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43rd out of 71 books
—
167 voters
The Moonflower Vine
A timeless American classic rediscovered—an unforgettable saga of a heartland family
On a farm in western Missouri during the first half of the twentieth century, Matthew and Callie Soames create a life for themselves and raise four headstrong daughters. Jessica will break their hearts. Leonie will fall in love with the wrong man. Mary Jo will escape to New York. And
...morePaperback, 352 pages
Published
November 1st 1984
by Bantam Books
(first published 1962)
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Much has been written about The Moonflower Vine because it's been around for many years. I recommend avoiding the commentaries until after you've read the book. It would have considerably diminished my enjoyment of the book if I'd read the summaries and assessments beforehand.
What is wrong with these people that they think it's okay to spoil the secrets? If I were you I wouldn't even read the Foreword by Jane Smiley. Better to go in without any preconceived ideas about what's coming.
This story...more
What is wrong with these people that they think it's okay to spoil the secrets? If I were you I wouldn't even read the Foreword by Jane Smiley. Better to go in without any preconceived ideas about what's coming.
This story...more
May, 2013
I liked it even more the second time through and found that I'd mellowed towards some of the things that bothered me about the characters the first time. Really appreciated the writing - beautiful narrative, the author really brings us inside the characters, dialogue is well-placed. A book I'm sure to return to again.
***
I almost passed this one by because of the title, which brings to mind something sappy and "romantic" from, say, Nicholas Sparks.
Well.
This was a really good read, most...more
I liked it even more the second time through and found that I'd mellowed towards some of the things that bothered me about the characters the first time. Really appreciated the writing - beautiful narrative, the author really brings us inside the characters, dialogue is well-placed. A book I'm sure to return to again.
***
I almost passed this one by because of the title, which brings to mind something sappy and "romantic" from, say, Nicholas Sparks.
Well.
This was a really good read, most...more
1 like · like · see review
The Moonflower Vine, by Jetta Carlson, originally published in 1962, is an old favorite my sister and I discovered years ago. I liked it so much, I bought my own hardcopy (the original being my sister's), as well as a beat up paperback to carry in my beach bag. It is the story of four sisters and their parents, and how life bends and shapes them through the years. I originally thought of my grandmother and my mother's aunts the first time I read the book, that this is what it must have been like...more
I admit I am a sucker for books set in an era long past, and even moreso for books detailing a family saga. There is nothing I love better than to watch a family grow and change through the years. And The Moonflower Vine certainly delivers. What makes this novel so interesting is that it begins at the end, when the Soames girls are all grown, home for a couple of weeks in the summer to visit their parents Matthew and Callie. The first chapter is told by the youngest daughter, Mary Jo, born when...more
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50 anos após sua publicação original, chega ao Brasil o romance histórico que marcou uma geração nos Estados Unidos. Damas-da-Noite, livro autobiográfico de Jetta Carleton, mostra o cenário rural americano em uma época conturbada depois da Segunda Guerra Mundial. Com National Book Award recebido em 1963, tornou-se um clássico da literatura norte-americana.
Durante a primeira metade do século XX, os recém-casados Matthew e Callie Soames se mudam para uma fazenda no oeste do Missouri. Lá, tocam a v...more
Durante a primeira metade do século XX, os recém-casados Matthew e Callie Soames se mudam para uma fazenda no oeste do Missouri. Lá, tocam a v...more
This is a beautifully written book. It is the portrait of the Soames family who live in rural Missouri. It follows their lives during the first half of the 20th century. The Soames family is composed of Matthew and Callie and their four daughters. There are 6 parts to the book and each part is given from the perspective of each family member. Almost like 6 intertwining short stories that span the family's lifetime.
It made me stop to think about how each member of my family views the events that...more
It made me stop to think about how each member of my family views the events that...more
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I love the book. It is about a family living in rural Southwestern Missouri at the turn of the last century. Perhaps women would enjoy it the most, because a good part of it is about their daughters, but I thought it was great. Their daily life of running the farm, and the constant work of preparing foods, cleaning, keeping the old cars running, etc., reminds us of our easier life. There is always the background of the closeness and appreciation of the nature that surrounds them. Their speech, q...more
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Good enough -- would have ranked it higher had it not been written as it was. The author writes of about the experience of a family and retells the story in several sections -- each separate section is told from the perspective of the various members of the family. As you read about the family each different perspective, something new is revealed about the story as it is retold over and over. Not my favorite literary technique -- I find it frustrating. Especially in this case because the most re...more
The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton is the story of a family living and growing in rural Missouri. Matthew and Callie have four daughters, each one distinct, following a path truly her own. Matthew is a schoolteacher, more than willing to escape into his work and books even if it means his family comes second. Callie is loving, hardworking and wants nothing but the best for her family. Jessica is the tomboy of the family. Leonie is the good girl, wanting nothing more than to please her parents...more
Recommended by www.chinaberry.com. Their review: I doubt that anyone will be able to read this book only once. I am still poring over it and reading passages aloud. One reviewer reads this timeless American classic every summer because it reminds her of all the things she loves most about family life and love. Famous editor Robert Gottlieb claimed that of all the hundreds of books he edited, this was the only one he read and re-read because of the ''truth and clarity and generosity of the writin...more
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The Moonflower Vine, by Jetta Carleton, is called "A rediscovered classic" on the cover of the book. Jane Smiley wrote the forward to this edition of the book, in which she discusses the illusion of completeness that all novelists strive for, but only the best attain. I would agree with Smiley that Carleton achieves this illusion. It's difficult to imagine what if anything is left out of this novel.
