Autumn 1918. Rumors of peace are spreading across America, but spreading even faster are the first cases of Spanish influenza, whispering of the... read full description
reviews
Aug 13, 2010
Judy
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This book is set in the autumn of 1918 with the end of World War I and the outbreak of the Spanish influenza. Twenty-two year old Mary Oliver, from a very wealthy and eccentric Washington, D.C. family, is sent by her mother to Elm City, North Carolina to assist her Aunt Maureen in the last weeks of her pregnancy. Maureen is married to Troop, the half-brother of Mary's mother, and he is an emotionally sadistic man who is ruling his wife and his house by fear and intimidation. Mary comes to fee
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Aug 09, 2010
Lisa
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Talk about incohesive & improbable. In the same vein as Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall or Kate Chopin's The Awakening, Divining Women is the story of a woman's victory over her emotionally sadistic husband. Maureen, an expectant mother, is all but a reclusive and seeming hysteric after years of emotional battery and isolation, but awareness of her options enters when her young niece comes to be a companion to her in her last trimester.
First, what this book gets right. Th More...
First, what this book gets right. Th More...
Sep 17, 2011
Erin
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This did not work for me. The period detail was, as far as I know, accurate. The lifestyle of the main character’s family was vividly rendered. In fact, I liked the idea of the plot all around, and it could have been done very well. The concept was solid, but the execution was flawed.
To say that the male character who is the villain of this work was set up as a straw man is a staggering piece of understatement. This man’s capacity for inflicting humiliation and abuse, his intense nar More...
To say that the male character who is the villain of this work was set up as a straw man is a staggering piece of understatement. This man’s capacity for inflicting humiliation and abuse, his intense nar More...
Jun 04, 2009
Jenn
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Kaye Gibbons is one of my favorite authors because of the book Charms for the Easy Life. Though her style and tone comes through beautifully in this book, the plot was a little bit lacking. The characters are the main focus of this sad sad story about an abusive marriage, but it seems that Gibbons fails at creating a whole family in the same way she did as in "Charms". Perhaps if the book was a little longer and the characters more thought through they would've been more compelling.
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Aug 10, 2011
Mj
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I really liked Ellen Foster when it came out and perhaps a rereading at present would change that perception because the two Gibbons books I picked up at CWRU book sale read like scripts for a made for TV movies on the Hallmark channel. Gibbons still does a beautiful job presenting the characters of the south and evoking the southern landscape but the story itself about a young woman who comes to the aid of her aunt during the final months of her pregnancy is not compelling.
Oct 01, 2011
Methanie
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Kaye Gibbons is one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. It's a lovely story about women finding their independence, women supporting each other, and women finding their own inner strength. It's also a story about the men who love and support those women, or tear them down.
There is something about the quiet subtlety in Kaye's writing that I really enjoy. This book both moved me and amused me. I thought it was great.
There is something about the quiet subtlety in Kaye's writing that I really enjoy. This book both moved me and amused me. I thought it was great.
Jan 31, 2011
Brenda
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Once again, I apparently don't fit the mold with the other reviewers. The dialogue between characters put me to sleep. There was so much "background" on the characters that the main idea of the story didn't occur until the last few chapters. Upon hitting the halfway point in the book, I ended up just skimming the remainder of the story until I (thankfully) reached the end.
Feb 13, 2012
Kristen
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I'm torn betweeen one and two stars. I liked it enough to finish it, so I guess I'll stick with two stars but this was such a disappointment. I read several of Gibbons' early novels years ago and liked them a lot. I lost track of her for a while and then saw this one on the library shelves but it was an awkward muddle. Stick to her earlier work.
Sep 26, 2009
Yvonne
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What a joy to find another Kaye Gibbons novel! While her first book was a funny comming of age book, this is a gothic romance. Yes, a gothic romance set in Washington DC and North Carolina during the influenza epidemic in 1918. She nails both the place and time, while crating a nice bit of suspense and a Heathcliff you can hate with impunity.
Feb 07, 2009
Nikki
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Ehhh. This book was weird--I JUST finished reading "Charms for The Easy Life" yesterday, and finished this one today. "Charms For The Easy Life" was amazing--couldn't put it down, beautifully written. This one felt awkward, and the long monologues from Maureen ranting at Troop were stilted at best and obnoxious at worst.
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Feb 01, 2010
Nicole
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This book about a women who had been so emotionally beaten down by her husband learning to crawl back into life had the potential to be a four-star book. Unfortunately Gibbons tended to go off on tangents that didn't always make sense. At any rate it was a decent read with the backdrop of WWI and the Spanish Influenza.
