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Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale

by Lynda Rutledge (Goodreads Author)

3.4 of 5 stars 3.40 · rating details · 582 ratings · 175 reviews

On the last day of the millennium, sassy Faith Bass Darling, the richest old lady in Bass, Texas, decides to have a garage sale. With help from a couple of neighborhood boys, Faith lugs her priceless Louis XV elephant clock, countless Tiffany lamps, and everything else from her nineteenth-century mansion out onto her long, sloping lawn.

Why is a recluse of twenty years sud...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published April 26th 2012 by Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam

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May 12, 2012 Gini rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wish it was the weekend already so I could spend some quality time with Faith Bass Darling!

SPOILERS

Alas the Garage Sale is over. I never could really get over Claudia Jean running from her mother over and over. In a crisis situation people step up. But, I guess some people don't. Gotta wrap my head around that one. Wished for more between mother and daughter at the end but they both realized their worth to each other. Touching last moments.

4 likes · like · see review

Apr 17, 2012 Holly Weiss rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: to-review, vine-program, 2012-release

While the world braces for computer chaos on the eve before Y2K, Faith Bass Darling has a different priority. She is the sole occupant of the family mansion in Bass, Texas. On December 31, 1999 she decides she will die the next day. To prepare, seventy-year-old Faith dons her best white summer dress and matching sun hat. She pays teenage boys to carry her belongings out onto the big wrap-around porch and front lawn. Tiffany lamps, an antique French clock, and an heirloom wedding ring from 1870 a...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 21, 2012 Tami rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: goodreads-giveaways, 2012

I haven't received my copy yet, just received notice I had won. 2/29/12
Received my copy last night and hope to start soon. I have 13 more plus my current read in front of it. 3/28/12
Started 5/20/12
Finished 5/26/12

Faith Bass Darling is having a yard sale. Why? Because God told her to. She paid several teenage boys in rare gold coins to move priceless antiques from her home out onto the front lawn and put up a sign. She is selling it all for whatever anyone can pay. This brings a whole host of cha...more

1 like · like · see review

May 29, 2012 MB marked it as unfinished

Slow going. Reminds me of Fannie Flagg's Can't Wait to Get to Heaven so far (although dryer).

I read so many of these books with that 'slowly panning out from the past with the great big horrible secret being oh so slowly revealed for the big emotional impact in the present' type plots that I don't have tons of patience with them any more. Anyone else have this problem? I feel like I, the reader, am being manipulated.

They tend to sell well (book clubs?), so maybe it's just me...

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 06, 2012 Roxanne Bynum rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fun, fun read but with undertones of sadness as one realizes Faith is in the last stages of Alzheimer's and estranged from her only Daughter. She wakes up one day and starts hauling things out to her lawn. A frenzy occurs as she is practically giving away her tiffany lamps and other expensive items which includes books with $100 bills hidden inside them. The story of her life unfolds as things sell.

1 like · like · see review

Jun 16, 2012 Evelyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-novels, women-s-fiction

Suffering from Alzheimer's, Faith Bass Darling awakens on the last day of the millenium after hearing God's voice telling her to sell all her possessions because it's her last day on earth. As she begins selling all her priceless antiques for pennies, chaos ensues in the small Texas town that has been ruled by her ancestors for more than 100 years.

This is a gem of a story about love, loss and redemption. One of the characters says, "We're just like the antiques. We grow old and get scarred and b...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Bev rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: lariat-nominees-2012

Faith, 70 something, in the later stages of dementia/alzheimers, wakes up on the last day of 1999 (millennial hysteria in full force) with a revelation that all her worldly possessions are to be sold that day. The act brings the town to her, along with her estranged daughter who either try to stop her or relish the bargains they find in the treasures of the wealthiest home in town. All sorts of family and friend secrets twist and turn in the story, giving insight to Faith's dementia that has not...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Don rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, fictional-history, fiction

Arrived after a long delay from the Publisher (Penguin). Better late than never, so... My thanks to the Author, Penguin, and Goodreads for this free novel to read and review.

Well worth the wait. This was truly a complete joy to read!

I can rant and rave about how enjoyable this book was to me and thus ending up by possibly spoiling the Storyline, or I can just strongly suggest reading it yourself and then do your own raving for this being a great heartwarming Story.

