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28th out of 323 books
—
537 voters
Plantation (Lowcountry Tales #2)
by
Dorothea Benton Frank (Goodreads Author)
Pat Conroy called Dorothea Benton Frank’s debut, Sullivan’s Island, “hilarious and wise,” while Anne Rivers Siddons declared that it “roars with life.” Now Frank evokes a lush plantation in the heart of modern-day South Carolina—where family ties and hidden truths run as deep and dark as the mighty Edisto River… Caroline Wimbley Levine always swore she’d never go home agai...more
Paperback, 449 pages
Published
July 1st 2001
by Jove
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Plantation by Dorothea Benton Frank has been on the "gotta get to this book" list for some time. Now that a follow-up book, Lowcountry Summer, has just come out, I figured it was time to get to Plantation which I had downloaded to my Kindle last year.
Plantation was a story of a family finding its true self again after years of misinterpretations and misunderstandings. I enjoyed seeing Caroline Wimbley Levine find her true heart and home, although it seemed at times that she certainly was taking...more
Plantation was a story of a family finding its true self again after years of misinterpretations and misunderstandings. I enjoyed seeing Caroline Wimbley Levine find her true heart and home, although it seemed at times that she certainly was taking...more
I've read several excellent novels set in the Low Country of the U.S. Southeast (roughly, along the tidal coast between Charleston and Savannah) by three authors: Pat Conroy, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Dorothea Benton Frank. Though a long way from being a native, I'm familiar with the territory because my husband grew up in Savannah and one of my brothers has lived in the Charleston area for 45 years or so.
As with the others, this book's characters are so richly drawn I felt as if I knew them as...more
As with the others, this book's characters are so richly drawn I felt as if I knew them as...more
I know of three authors who write excellent novels set in the Low Country of the US Southeast - roughly, along the coast between Savannah and Charleston. It's territory I'm familiar with because my husband grew up in Savannah and one of my brothers has made his home in the Charleston area for the last 45 years or so. The three are Pat Conroy, Anne River Siddons, and Dorothea Benton Frank. I feel as if their characters are part of my own family. They have problems and flaws, they learn from them,...more
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This may have even been better than Sullivan's Island, which was the first Frank book for me. It was so clever and funny, but yet so poignant. The characters were so well developed--it was a really fun read, for sure. Hmmm, which Dorothea Benton Frank book I will tackle next?????
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After the family history that was Middlesex, I needed to head back to South Carolina's Low Country so Plantation was a perfect winter get away of the mind. This is my second read by the author & I actually think her first novel so while some of the themes seemed familiar I think this is where DB Frank tested out what matters to her. And what matters is a sense of place; the knowledge that no matter what one can still go home again; and perhaps most importantly that a woman who hasn't been gi...more
My mom highly recommended this book and loaned me her copy. I almost didn't finish it. The main character, Caroline, was - in my opinion - very unlikable during the first portion of the book. Glad I stuck with it though. As she undergoes some major life-changing events, she comes home - not just physically - and reclaims her Southern roots and upbringing. It was a very bittersweet story with some good laughs - also a good cry at the end. I stayed with my grandmother through the last few hours of...more
The characters in Plantation are fantastic! Love them (Miss Lavinia) or not (Frances Mae), they are all vividly portrayed and intriguing. Certain characters reminded me so much of members of my own family, especially Trip's brood (I probably shouldn't say that, haha!). Frank's descriptions of the ACE Basin are so colorful and graphic you can feel the mugginess in the air, taste Miss Sweetie's strawberry jam, and smell Miss Lavinia's roses. This is one of the few books I've read that emotes both...more
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I really enjoyed reading this book, until the end; not that the ending was bad...I just don't care for sad endings. The whole book tended to be on the humorous side but the ending took a turn for the serious that didn't really mesh with the tone of the rest of the book.
The main character, Caroline, deals with major life changes with a quick wit and sassy southern charm. She grows up idolizing her father who was taken away from the family far too early. Caroline is left with her brother while he...more
The main character, Caroline, deals with major life changes with a quick wit and sassy southern charm. She grows up idolizing her father who was taken away from the family far too early. Caroline is left with her brother while he...more
An "eyes wide open" look at mother-daughter relationships, Plantation introduces us to Caroline Wimbley Levine who left her southern home for the big city, married and had a son. She also left behind her mother, Miss Lavinia, and her brother, Trip. Caroline comes back to the plantation after both call her with wildly varying stories of an incident in which Miss Lavinia fired a gun at Trip. Finding the truth behind this story and many others which Caroline had believed since she was a child gives...more
I love the molasses-y southerness of this book - the music of the speech, the visceral presence of the setting, the irreverent reverence of “Mother,” the slow waltz of character interplay.