Oct 17, 2010
Mary
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I listened to this book on audio, because my shoulder is bothering and it's hard to sit and read right now. I like Kaye Gibbons -- she writes good stories about women. Generally her female characters are suffering from and then triumphing in spite of brutal men, which is a bit of a cliche. But many of her characters are lovely in unexpected ways, so the stories don't feel predictable.
Jun 20, 2010
Kristi
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I actually listened to this book on my way down to Atlanta. The antagonist is such a manipulative narcassist; it's easy to hate him. It is difficult, however, to listen how his relationships go on ad nauseum. And the strange family relationship between him and the protagonist's mother is tedious & unncessary.
Mar 18, 2010
Marsia
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 06, 2011
Amber
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So far I keep getting lost. I feel like characters keep getting added in a way that if you were part of the book you would know who they are talking about. Since I'm the reader and know nothing of the character's world, I feel I should be more properly introduced. Many of the paragraphs are a bit long winded for me too.
Aug 14, 2011
Evocative novel full of interesting characters. Good pace and balanced, nuanced exposition. I found the letters to be too long. This reminds me of something I would have read in a college women's studies course, but in a good way.
May 17, 2009
Bernadette
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I didn't really buy that it was supposed to be 1918. It was interesting to be reading this in the middle of the "swine flu" scare. It was a quick read, but not great literature and not an all that captivating story.
Aug 12, 2008
Courtney
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I brought this book to work with me to read - and as I was reading it I kept thinking "wait a minute, this sounds familiar...I think I read this book!" But I kept doubting myself because I didn't know what would happen next and I didn't know what the characters were all about but I kept thinking "I've read this before..." Kinda like deja vu or something. Soon enough it dawned on me that this was a book I had gotten on CD from the library but never finished. Who knows when
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Jul 05, 2010
Ann
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Thoughtful description of woman and their roles in the early 1900's. Reminded me a bit of The Help and the relationships of servants and the "big house". Some quirky characters. Worth the read.
Apr 02, 2009
Carol
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STUNNING BOOK: marvelous writer. A tale of 2 strong women, written for strong women. Interesting setting during WWI's influenze epidemic. I've got to read more of her stuff.
Sep 16, 2010
Maureen
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Out of the 3 Kaye Gibbons books I like this one the best. The characters are well developed and I wanted to know all about them after reading the first few pages.
Oct 24, 2010
Dora
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I'm pleased to have discovered an interesting author like Kaye Gibbons. She has a somewhat formal writing style, but an empowering message for women.
Jan 18, 2010
Liz
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This is a wonderful piece of fiction that should serve to empower mentally abused women trapped in a loveless marriage. It is emancipating. It takes place in the autumn of 1918 for a couple of months preceding victory in WWI in a North Carolina town, Elm City (Durham?)--with flashbacks to Washington.
The backgound also is peppered with deaths from the Spanish flu epidemic.
Mary Oliver, who has been brought up in a wealthy free-thinking environment in Washington is sent to North Caroli More...
The backgound also is peppered with deaths from the Spanish flu epidemic.
Mary Oliver, who has been brought up in a wealthy free-thinking environment in Washington is sent to North Caroli More...
Dec 13, 2011
Angie
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I didn't really care for this book. Everything was elaborately over-described. Far, far too many words to say so little. Way too much back story about characters who don't even really play a part in the story. On top of all of that, I listened to it on audio & the author/narrator has such a thick accent, it was really hard to listen to.
Jul 24, 2011
i plowed through this, even though the subject matter hit way too close to home. I just had to find out what happened to Maureen
Mar 27, 2011
Sharon
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I can't even remember whatg it was about. It must not have been very good. I finished it as recently as March 11, 2011.
Jul 14, 2009
Laura
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The divining part was thankfully minimal. I just liked how they stood up to Troop but wish he could have suffered more.
Aug 10, 2009
Lori
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Another winner from an author who rarely disappoints me. She gives her characters such "voice" that I can't help but feel as though I know them! I'm always sorry when I reach the end of Gibbons' books.
Jul 06, 2011
Robin
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I had forgotten how much I love Kaye Gibbons's work. It reminds me of Edith Wharton. This isn't her most compelling story, but it is always a treat to read anything by Gibbons.
Dec 24, 2010
Donna
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Divining Women is a good story of female friendship & the confines of social expectations.