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 02, 2013 Virginia Myers rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was a wonderful surprise. I started it with the expectations of a frilly description of a woman holding a garage sale. Now having a garage sale can be a major undertaking – and I believe lots of tales could be developed using someone’s garage sale experiences as a focus. As I read this one, however, I did not find frills; instead I found what I think is a pot of philosophical gold. There were outstanding moments which made me laugh out loud as I found myself living through some moments...more This book was a wonderful surprise. I started it with the expectations of a frilly description of a woman holding a garage sale. Now having a garage sale can be a major undertaking – and I believe lots of tales could be developed using someone’s garage sale experiences as a focus. As I read this one, however, I did not find frills; instead I found what I think is a pot of philosophical gold. There were outstanding moments which made me laugh out loud as I found myself living through some moments of Faith Bass Darling’s life. There were also moments when I found myself awed by a philosophical statement about the purpose of life as Faith tries to understand what went wrong in her life. I loved her questions about “what good are things if you can no longer remember why they were important”. As the characters in the book searched for their footing after stumbling through life for a period, I felt the emotion in my gut. I felt bad as the book made me realize how we humans are willing to advantage of one another when given the opportunity. How important it is for us all to realize that indeed” things” are never more valuable than our relationships with the people who live on this earth with us. I will add a warning that you will be put off by the book if a religious undertone bothers you. In the book, Faith Bass Darling’s struggles to really understand why she has shut everyone out of her life, even God. In truth, many of us have a “thing” that we must recognize as a stumbling block shutting out a vibrant relationship with God. I really do not know what part of me caused me to value this book so highly. Is it because I am a senior citizen who also sometimes find myself looking in the rear view mirror of life and seeing missed opportunities? or Is it because I have lived the greater part of my life in Texas not far from Austin and I speak Texan with its devotion to Friday Night football heroes? or Is it because I, too, have now devalued the “things’ that used to mean so much to me and now see family and friends as being the real prize to be held close to my heart. Whatever it was – this book hit home. (less)

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Mar 16, 2013 Watchingthewords rated it 3 of 5 stars

What do our possessions ultimately mean to us? Do they define us? What can be determined by examining the things that we love? What part do they play in our memories?

“You can know all about a person from the things they collect, the books on their shelves, the chairs in their parlor. … Let me into your house; I could write your life story.”

Faith Bass Darling wakes up one morning and gets a couple of neighborhood boys to carry all of her antiques, including countless genuine Tiffany lamps, out o...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Viviane Crystal rated it 5 of 5 stars

“Doesn't the soul have a memory?...If not, what’s all this living for?” This is the key question Faith Bass Darling asks Father George Fallow, the local Episcopalian priest. For Faith has late stage Alzheimer’s disease and knows her mind is shutting on and off so regularly that she can’t discriminate between real conversations with old friends and neighbors and the “ghosts” she keeps seeing and conversing with. Faith was once a woman truly blessed or at least so she thought when she was younger....more “Doesn't the soul have a memory?...If not, what’s all this living for?” This is the key question Faith Bass Darling asks Father George Fallow, the local Episcopalian priest. For Faith has late stage Alzheimer’s disease and knows her mind is shutting on and off so regularly that she can’t discriminate between real conversations with old friends and neighbors and the “ghosts” she keeps seeing and conversing with. Faith was once a woman truly blessed or at least so she thought when she was younger. But now one terrible tragedy, a marriage of convenience for her late husband, and a daughter who ran away has taught her differently. She’s dropped her Baptist church-going; indeed in the recent past years she has lived the life of a recluse. That’s all changed now because God has spoken to her. She’s got the rest of one day to get it all right.

Everyone has tortured memories which are painful in this novel and yet Lynda Rutledge mixes humor, puzzles and a type of mystery plot in which we learn the separate but oh so connected story of each character. These include Father Fallow who has been a priest so long that he presides over services in a rote fashion that has absolutely no meaning for him; yet Faith is the one person whose honesty and pain have touched him deeply to search more for the next step in his journey. Then there’s Sheriff John Jaspar who used to be best friends with Faith’s son Michael; he’s an African-American whose rage at racism once, he believes, caused the terrible tragedy in Faith’s life. Yet she continues to be kind to him.

