<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>104226</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Hill Towns]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0061099694]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780061099694]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">104226</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">15</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">2758108</id>
  <media_type nil="true"></media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer" nil="true"></original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">1993</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Hill Towns</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:483|5:82|4:140|3:194|2:46|1:21|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">483</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">1665</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">587</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">21</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.45]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[461]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[19]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>6946</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Anne Rivers Siddons]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1208900373p5/6946.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1208900373p2/6946.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6946.Anne_Rivers_Siddons]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.62</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>9787</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>963</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="587">
      <review>
  <id>76205979</id>
    <user>
    <id>1000806</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ann]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Durango, CO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1000806-ann]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1260306989p3/1000806.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1260306989p2/1000806.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">6729171</id>
  <isbn>0061715735</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061715730</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6729171-hill-towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.08</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>12</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p> A single traumatic event in her childhood irrevocably marked Catherine Gaillard, leaving her stranded in her cloistered mountaintop Tennessee town for thirty years. But now she is embarking upon a life-changing trip to Italy with her husband, Joe, hoping to put the incident behind her forever. As they make their way across the breathtaking countryside of Tuscany with two other couples, Cat and Joe soon feel themselves being pulled in separate directions, and the fabric of their marriage begins to unravel. And a journey that began as a carefree tour crosses unexpected boundaries, carrying them deep into the heart of their relationship, becoming the ultimate test of their love. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Oct 30 08:32:49 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Oct 30 08:40:00 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Not my favorite of Siddons books but well written. Deals with<br/>agoraphobia brought on by a traumatic incidence in childhood.<br/>How it affects the married couple before the cure and after the<br/>cure.A study in human nature of people surrounding the couple.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76205979]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76205979]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>53119628</id>
    <user>
    <id>1226722</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sandy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1226722-sandy]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1254884030p3/1226722.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1254884030p2/1226722.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.47</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>461</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="contemp-fiction" />
        <shelf name="europe-the-known-world" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 18 08:44:57 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 18 08:47:19 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I remember it which means it stands out in my mind, but it struck me as pretty mundane and ordinary fiction. Nothing to write home about. But it does take place in Italy.... which is always a plus in my memory banks!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53119628]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53119628]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>69677316</id>
    <user>
    <id>1868604</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jen]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Dover, PA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1868604-jen-caplinger]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Sep 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Sep 01 08:24:51 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Sep 03 13:08:00 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning, because I thought it started out really slow.  But it picked up about a third of the way in the book and it turned out to be a really good book.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69677316]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69677316]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>60027588</id>
    <user>
    <id>712954</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kay]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Saint Louis, MO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/712954-kay]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1246500610p3/712954.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1246500610p2/712954.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 17 08:28:09 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 17 08:29:38 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I love the beach, sometimes I read about the beach. Anne Rivers Siddons writes about the beach a lot but this book was about a trip to Italy. I liked it more than I expected to.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60027588]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60027588]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>62437592</id>
    <user>
    <id>1095922</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ginnie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Greensburg, PA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1095922-ginnie-leiner]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1247024580p3/1095922.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1247024580p2/1095922.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 06 22:29:18 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 06 22:29:56 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Been married long enough to relate to some of this plot.  Does switching from wine to water really make you instantly thinner?]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62437592]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62437592]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>73778050</id>
    <user>
    <id>1065846</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Cindy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Naperville, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1065846-cindy]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1243892521p3/1065846.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1243892521p2/1065846.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 07 14:46:05 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Oct 15 10:44:54 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I loved the beautiful descriptions of Italy.  I felt like i was visiting the beautiful country.  Good book!  Do they really drink that much wine in Italy?!  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73778050]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73778050]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>80329955</id>
    <user>
    <id>237484</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Melissa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/237484-melissa-cavanaugh]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1185889893p3/237484.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1185889893p2/237484.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">6729171</id>
  <isbn>0061715735</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061715730</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">2</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6729171-hill-towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<p> A single traumatic event in her childhood irrevocably marked Catherine Gaillard, leaving her stranded in her cloistered mountaintop Tennessee town for thirty years. But now she is embarking upon a life-changing trip to Italy with her husband, Joe, hoping to put the incident behind her forever. As they make their way across the breathtaking countryside of Tuscany with two other couples, Cat and Joe soon feel themselves being pulled in separate directions, and the fabric of their marriage begins to unravel. And a journey that began as a carefree tour crosses unexpected boundaries, carrying them deep into the heart of their relationship, becoming the ultimate test of their love. </p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 08 14:09:33 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Dec 21 10:18:41 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I do enjoy her books. They're not terribly challenging, and most of her characters are a bit the same (a remarkable number of them look like medieval effigies) but she tells a good story.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80329955]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80329955]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>58396160</id>
    <user>
    <id>396325</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Terry]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/396325-terry-coffey]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1193175182p3/396325.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1193175182p2/396325.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jun 04 05:50:51 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 04 05:51:52 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Great beach reading.  Anne Rivers Siddons is good with relationships.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58396160]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58396160]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>69263257</id>
    <user>
    <id>2151290</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mom  Suzy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Indianapolis, IN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2151290-mom-suzy]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Aug 28 16:25:16 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Aug 28 16:25:38 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[learned alot about Italy]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69263257]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69263257]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>48336007</id>
    <user>
    <id>2098950</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Debi]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2098950-debi-bradford]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1236283934p3/2098950.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1236283934p2/2098950.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Mar 05 12:18:12 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 05 12:18:19 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[GREAT story!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48336007]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48336007]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42862616</id>