The novel is set in southwest Missouri in the early part of the 20th century. This is territory f...more
The novel is set in southwest Missouri in the early part of the 20th century. This is territory f...more
I love it when a book is rediscovered. Such is the case with this book. It was originally written in 1962. The story takes place in rural Missouri in the early part of the twentieth century. Each section tells the story of a different person in the Soames family. It is well written and as each section adds to the next the love this family had for each other in their own individual ways and means was so interwoven between them all. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
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Single novel published to critical acclaim in 1962. Being rediscovered thanks to Jane Smiley, who writes forward to this book. Compared to Harper Lee’s Mockingbird as both books wer published about the same time and both authors published a single, influential novel. Topics are different--Lee: racism, Carleton: passion/love.
Unhurried pace matches the 1950’s rural Missouri-setting in this character-centered novel.
Book opens on a summer day. Mattew & Callie Soames have been enjoying time with...more
Unhurried pace matches the 1950’s rural Missouri-setting in this character-centered novel.
Book opens on a summer day. Mattew & Callie Soames have been enjoying time with...more
I loved this "rediscovered classic". A friend has told me for years that it was her favorite book, so I was excited to finally get a copy to read. This book is the story of the Soames family - Mom, Dad, and four daughters - living in rural Missouri in the first half of the 20th century. Dad was part time teacher/school superintendent and part time farmer. The school year was spent in town, while the summers were spent on the farm. The story is about family relationships, and romantic relationshi...more
One reviewer said this book is about love, another about sin; I think it's about parent/child relationships. Callie comes to a conclusion about parenting here:
'Children want to love their parents, but parents make it so hard sometimes. She was guilty of that herself, no doubt. Looking back, she could see mistakes. Still and all, maybe she hadn't done too bad. The children had left, but they found their own way back. Like the old nursery rhyme, "Leave them alone and they'll come home." The harde...more
'Children want to love their parents, but parents make it so hard sometimes. She was guilty of that herself, no doubt. Looking back, she could see mistakes. Still and all, maybe she hadn't done too bad. The children had left, but they found their own way back. Like the old nursery rhyme, "Leave them alone and they'll come home." The harde...more
Published in 1962, this is the only novel written by Jetta Carleton. Even though it spent 3 months on the New York Times Bestseller list, it has gone mostly unnoticed. Set in the early 1900's in rural Missouri, the story follows the lives of Matthew and Callie from their teenage years through their marriage and the raising of four headstrong daughters, and into their twilight years. The writing is beautiful and their is much to learn as this deeply religious family struggles with the unexpected...more
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The Moonflower Vine is a beautifully rendered story of a family's dreams, commitment, loss and secrets. I loved this book's honesty. The Soames family is tightly woven, but as Jetta Carleton unfolds the story one at a time from each member's perspective, she captures the struggle to both hold fast to and break free from familial bonds. Carleton masterfully explores the lens through which we view ourselves and the oh-so-human process of evaluating what we want and what we'll settle for. The book'...more
I can't add much to the former ratings which gave good synopsises of this book so I will just describe how I felt about it.
The Moonflower Vine made me glad that I recently joined book club! I don't know if I would have found this treasure otherwise. It also made me want to plant some moonflowers of my own just to see what would happen.
Obviously, I relished this book and would recommend it. Nostalgic and sweet, it is a realistic portrait of family life in a bygone era from several points of views...more
The Moonflower Vine made me glad that I recently joined book club! I don't know if I would have found this treasure otherwise. It also made me want to plant some moonflowers of my own just to see what would happen.
Obviously, I relished this book and would recommend it. Nostalgic and sweet, it is a realistic portrait of family life in a bygone era from several points of views...more
No crime to solve, no mystery to unravel, no villains to defeat - just an enjoyable "slice of [real] life" novel where the characters are the story. Engrossing, hard to put down. Well worth the read.