Faith’s daughter, Claudia, has been running for years but now she’s returned to find her mother selling “everything” in the house on the front lawn, specifically charging from a quarter to a dollar for antique furniture, Tiffany lamps, etc. Claudia wants one thing which she believes will solve her problems but she’s going to get more than she bargained for and learn a great deal about her “real” problems in the process. On and on it goes.

A final group of scenes are so unexpected one doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale is a wonderful, engaging novel about what really matters with memories and relationships, about moving past ideals and dealing with reality, about forgiveness, expectations, disappointments, and so, so much more! Superb fiction which should be a bestseller and would make a grand movie!!!! (less)

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Sep 18, 2012 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Faith Bass Darling, a descendant of the town's founder and first bank owner, lives a reclusive life in a mansion filled with treasured family antiques. She awakes on New Year's Eve, 1999, believing God has told her to sell everything because this will be the last day of her life. So begins the town's biggest, must unusual garage sale. But Faith's memories come and go in confusing fashion, and her willingness to accept a few dollars for priceless antiques draws the attention of her long-estranged...more

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Jul 23, 2012 Joanne rated it 5 of 5 stars

The title of this book intrigued me and I decided to check it out of the local library. The first 20 pages or so were a little confusing, but then it all started to pull together and I just couldn't stop reading!

Faith Bass Darling a local legend in Bass, TX gets a calling from God to sell all her possessions on 12/31/99. On New Year's Eve morning the recluse is seen putting all her antiques and heirloom treasures out on her front lawn. The town goes crazy enjoying the free for all bargain prices...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Tina rated it 4 of 5 stars

I haven't enjoyed reading a book this much in months. It's almost a shame to have to write a review, but it certainly deserves to be shared and trumpted.

On December 31, 1999 God tells Faith Bass Darling, the richest woman in Bass Texas, to sell everything she owns, including her 40 priceless Tiffany lamps, because this is her last day on earth. Faith hasn't always paid much attention to the almighty, but since there's been a lot of hoopla and worry about the New Millenium coming tonite, she deci...more I haven't enjoyed reading a book this much in months. It's almost a shame to have to write a review, but it certainly deserves to be shared and trumpted.

On December 31, 1999 God tells Faith Bass Darling, the richest woman in Bass Texas, to sell everything she owns, including her 40 priceless Tiffany lamps, because this is her last day on earth. Faith hasn't always paid much attention to the almighty, but since there's been a lot of hoopla and worry about the New Millenium coming tonite, she decides she'd better follow directions. Faith's Alzheimer's has led her to become more and more recluse --she hasn't left her mansion in almost 20 years; more and more forgetful -- she has a mantra she repeats constantly to prove to herself that she still knows who she is, where she is and what day it is; and she's completely lost contact with her daughter, her only living relative. So when she begins hauling out her priceless antiques from the family's century old collection and selling them for pennies, the word spreads faster than melted butter on hot corn.

The local sheriff (a football teammate of her deceased son) and the area's premier antique dealer (a childhood friend of her daughter's) both try to convince Faith that this yard sale isn't really a good idea. The family dynamics and memories that are stirred up when the daughter arrives make this much more than the farce it could have been.

Lynn Rutledge, in her debut novel, has given us a gift. Readers are introduced to a gentle, complex lady clinging desperately to the threads of her memories, who has just enough rationality left to understand that her "stuff" doesn't matter-- it's not what makes her happy or unhappy, it can't bring back her son, and it obviously can't keep her from losing her memories, and ultimately her life.

The other characters are equally as well drawn, complex, and just plain likeable. As a reader, you are immediately drawn to all of them; you cry with them, you laugh with them, and you find yourself wanting to help in anyway you can to make life better. The story plays out in only one day, with a beautifully written ending that leaves the reader wanting more, knowing it won't happen, and ultimately being satisfied with how the New Year begins. This story is a delight. Let's hope that Ms. Rutledge has more treats like this one in her future.

(less)

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Jul 09, 2012 Audra rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club-picks

Good story. It all finished nicley in the end.

