false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255828779m/4700755.jpg 1130448 5 <b>From one of Canada’s most accomplished novelists, a bittersweet tale about mothers, daughters, friends and lovers in 1960s cottage country.</b> In the summer of 1963, the year of the release of Cleopatra, the most sensational movie ever made, the women of Kalyna Beach prepare for their annual end-of season party. Sonia Martyn and her four daughters are part of a group of first generation Ukrainian Canadians, newly minted middle-class families claiming their small part of the cottage-country dream. With their husbands away in the city all week, the women’s days are ruled by the predictable rhythms of children and chores, lightened by the “racy” books they trade amongst themselves and by their Friday afternoon gatherings for gin and gossip, heightened by their obsession with the deliciously scandalous love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Their tightly bound world is straining with its own dramas and secrets. Sonia, a former fashion model, mourns the death of her mother and fights with her difficult eldest daughter. Elusive Nadia, the wife of a millionaire, longs for a life she cannot have. Sharp-tongued, sophisticated Sasha plays a dangerous game in both challenging and shoring-up the traditional Ukrainian community and its defining values. And for adolescent Laura, her sisters and their friends, the rifts and fissures that appear in the once impregnable “world of the mothers” will unleash a startling series of betrayals and discoveries. For this is the summer when everything will change for the girls and women of Kalyna Beach, as innocence is exchanged for a new understanding of the possibilities open to them all. In setting her characters against the backdrop of the turbulent sixties, Janice Kulyk Keefer creates a radiant portrait of women caught between countries, cultures and aspirations. Richly evocative, beautifully told, The Ladies’Lending Library will resonate with more than women and book club members; it’s a story for anyone who has longed for the sweet and heady days of bygone summers and the risky promises of change. 1117640 4 2007 The Ladies' Lending Library total:133|5:3|4:12|3:51|2:41|1:26| 133 324 300 41 4 1 false false Wed Jan 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 23 13:55:23 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 03 14:42:48 -0800 2009
I say it was a surprise because a lot of the reviews I read about it were fairly indifferent or described the book as "slow", and because...more...]]> 2 1 false true Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 10:29:22 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 11:02:12 -0700 2009 Latitudes of Melt) and authors (Jane Urquhart).

This summer's selection just didn't stand up to the shimmering brilliance of previous Canadian au...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Aug 09 20:05:18 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 20:46:34 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 20:05:18 -0700 2009 not even done
I'm only 70 pages into the book and it's been a long, slow and unenjoyable read. First of all, it really doesn't have much to do ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 27 17:27:28 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 27 17:31:55 -0700 2007 2 1 false false Wed Jul 18 21:31:40 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 18 21:31:40 -0700 2007 4 2 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 31 06:14:24 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 06:22:59 -0700 2009
It's not really about the "lending library" book group, it's about the entire community of Ukranian-Canadians summering at a small lake resort.

Also enjoyed the wide variety of characters of all ages; chi...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Apr 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 06 06:22:54 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 16 05:24:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jun 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 06:38:29 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 06:39:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 2 false false Fri Feb 27 07:45:52 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 27 07:48:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jul 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 08:11:02 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 08:12:44 -0700 2009 2 2 false false Sun Apr 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 20:14:22 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 04:15:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Apr 15 05:44:37 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 05:49:18 -0700 2009 1 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 10:00:59 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 10:03:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 11 08:11:10 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 08:13:02 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sat May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 21:49:51 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 21:49:51 -0700 2009 1 2 false false Fri May 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 08:13:04 -0700 2009 Fri May 08 08:14:23 -0700 2009 1 2 false false Tue Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 19:00:40 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 19:01:47 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 23:56:23 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 23:58:24 -0700 2009 1 1 false false Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 08:33:14 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 08:34:35 -0700 2009 1 1 false false Mon Mar 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 12:01:51 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 09:46:25 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=4700755