Family Linen
by Lee Smith
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 218)
Read in June, 2008
This is not my book. I have a lovely hardcover with a very delicate white-on-white embroidered linen design in the background of the dust jacket. This jumped into my hands as a result of my genealogical "bug" being about the aeration of family secrets and the resulting hanging the family linen out for all the world to see and know and being notated on the cover that she is also the author of Oral History -- another genie hook. It should be fun.
Well, maybe not exactly fun, but i...more
Well, maybe not exactly fun, but i...more
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
Angie
Interesting story unfolds as told from different angles (i.e. each character's perspective), yet it did not seem to overlap itself.
Part murder-mystery, part unforgettable characters = a good story in my book :))
Part murder-mystery, part unforgettable characters = a good story in my book :))
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Read in November, 2008
A cast of quirky family members get together for their mother's funeral. The oldest sibling has been hypnotized and thinks the father was murdered and buried in the backyard. Each tells their own history, reveals their own skeletons and the story unfolds. I would recommend this book.
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1 comments
Good book, but I was irritated by the Faulkner-esque stream of consciousness at times. Though I have to say Smith is less...irritating (dare I say it?) The story is good, though I think it could use some tightening. Read Oral History instead.
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Read in January, 2007
Was assigned for my recent Southern Lit class, and she teaches at State. My favorite character is the sister who has a kooky-ass daughter who, like, wears oversized attire from the Army-Navy surplus store, hates her mother, and attends Friends School. That shit was almost-- just almost-- too close for comfort.
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Read in July, 2008
There's nothing like digging into sordid pasts of people who do their best to appear perfect. This was the second book I've read by Lee Smith, and hopefully not the last. A great story that sucked me in, and I enjoyed all the characters, although there were a few too many at times.
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Read in October, 2008
recommended to Jen by:
Lacey
I'd like to give more stars because I really enjoyed the book about 160 pages in. But 160 pages is a lot to ask of a reader before the book gets good. I think this was a good story from a talented writer that would've benefitted from a really skilled editor.
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Another Lee Smith achievement, yet it can not touch the success and brilliance of Fair and Tender Ladies. Another legacy of an Appalachian family, updated with the rough and tumble of the 80s.
Good read.
Good read.
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