And it was the perfect book for this moment in my life.
warning: sort of spoiler alert for next paragraph...
Having just been blind-sided by the sudden death of my mother, I, like Caroline in the novel, find myself stopped short by brief glimpses of her presence. I’ll see it out of the corner of my eye. There...more
And it was the perfect book for this moment in my life.
warning: sort of spoiler alert for next paragraph...
Having just been blind-sided by the sudden death of my mother, I, like Caroline in the novel, find myself stopped short by brief glimpses of her presence. I’ll see it out of the corner of my eye. There...more
Dec 14, 2008
Natalie
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Ivy and Jen
Recommended to Natalie by:
Aunt Cay
A masterpiece in what I would call "character-driven fiction." Much like my own writing, it's not the plot-points that sell this as much as the characters, think Fanny Flagg but faster moving fiction. The mother in this novel is one of the best female characters I've seen in a long time and quite original, warm, funny, inviting. It's told from the daughter's point of view in first person. You will bawl your eyes out towards the end when the mother holds her last great "Hurrah!" in her pontoon bo...more
I'm beginning to see a common thread running through many of the last few books I have read... South Carolina! I think maybe I ought to move there! I have vacationed in the same area where this book takes place, and I loved it there. This book enhances my opinion of the whole ACE basin area of SC. It's easy to read and one of those that keeps luring you back. A fun book to read with just a few tears thrown in for good measure. Sometimes tears are good and they do give some measure to my ratings....more
One star is too many for this book. In the spirit of full disclosure, I need to say that I could not get past the first 100 pages before I put it down in disgust. The author relies on stereotypes (a pregnant woman thinks she is going to have a girl because she craves pink food), improbablities (a woman says nothing to her husband after calling his hotel room and his jealous ex-wife answers the phone), and misinformation (the information shared regarding learning disabilites is misleading and jus...more
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I picked this novel up at a local library book sale for 25 cents and I got a big surprise when I opened the book and started reading. I couldn't stop turning the pages of this mesmerizing story of a family in distress in the Low Country, which are the islands surrounding Charleston, SC. As I was reading this wonderful novel I couldn't help thinking the the writing style seemed similar to a cross between Pat Conroy and Fannie Flag, two popular southern authors. This novel will be a revisit for an...more
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I have read several books by Dorothea Benton Frank that I have enjoyed very much. However, I did not like Plantation as much as the others. The story is good, a grown daughter returning to South Carolina to care for her mother, however I never really connected with the daughter. She seemed to behave in ways that didn't seem in character. The descriptions of the Low Country of South Carolina are very well done. The loving and devoted housekeeper was funny and delightful, my favorite character in...more
I loved this novel and didn't want it to end. Plantation is a sweeping family tale set in the heart of lowcountry of South Carolina. The book is written beautifully and there were enough twists and turns that I didn't exactly know how it would end. I loved all the main characters and now I see that this is book 2 in a series by Frank. I will be buying the rest to read asap. This is a great easy read that has it all-- drama, romance, humor and interesting storylines. Perfect summer book.
Lots of interesting, well-developed characters. Caroline grew up in South Carolina, lives in New York as a married woman. When she separates from her husband, Caroline and her son come back to live with her mother, Miss Lavinia, in the home where Caroline grew up. A "typically Southern" novel with southern "characters," including Miss Lavinia who flirts outrageously, has pontoon parades on the river, etc.
This was probably one of the better Dot Frank books I have read. Although, I think this book could have been shorter. There were some slow moving parts in the book that I think can be eliminated without taking anything away from the content. I love the humor and the southern flair. (Unique characteristics of the Lowcountry Tales). This book was about Caroline and her family. Caroline and her mother have always had a somewhat strained relationship ever since the death of her father. When Caroline...more
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I loved Frank's Sullivan Island so I thought I would love this one too. I picked up and put it down, picked it up and put it down. Then last week I picked it up again and finished it in two days. I love the southern humor and the voodoo herbs. This is a fun read once you get past the first couple of chapters it swings into gear and you'll be laughing all the way to the end.
