Dorothea Benton Frank (1951–2019)

One of the great things about summer is that I get to spend some time in South Carolina's Lowcountry when Dorothea Benton Frank's latest novel publishes. This year's terrific novel All The Single Ladies shows Frank in fine form with wonderful characters in a great story, topped off with Frank's signature one-liners that crack me up.

Lisa St. Clair is a divorced nurse, struggling to make do with a part-time job working at an adult home, sad that her 18-year-old daughter has moved to Colorado, show more where her estranged father has help set her up in her own legal marijuana tourist company.

Lisa has become close to Kathy, fifty-year-old patient who is dying of cancer, as well as the woman's two best friends, Carrie and Suzanne, who hold a constant vigil at her bedside. When Kathy passes away, Lisa, Carrie and Suzanne join forces to clean out Kathy's apartment, and they become closer.

What I liked about this book was that these are women of a certain age, who haven't been lucky in love up to this point, but they don't close themselves off to the possibilities in front of them. They support each other, and when Lisa loses her apartment, Suzanne offers her a room in her grandmother's home near the beach.

Suzanne grandmother Miss Trudie is an unforgettable character, the kind of grandma we'd all wish to have. She's 99 years-old, sassy, and full of life and advice. I fell in love with Miss Trudie.

Carrie is a thrice-widowed woman, and she is always on the lookout for husband number four. Suzanne owns her floral shop, but she doesn't have time or the inclination to look for a husband. Taking care of Miss Trudie and trying to keep her shop open takes all of her time.

Lisa not only has to deal with her strained relationship with her daughter, but her phone conversations with her parents are hilarious. I can almost see her banging her head against the wall as she tries to get through a call with them.

The friendship these women develop is heartwarming, they support and encourage each other in their individual endeavors. And the men that come into their lives are not stereotypical clueless guys, they feel like real men, trying to do their best for the women they care about.

One of the men even gives a great piece of advice; he tells Lisa that children don't do things to hurt their parents, they don't even consider that their actions have anything to do with their parents. Smart man.

One of the best things about reading Frank's novels is that I can add so many great restaurants to my Charleston Pinterest board. Frank helped me add close to a dozen more, and the Chamber of Commerce of Charleston should send her a big bouquet of flowers because no one encourages more people to visit (and maybe even retire) to that beautiful area.

Grab a beach chair, your best girlfriends, a couple of bottles of Pinot Grigio, and a few copies of All The Single Ladies and make a day of it. Then go to dinner and plan your girls' vacation to Charleston. show less

This was an easy, breezy family tale of three generations of women in a South Carolina family, happily feuding their way through life.

Maisie, the 80-year-old matriarch, is a feisty, outspoken character who frequently clashes with her straitlaced daughter, Liz, often over Liz' daughter Ashley, a wannabe artist. Ashley falls hard for a womanizing politician at the same time Liz' marriage drifts into turbulent waters. Frank uses Ashley's romance to launch a subplot about domestic violence, and show more the ultimate happy-ever-after conclusion seems to come out of left field.

No brain cells were harmed in the making of this book, but it was a welcome diversion. show less

Every time I read one of DBF's books I want to move down south and get adopted by a big 'ole family and live like the characters in her book do.
This book tells the story of a much fractured family. Annie and Buster is a married couple, both retired, that have been living apart for 11 years since he got fed up with her controlling ways. From Annie's point of view, it was the day after their daughter’s wedding, he had his junk all over the porch, and they had a bunch of relatives coming show more over so of course she was concerned. Jackie, the aforementioned daughter, is coming back to the low country with her son Charlie, aged 10. Jackie's husband Jimmie, an NYFD member had died on duty several months before and Jackie needs a break from life in Brooklyn. She is also grappling with decisions after being an active duty nurse in Afghanistan and now figuring out where her life will go.
The visit is fraught with tension between Jackie and Annie and Annie and Buster. Throw in good looking Dr. Steve from next door who Annie has been lusting after in her heart and it just keeps getting deeper. Annie is the true southern woman who just keeps on living life every day no matter how hard it has become and who believes that good food is a cure for a lot of problems. She is a font of information for Charlie, telling him all about the low country ways, the battles in the area during the Revolution, and about local celebrity Edgar Allen Poe.

One of things I love about DBF's books is that there is such a sense of normalcy in the lives of the characters, even when they are doing the craziest things- like scoping out Dr. Steve's unmentionables. The continuity of years of tradition becomes a balm that soothes the troubled soul whether you believe in the traditions or not. While this story does have a few incidents of emotional lows and one scary moment, generally it is a tale of a family finding its way back to each other by living day after day and opening their hearts to the healing they can give each other. show less

Okay, who snuck in and planted listening devices in my house? I swear that somehow Ms. Frank has been listening in on comments made by my husband of 40 years and that's where she got the inspiration for this book. Not only is Wesley a bad imitation of my husband (all his faults but none of his virtues) but I actually believe that I have heard the same words attributed to Wesley come out of my husband's mouth.

This story was so much fun - I laughed so hard at times that I actually cried. I was show more proud of Leslie for standing up for herself and showing that it's never too late to stand up to a bully. show less