Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

In a way I feel like I'm being stingy giving this only two and a half stars. This is the last book on a list of over twenty I've tried from a chicklit/women's fiction recommendation list. Style-wise, this is at the top. I'd say that, along with The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing, this was the only book listed that had the quality that approaches literary fiction--it's lyrical at times, witty, quotable, with a narrative that mixes first and third person, letters and newspaper clippings from the scrapbook of "Ya-Ya-rabilia." It's a novel that celebrates a friendship of nearly 60 years from 1934 to 1993, and a rocky mother/daughter relationship.

It's also about forgiveness, the subject of one of the three quotations that front the show more book that tells us we all "need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour." That could make for a very moving book, but I remained unmoved because I absolutely hated the central character, the "Queen" of the "Ya-Ya Sisterhood," Vivi Walker. When the book begins in 1993, she's just cut her daughter, Sidda, out of her life for the crime of telling the New York Times "lies" about how Vivi beat her with a belt. They're not lies though, as we learn just pages in. They're not even "exaggerated" as Ya-Ya sister Necie claims to Sidda. They're minimized. Vivi beat ten-year-old Sidda and her younger sister and two brothers with a belt until they were bloody. Sidda still bears the physical (and emotional) scars thirty years later. And, as we learn just a few pages in, to the present day Vivi blames Sidda for not stopping her. Sadly, so does Sidda. And not only is Vivi still drinking all these years later after her abuse of her children fueled by drink, pages into the book in the present day of the novel, she's handing over a Bloody Mary to her fellow senior citizen Ya-Ya Teensy for her to drink as Teensy drives the car.

*SPOILERS BE HERE BELOW IF YOU CARE*

Sidda is constantly begging her mother for forgiveness through out the book, celebrating her mother's friendship with the Ya-Ya sisterhood, excusing and worshiping her mother for her "vivid" and "vivacious" spirit. It's all very "Ya-Ya-No." (Ya-Ya speak for "pathetic" we're told.) Yes, if you've reached 40 years old, it's way past time to let go of the anger and stop blaming your parents for your problems. But that's different from forgiveness and reconciliation. To really forgive, the person who hurt you needs to be sorry and say so and stop hurting you. It sucks sure if they die and never give you that, and if they don't, you have to move on. But if that doesn't happen that doesn't mean they should get a pass just because they'll be the only parents you'll ever have. Not when the abuse is this extreme and still ongoing.

I mean, I know. I've read that Philip Larken poem "This Be the Verse." It's true. Parents screw you up, but they were screwed up first. They're human. And the book makes Vivi understandable, and therefore potentially forgivable. But I don't think she (and the book) come anywhere near earning the Hallmark moment ending. show less

When Siddalee Walker, oldest daughter of Vivi Abbott Walker, Ya-Ya extraordinaire, is interviewed in the New York Times about a hit play she's directed, her mother gets described as a "tap-dancing child abuser." Enraged, Vivi disowns Sidda. Devastated, Sidda begs forgiveness, and postpones her upcoming wedding. All looks bleak until the Ya-Yas step in and convince Vivi to send Sidda a scrapbook of their girlhood mementos, called "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." As Sidda struggles to analyze her mother, she comes face to face with the tangled beauty of imperfect love, and the fact that forgiveness, more than understanding, is often what the heart longs for.

I was glad to be done with this book. It was one of the most irritating books I’ve ever forced myself to finish. Yet, it did keep me reading. Someone should write a book that reflects the realities of female friendship, complete with petty jealousies, divided loyalties, growing apart, etc., as well as the good times. This sugar-coated, bourbon-soaked Oprah-pleaser, about four lifelong female friends who don’t mature emotionally beyond age 12, does not reflect any reality I’ve ever heard of. It contained a lot of sentimental New Age religion (contrasted with a distinctly anti-Catholic message), anachronistic entreaties against racism (to appeal to modern sensibilities and Oprah, I guess), and a scene that hinges on embarrassing show more bodily functions. On top of that, the characters other than the supposedly-charming Vivi and her uninteresting daughter Sidda were not developed enough to tell apart. I’m glad it’s over, and I don’t think I will be reading the prequel. show less

What a wonderful surprise! A lovely book about the complicated relationships among the sisterhood of human experience. The characters, while colorful and eccentric to the point of almost achieving unbelievability, end up being all that more believable because of who they are. Who among us having lived in the South hasn't known a Viva or Necie or Shep or Teensy? Rebecca Wells has captured the complexity of women united and divided as only a woman can do.

When I saw this book at a bookstore, the cover didn’t actually scream, “Buy me! I look so good on the outside. I’m sure you’ll want to know what secrets I hold within.” But I still bought it. I was more interested in knowing what those “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” were.

I leafed through the pages and digested the words… I found they weren’t good. They were, in my opinion, “exceptionally good” because, as a daughter, I felt the pain and desperation of Siddalee Walker as she tries to reconnect with her mom, while at the same time, face her own troubles. As a mom, I also understood what Vivi Abbott Walker felt, especially, when her tale slowly unfolded.

There were scenes that depicted a raucous, wild show more lifestyle. I’ve seen many similar situations that run along in the same manner. What I mean is that Rebecca Wells tells the tale from a world that has mirrored views on reality, and I must say that this is her strength. She can spin the tale and make those (who can relate to it) gravitate towards it and understand its underlying messages.

The story is fast-paced, peppered with scenes that evoke different emotions: I found myself with a heavy heart at one page and smiling at the next. Personally, the story had a lingering effect on me. Even though there were scenes that I do not favor, overall, the story’s take on lasting friendship (somehow rare in our times) and building family relationships are what deeply impressed me about this book. show less

Out of the literally thousands of books I have read, this one is in my top five favorites. It is beautifully written, with phenomenal character development, a fascinating plot, and an overall emotional tone that is very powerful and very moving. I cannot imagine that there is a woman on the planet who cannot relate in some way to the women in this book. There are moments in this book that are simply breathtaking and at times I was laughing and crying at the same time when reading it. It is a supremely satisfying read. The book follows the amazing friendship of these women from when they are small children until they are women facing their own mortality. Wells is able to make each of them a fully realized person, and because of this you show more will find yourself struggling with how you feel about them since like real women they are capable of both amazing acts of love and selfishness. In fact, this book has had such an impact on women that Ya-Ya Sisterhood clubs have sprung up literally all over the world. If you are looking for a fun, mild-mannered beach read, this is not it. This is a sweeping, epic, very powerful story and if it doesn't stir at least some deep longing and emotion in you, you had better check your pulse to make sure you're still alive. show less

The hardest part about growing up, is sometimes finding where you start and where your childhood ends. So much of who and what we are comes from those who raised us, and as we grow, in order to understand ourselves sometimes we look to those people for the answers that we don't have, without realizing that maybe they never had those answers either. This was a heartbreaking tale of mother and daughter both having to come to terms with the past, and the realization that those you love are probably the most fallible of all, because you actually get to see the dark sides they often hide from the outside world. Truly touching. But the best of this novel outside the rawness of the mother/daughter relationship, can be found in the intense, show more deep, lasting, loving friendship between the Ya-Ya's. It makes one long painfully for carefree days, running around with your friends. I really loved this book, in ways I don't think I even realized I would. show less