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May 01, 2012 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale is an enchanting story and a magnificent first novel. Sometime after midnight on December 31, 1999 Faith Bass Darling heard the voice of God, and he instructed her to have a garage sale. Not just an ordinary sale though, he instructed her to sell the many antiques that had become the contents of her mansion. Widowed, the mother of a deceased son and a runaway daughter Faith also believes the last day of the millennium will also be her last day on earth. As s...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

There's an old saying money can't buy happiness and that's very true for Faith Bass Darling, she lost her son in a terrible accident, her husband's death followed soon after and her daughter ran away in her teens, yes this was years ago but Faith seems to be reliving it like an old movie loop. Now lately her days aren't as clear as they once were but when she's woken up not once but three times by a God she hasn't spoken to in years, she takes notice. Does he give her an epiphany, or give her pr...more There's an old saying money can't buy happiness and that's very true for Faith Bass Darling, she lost her son in a terrible accident, her husband's death followed soon after and her daughter ran away in her teens, yes this was years ago but Faith seems to be reliving it like an old movie loop. Now lately her days aren't as clear as they once were but when she's woken up not once but three times by a God she hasn't spoken to in years, she takes notice. Does he give her an epiphany, or give her prophecies, oh no he tells her to clear out her stately mansion in Bass Texas and have a garage sale to end all garage sales and on this the most momentous of days, December 31, 1999.
So on the dawn of a new century lives will change in the small once prosperous now mostly forgotten town of Bass Texas and the ripple effect will spread until no one is spared the backlash, especially Faith, Bobbie Ann Blankenship, Claudia Darling, Father George Fallow and John Jasper Johnson. These lives will be changed forever, but will the sale change them for the good or for the worse.

I love reading debut novels, it always feels like birth when a new voice in the writing community comes on the scene and it was no different with this unexpected gem of a novel. Now by the title you might think that Ms. Rutledge has a comedy, well you'd be wrong just like I was. Instead inside this book I found the epic struggles of her characters and finally absolution and resolution, there were haunted and troubled people who could be anyone I know and I loved how the author came to her conclusions and found solace for her troubled crew. She used dialogue that I could easily read and understand and her narrative was animated enough that I could easily put myself in the scenes she created. This is a read that would appeal to a wide audience by both sexes and many ages. Now if you're looking for a novel that gives you a concrete conclusion this isn't for you, but if like me you like to have that almost absolute ending yet with degrees of variations left to your own imagination, then this is definitely your next must read.
Ms. Rutledge this was exactly the kind of novel that goes on my keeper shelf to be brought out to read again and again and to share with only those who can be trusted with a treasured keepsake. Thank you and I look forward to what you come up with next.
Here is my Q&A with the author Lynda Rutledge - http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t...(less)

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Mar 26, 2012 Debbie Maskus rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had thought that this would be a light reading novel, but I was mildly surprised. The main character, Faith Bass Darling, has developed Alzheimer's disease. Faith lives alone in her ancestral mansion in Bass, Texas. God talks to Faith and tells her to sell all the family antiques because this is her last day alive. Rutledge coyly inserts the provenance of many of the items that Faith sells for drastically less than the true value. A whole collection of Tiffany lamps is grabbed by "trailer-tras...more

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May 13, 2012 Erin rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was attracted by this book's rather awkward title when I saw it at the library...and halfway through I was REALLY glad I didn't waste money on this book. First, I hate the modern writing style of constantly flipflopping point of view along with flashbacks...hello, people who read are NOT the MTV audience of persons with poor attention spans that this gimmick was invented for. It's cheap, poor writing and has no place in the publishing industry. You may as well be publishing fifth grade composi...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Diana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Most of this story takes place on New Year's Eve 1999 (the turn of the century). Faith Bass Darling is a recluse and has hardly gone out of her mansion for 20 years, she does go out to the beauty shop (we all have our priorities) On this morning, she thinks God has told her to sell off the beautiful things in her home as she is going to die. She hires people, like the paperboy and his buddies on the football team, to come and haul her furniture and beautiful Tiffany lamps onto the lawn so she ca...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

The title of this book made me think it was going to be a girlfriends-type fun novel, but it was NOT. Oh, so definitely not. Mother-daughter beyond-troubled relationship; Alzheimer's; small-town intertwined characters (but not in the predictable fashion); football heroes, but, again, not in the predictable fashion;a priest wrestling with his own faith as well as with the souls of Bass, Texas; the meaning of our possessions; inheritances, both tangible and otherwise; marriages for love and those...more

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May 12, 2012 Valentina rated it 2 of 5 stars

