An intricate and moving examination of the challenges of aging anchored by a memorable heroine of indomitable pride and...
In this novel about love, loss, and the pitfalls of aging, a spirited elderly woman, forced to rely on others for her survival, unexpectedly influences those who come to her aid.
Tidy Bourbon is an irascible 92-year-old woman stubbornly clinging to independence in her home in Oakdale, California. Physically fragile and beginning to lose her memory at the end of her long life, Tidy forges a relationship of mutual reliance with her boarder, Ivan, a middle-aged Russian down on his luck. When Ivan’s drinking lands him in jail for an extended period, Tidy must look elsewhere for the help she so unwillingly needs. She manages to build a small cadre of equally reluctant protectors. One by one, Tidy wins them over—Claire, the social worker, still fragile and defensive after losing her young husband to cancer; Emily, the bank teller, always cheerful and patient with Tidy’s quirks; and Julian, Emily’s husband and a no-nonsense accountant who cannot believe he keeps coming back to abet such a disorganized and unpredictable client. Less helpful are the down-and-out neighborhood street people Tidy finds herself forced to turn to: Bernie, Blackie, Rap, and Miki, all of whom offer some support while stealing Tidy’s money, prescription drugs, and even her car. Olton (Always Another Horizon, 2007) constructs a persuasive and caring narrative that addresses the issues of old age without separating them from the trials that confront all humans who must try to remain open to love in the face of the reality of death and loss. Her characters are believably complex and depicted with empathy, even Miki, the Russian Ivan asks to look in on Tidy, who cannot resist the temptation to steal from her. If it seems a bit unrealistic that so many people are compelled to go above and beyond the call of duty to assist the protagonist, readers will likely forgive this flaw because Tidy and her friends have won them over too.
An intricate and moving examination of the challenges of aging anchored by a memorable heroine of indomitable pride and courage.Pub Date: May 9, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5320-1237-2
Page Count: 380
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
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