The British author of The Directrix (1991)—a hilarious, pertinent display of political infighting in a tumultuous nunnery- -has unfortunately, in this tale about three women friends through the years, opted for an overlay of sobersided sentiment. Quiet, polite Liz, only child of ruthless Alderman Stockdale and his silly snob of a wife, has a ``posh'' background. Chrissy, raised by eccentric Aunt Julia (dangling cigarette and bowel remedies), has a fairly ``good'' address. But Nell, the brilliant one, expert at skewering writing and sketches, is one of several offspring of a bitter working-class father who welcomes intellect- -but also drink. The three meet at eleven, a ``dissident trio'' who go through school together, play daring pranks, undergo crushes and awful summer jobs, and part ways at university and marriage. But the triangle remains intact as the women call for help in crises. As a teenager, Liz apologized to the wife of the rotter (she'd once believed him ``a tragic hero'') with whom she'd had an affair. (Did Nell have a muddied motive in persuading Liz to go all the way?) Now, in the present, Liz anguishes for her 18-year-old daughter as another version of her ``tragic hero'' lurks. Nell, a famous journalist, survived youth with a dangerous dad, and a startling secret affair, but now she faces the most terrifying crisis of all. Chrissy, married to the ``little creep'' she'd snarled at as a teenager, is still a happy mother. The three gather in love and strength. ``A triangle...is a strong shape.'' Occasionally Rowntree indulges in a touch of the wit that crackled in The Directrix, but there's a kind of dreamy sameness to the narrative, and the impression made by the three women and their crises just doesn't burn deep enough.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-312-11882-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1994
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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