There are many things going for this book. One, the plot sounds really interesting and wholly unique. Two, the cover is fantastic. Three, it’s a debut and that’s always exciting. For me, though, it held a lot of unfulfilled promise.
The main issue that I found with it is that it is rather dull. Slow-paced and convoluted, the narrative is not nearly interesting enough to keep the reader fully focused on the page. Many times I found myself skimming, which is horrible both for the reader and for the...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Tanya Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-the-library-bag, southern-fiction, read-in-2012

Closer to 4 stars but not quite. Story read all over the place, scattered like Faith Bass Darling's mind. Faith was in her 80s, lived in Bass, TX. Her husband was dead, her son died at a young age, and she was estranged from her daughter. The story opens on the last day before the Millennium Y2K and Faith has it in her head that she has to sell ALL her things as it is her last day alive, so she believes firmly. All the while the reader is given tidbits of her life and earlier years and quickly r...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Jean R. rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just LOVE it when I discover an incredible new writer. With a title like that, I had no idea, but now I see the playful "why" behind such a title and that's been the experience throughout.

There are usually at least 1 of 3 reasons a person keeps reading a novel--character, plot, or language. In my experience as a librarian, either the characters are engaging enough to keep you reading, or the plot piques the curiosity to find out what happens, or the beauty of the writing carries you on. Rutled...more

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May 17, 2012 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 22, 2012 Carol rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story takes place over the course of just one day, which really surprised me when I thought about it. The narrative takes you back and forth between events that happened decades and even centuries apart, so it seems like it encompasses more than just one day. I thought it was amusing that the mythical book written by the main character in the book I just finished, "Objects of My Affection," was called 'Things Are Not People,' which could have served as the backdrop of this story, too. The m...more

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Jan 31, 2013 My Book Addiction and More MBA rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: women-s-fiction

FAITH BASS DARLING'S LAST GARAGE SALE by Lynda Rutledge is an interesting inspirational Women's fiction set in Bass,Texas. Follow Faith Bass Darling on an adventure of second chances,redemption,family secrets,faith,a lifetime of memories. Possessions does not make the person or their life as Faith learns. A charming,enduring story of triumph and heartbreak. What a charming debut for this author. If you enjoy small town life,a bit of laughter,heartbreak,and a lot of love this is the story for you...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: book club, contemporary, fiction, chiclit

As far as the townspeople are concerned, Faith Bass Darling has always had a perfect life. She lives in the largest mansion in town and comes from money, her hair always perfect, her outfits coordinated. However Faith knows that perfection on the outside might mean turmoil on the inside, her life has not been a fairy tale.

Faith Bass Darling, former Southern Belle, has lost her mind. She has determined that God has spoken to her and she must sell all of her family heirlooms in a garage sale toda...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Thought this book was going to be humorous from the title, but I was wrong. Set on the eve of the Y2K millenium, Faith Bass suffering from Alzheimer's is having a garage sale of her family antiques because God told her so. Her daughter Claudia Jean arrives, but is so wrapped up in her own problems, that she can't help her mother. My mother suffers from Alzheimer's and I can't see myself not helping her. Story does poss some interesting quandries...if we talk to God all the time, how come when pe...more

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May 22, 2012 Annie Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: galleys-free

Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale is a story of what happens at the end of a life. What are the things you keep, lose or give away...What happens when one day you wake up knowing this will be your last day?
If you are saucy 70 yr. old Faith Bass darling, the richest gal in Bass Texas you decide on the spur of the moment to have a garage sale and sell all the things you once thought were so very, very important to you.

Faith wakes up on the last day of 1999 confused and alone, knowing that to...more

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About Lynda Rutledge

Lynda Rutledge, a fifth-generation Texan, has petted baby rhinos, snorkeled with endangered turtles, and dodged hurricanes as a freelance journalist publishing in national and internationally publications, while winning awards for her fiction from Illinois Arts Council, Writers League of Texas, Ragdale Foundation, and Atlantic Center for the Arts, among others. She and her husband live outside Aus...more

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Quotes from Faith Bass Darling's L...

“See, what you do here is you work yourself away from the words, slowly shedding them until there's no more need of them, because you're them and they're you- wordless words. And then, what you want, all you want, are the slow silent white fireworks of Who-What Made It All, calling it whatever you want to until you don't call it anything at all because you don't need to, you just don't need to anymore...” — 2 people liked it

“You can know all about a person from the things they collect, the books on their shelves, the chairs in their parlor. … Let me into your house; I could write your life story.” — 1 person liked it

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