    <user>
    <id>1901178</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mary]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Hudsonville, MI]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1901178-mary]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jan 12 20:28:37 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 13 19:44:07 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Read a few years ago and reread in July 2008.  Story of the emotional rollerdoaster of love and relationships as seen through the prism of Catherine Gaillard's life--from her cloistered mountaintop home in Tennessee to a life-changing trip to Italy where she becomes the model for the famous artist S...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42862616">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42862616]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42862616]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>46411521</id>
    <user>
    <id>1076079</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kdb]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Crystal Lake, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1076079-kdb]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1246651186p3/1076079.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1246651186p2/1076079.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Feb 15 09:07:43 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 29 16:21:22 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I thought this book was absolutely amazing and enthralling.  Cat, the main character, has never once left her home town on The Mountain in TN, until she and her husband decide to take a life-changing trip to Italy.  Siddons' descriptions of the people and places encountered along the way are so vivi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46411521">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46411521]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46411521]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>43253608</id>
    <user>
    <id>1895915</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Marsha]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kennesaw, GA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1895915-marsha]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1231786636p3/1895915.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1231786636p2/1895915.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 16 11:02:30 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 16 11:03:24 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was the first Anne Rivers Siddons book to take her characters out of the country.  It was a pretty good read.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43253608]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43253608]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>24277148</id>
    <user>
    <id>1232508</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jvickers51]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Salisbury, MD]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1232508-jvickers51]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1214012064p3/1232508.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1214012064p2/1232508.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 11 17:28:06 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jun 11 17:43:49 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[By far my favorite of Anne River Siddons yet.  The descriptions are wonderful and you can picture yourself in Italy traveling through the hillsides as one of the people involved in the story.  Suspenseful in a romantic sense and a telling story of a woman's life!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24277148]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24277148]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>35555062</id>
    <user>
    <id>842772</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kellie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Charlotte, NC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/842772-kellie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1250816576p3/842772.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1250816576p2/842772.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="fiction-literature" />
        <shelf name="pre-marriage-kids-years" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Oct 17 10:17:22 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Oct 17 10:19:30 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I remember this one.<br/>Siddons takes the reader to Italy.<br/>Very vivid descriptions of Italy and the Mountains of Tennesee.<br/>I enjoyed this one.<br/>Again, Siddons adds a touch of the dark side to her books.<br/>This one is no exception.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35555062]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/35555062]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>27935761</id>
    <user>
    <id>946604</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lori]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Christopher, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/946604-lori]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1209735762p3/946604.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1209735762p2/946604.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 22 05:52:16 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 22 05:47:52 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 22 05:52:16 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I am not impressed with this book at all.  Too much unnecessary bad lanquage.  These people are supposed to be professors, etc. and the language they use sounds like gutter talk.  Didn't even finish it]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27935761]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27935761]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>7909568</id>
    <user>
    <id>120582</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Annie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Scranton, PA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120582-annie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1181174788p3/120582.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1181174788p2/120582.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Nov 07 16:45:34 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Oct 18 17:48:29 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Nov 07 16:44:18 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a re-read... I actually first read this book some years ago.  I liked it but it's not Siddons' best, in my opinion.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7909568]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7909568]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>2655626</id>
    <user>
    <id>155392</id>
    <name><![CDATA[~mad]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Birmingham, AL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/155392-mad]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1195082474p3/155392.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1195082474p2/155392.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="booksiveread" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 02 22:10:46 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Oct 26 14:23:52 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Not the most favorite of her books - and I have read them ALL!]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2655626]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2655626]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>21154615</id>
    <user>
    <id>336339</id>
    <name><![CDATA[S]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Columbus, OH]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/336339-s]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1231722248p3/336339.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1231722248p2/336339.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 28 05:26:50 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 28 05:28:23 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I found this story very tedious and depressing.  ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21154615]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21154615]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>14826626</id>
    <user>
    <id>854067</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sandra]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Acton, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/854067-sandra]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201707529p3/854067.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1201707529p2/854067.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">104226</id>
  <isbn>0061099694</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780061099694</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">19</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Hill Towns]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807m/104226.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171509807s/104226.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104226.Hill_Towns</link>
  <average_rating>3.45</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>483</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Although <em>Hill Towns</em> is a coming-of-age story, it's no <em>Romeo and Juliet</em>. There are no young lovers flirting and bedding each other, thinking they've invented the act--this novel centers around adults. The main characters have been married for more than 20 years and believe they know each other absolutely. A trip to Italy shows them there is still much to learn. <p>  Catherine &quot;Cat&quot; Gaillard narrates her own story, beginning with a gothic childhood of the sort that inspires folk ballads and tasteless jokes.  Orphaned at age 5 when her parents are killed in a freakish accident, Cat chooses to live on Morgan's Mountain as the ward of chilly, crazy grandparents, though saner family members are willing to take her in. She reasons that, &quot;From there I would always know what was coming. From there I would see it long before it saw me.&quot;<p>  The rest of the story follows Cat and her husband, Joe, on their journey of midlife discovery. They both flirt with the possibility of an affair, they bicker, challenge assumptions, make new friends, drink too much, eat fabulous food, and tour Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's like being there.  Siddons lets you inhabit Cat's mind and experience her struggle to overcome agoraphobia, her uncertainties about Joe, and, most of all, her neophyte-traveler's view of Italy. <em>Hill Towns</em> is an exploration of a mature relationship, but it's also an effective travelogue. Read it and see if you don't start to crave <em>caffé granita</em> on the piazza. <em>--Brenda Pittsley</em></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1993</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1995</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Feb 07 10:19:05 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 07 10:20:14 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I love Siddons way of seeing in to family dynamics ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14826626]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/14826626]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="womens-fiction" />
          <shelf name="southern-lit" />
          <shelf name="recommended" />
          <shelf name="list-reading" />
          <shelf name="new-purchases" />
          <shelf name="my-library" />
          <shelf name="novel" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=104226</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>