I can't wait for summer to start so I started my summer beach reading early! Benton-Frank writes fun character-driven stories set in the South Carolina lowcountry - her books aren't going to change your life but they are fun to read! This is a story of mothers and daughters, of second chances and forgiveness. I enjoyed it, and it makes me want to visit Charleston, SC for a mint julep!
I enjoyed this book - it was entertaining and held my attention....it also helped me to articulate loss and that is an ongoing task for me....I liked this quote:
"In one way it was selfish not to share my horrible news with them, but then I would have been in the unfortunate postion of having to deal with their feelings too. For right then, it was all I could do to handle my own."
"In one way it was selfish not to share my horrible news with them, but then I would have been in the unfortunate postion of having to deal with their feelings too. For right then, it was all I could do to handle my own."
I should have read this one first, but I accidently read Lowcountry Summer first (which is the continuing story of the Wimbley family.) I love Miss Lavinia, owner of the plantation. She is an exact copy of my mother-in-law! Perfect manners, everything served in just the right way, with the perfect linens, dishes, and goblets. Lots of humor and sarcasm galore.
Great read -- a South Carolina lowcountry tale set on the Edisto River with lively, likable, if dysfunctional, characters who make their peace with each other, themselves, and their heritage. The author knows the subject and the southern voice and does them beautifully -- I still hear, see, and taste the lowcountry from our Pawley's Island experiences.
this is an excellent story!
Caroline Wimbley Levine returns home to Tall Pines Plantation after a disappointing end to her marriage and life in NYC.
Her son, Eric, is said to have learning disabilities in NYC, yet he flourishes in SC.
I love the way Dorothea is able to bring the characters to life on her pages. I was able to experience the depth of emotions Caroline felt. I cried when she cried and was happy with her as she walked into her destiny at home in Tall Pines :-)
Caroline Wimbley Levine returns home to Tall Pines Plantation after a disappointing end to her marriage and life in NYC.
Her son, Eric, is said to have learning disabilities in NYC, yet he flourishes in SC.
I love the way Dorothea is able to bring the characters to life on her pages. I was able to experience the depth of emotions Caroline felt. I cried when she cried and was happy with her as she walked into her destiny at home in Tall Pines :-)
Such a fun read! Lots of parallels to the "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" which is probably another reason why I liked it: strong, quirky, alcoholic matriarch, mother/daughter with love/hate relationship, mother's friends are as quirky and alcoholic as she is and they act like sisters, reconciling events of one's past to eventually accept love, etc. Looks like the sequel came out just last month so I'll definitely be checking it out soon!
I enjoyed this story of a Southern family who are drawn home as their lives become complicated and who are surprised by their own sense of home and family after years of denying that those pulls existed. The book is full of colorful characters trying to make their way through the minefields of mother-daughter struggles, marriage nightmares, age, small-town vs city sensibilities, age, illness and more... Feisty and funny and very touching at times.
A very good way to start out 2012 with a book by one of my very favorite authors. This is an old one and has the same people in it as in the newer Low Country Summer which I read recently. She is so good at creating characters that you feel like you know and care about by the time you've finished her books. I hope she writes many more.
When Caroline finally faced the fact that her husband had no intention to be faithful to her, she returned to her family home in the low country of South Carolina. There she quickly becomes entwined with the lives of her mother and brother. Dorothea Benton Frank tells a moving story of love, life and the meaning of family.
The book did not let me down. It took a litle bit for me to be drawn into the book but once Miss L hooked me in I did not want to put the book down. THe book is rich with true southern charm. I love the rich characters and Miss L Queen of Tall Pines was wonderful.....We should all have a Miss Lavinia in our lives.
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| Caroline finally grew up | 5 | 23 | Apr 30, 2013 09:43am |
Dorothea Benton Frank is the New York Times best selling author of ten novels.
Dottie has appeared on NBC's Today Show, Parker Ladd's Book Talk and many local network affiliated television stations. She is a frequent speaker on creative writing and the creative process for students of all ages and in private venues as the National Arts Club, the Junior League of New York, Friends of the Library org...more
More about Dorothea Benton Frank...
Dottie has appeared on NBC's Today Show, Parker Ladd's Book Talk and many local network affiliated television stations. She is a frequent speaker on creative writing and the creative process for students of all ages and in private venues as the National Arts Club, the Junior League of New York, Friends of the Library org...more
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