1 like · like · see review
When the book first came out in the 1960s it was on the best seller list for over 3 months and was then forgotten. When Jane Smiley (1000 Acres)listed it as one of the top 100 books, the book was reprinted. The story takes place at the beginning of the 1900s in a small Missouri town and each section of the book is told by a different member of the family. To me, each of the relationships are somehow affected by the daughter Matty, not necessarily by her actions but just by her being or coming in...more
This is one of those old books that has not received the recognition it probably deserves. Jetta Carleton never published another book after this one first published in 1962. That was about the same time that The Hobbit came out, I believe. Perhaps the hoopla accompanying that novel and its sequels accounts for the little attention given to other books published at the same time. I enjoyed this book about as much as anything I've read in several months. It is set in the early 20th century and fo...more
I first read this novel in 1974 when I was 18, and I have read it every year since. Before it was rediscovered and reprinted, I bought every used copy I could find and gave them away, sometimes as many as six a year. Everyone who reads it is immediately drawn in, because it is a perfectly balanced, beautifully structured story about people you don't know, but wish you did. Each of the Soames family members is drawn so clearly, and with such a distinct voice, you can hear them talking.
The end of...more
The end of...more
I almost stopped reading this book in the middle. The chapters, after the first one, are by character - each member of the family. I did not enjoy the character of the father nor the chapter written about him. Once I got past that, I couldn't put it down. Reading this book makes you feel like you are reading something much more dated than the 1960s. I could not relate to the Christian morality themes much, but still I ended up liking it quite a bit. The book ends where it begins. And at the end,...more
From the glowing reviews, I thought I would like this book more. It was okay; but it was so bogged down in the small-town/farm interactions and activities, and very light on any lessons learned or self-awareness on the characters' parts. That is, until the middle of the book, when the story of Mathy comes into play. After the tragedy that befalls Mathy (and the entire Soames family), we glimpse how the devastating loss changes the whole family and gets the characters to do some serious soul-sear...more
When I was a little girl, I would watch things like figure skating, baseball, and gymnastics and think, "wow, I can do that. It looks so easy!" My mom would always comment, "it looks easy because they are so good at what they do." That is how I feel about this book. This is an unassuming novel, that is elegant in its seeming simplicity and hushed atmosphere. However, when look deeper, you realize that this is a masterpiece of writing and it is not simple in the least.
It isn't until you are fini...more
It isn't until you are fini...more
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I loved the philosophical/religious themes on which much of the character development is based. After each character's narration, you knew them better and could decide for yourself which to be most sympathetic or likeable. I thought Callie was the least defined personality until you read her part. Then you realize she is strong and happy. Even though I found her own admission that she doesn't even know Mary Jo very sad for her (which is my own bias), it is part of her personality that she choose...more
This book is going on my "Favorite Books of All Time" list. (Others include To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help) In every characters' chapter it talked about love and loss. Those two things together balanced each other so well creating this genius of a novel. I especially love the early Americana in which this book is set. It doesn't get bogged down in specific details of the time period, and yet you still know exactly what the early 1900's were like. To me, this book was all about feeling. You f...more
What wonderful company The Moonflower Vine is! This novel, whose setting is rural Missouri in the early 20th Century, seems kind of old-fashioned at first, and yet, families today have many similar joys and challenges to those of the Soames family and their four daughters. Matthew, the father, is both a farmer and a teacher in a small country school. He and his wife Calllie watch as their girls grow up to make choices that do not always please them, just as today. This book is satisfying because...more
This is a new edition, published for the first time in 24 years. We're in rural Mississippi in the early part of the 20th century, and it is about the Soames family. The pace is leisurely, the characters are expertly written...the kind you miss when the story is over. The family is like so many families who have things that happen that affect choices and lives of each person. The story unfolds from each character's point of view, the writing is so well done, giving us an accurate understanding o...more
I thought this was an excellent book. Very well written. Style is that different chapters are narrated by different characters, telling the story from their prospective. Each one is different, and different things are revealed by each character. Setting is rural Missouri in early 1900's, the Soames family and their 4 daughters. It's a story of family and relationships and how they change over time. I enjoyed the great detail to their very simple everyday life on the farm , intertwined with the v...more
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Jetta Carleton (1913-1999) was born in Holden, Missouri, and earned a master's degree at the University of Missouri. She worked as a schoolteacher, a radio copywriter in Kansas City, and a television advertising copywriter in New York City, and she ran a small publishing house with her husband in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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“Suddenly it seemed to me that I looked back from a great distance on that smile and saw it all again - the smile and the day, the whole sunny, sad, funny, wonderful day and all the days that we had spent here together. What was I going to do when such days came no more? There could not be many; for we were a family growing old. And how would I learn to live without these people? I who needed them so little that I could stay away all year - what should I do without them?”
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7 people liked it
“Yet none of these things gave him confidence. All they gave him was egotism, which is less the conviction of one's worth than the desire for that conviction.”
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4 people liked it
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