind of education is the one you give yourself. Self-education can be very thorough, as well as very freeing, and is an option that many choose so they can live on their own schedule and terms---a concept that "educated" feminists seem to have such a difficult time grasping.

I purchased this book with hopes of learning about the daily lives, responsibilities, and dreams of Southern women from the past. Instead, this reads more like an author attempting to convince herself and everyone else that she's not as ignorant and hillbilly as "those people" from whom she came. While I did enjoy quite a bit of the social history in the book, I came away with little respect for the author. show less

This was an interesting yet ultimately disappointing book. The book is about the lives of eight people with various ties to each other, before and after the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. The relationships between the eight are explored using the device of a different narrator for each chapter. Cliches abound, with the classic responses to homosexuals demonstrated in both male and female couples. The end of the book is especially frustrating, as show more the reader is left wondering about the different characters. The unemployed stockbroker, his wife and the impact of their new baby on their tenuous relationship is left totally unexplored which is frustrating. In another scenario, a recent widower is finally able to commit to his lover, yet when she has what she has wanted all along, she wavers. Unfortunately, this represents another time-worn cliche: once we have what we want, we don't want it anymore. On the last page, the woman has decided to end the relationship with her widowed lover yet she feels that they are closer than ever. It is a strange contradiction, especially for the last page, that leaves the reader unfulfilled and wondering what the author's purpose for the book truly is. There are just too many unanswered questions for this to be a satisfying read. show less

I got an ARC of this from librarything.com as part of their early readers program. I was so pleased! I was immediately caught up in the story. It centers around a group of characters, all connected to each other, who live in New York in 2001. The first half of the book introduces you to each character. Each chapter is told from a different character's point of view, and I found this technique really effective. You'd get one person's perspective, and then get another version of the story from show more a different character. It made the people seem very real and I felt like I understood most of them very well. Then 911 hits and suddenly everything is different. I had never read such a detailed account of what it was like to actually be in New York when the towers were hit. It was nice to read about characters expressing the same fears and reactions I had when that happened, even the ones people didn't want to admit to at the time. I thought the whole story was beautifully written. This is Shirley Abbot's first novel, but she's already written some very well received memoirs. I'll definitely be checking those out. show less

Dealing with multiracial gay couples, aging, unhappy marriages and adultery, in a multi generational family, this novel takes place in NYC, during the few years surrounding 9-11. While the 2 marriages and the conflicts caused by their affairs are the primary focus groups within the novel there is a gay couple with a dying partner and a lesbian couple planning and holding a committment ceremony. When you add the idea of an unhappy husband contemplating disappearing in the 9-11 confusion to show more start a new life with his child's pre-school teacher, this book seems to deal with a few too many issues in the news. Attacking fewer contemporary topics in greater depth would perhaps be more successful. The story is told from the viewpoint of various flat and not too engaging characters in short chapters, and progresses chronologically to a well paced conclusion. show less