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Those Harper Women
paperbound
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 6, 2025
This is a novel that is interesting and fairly well written. The main character is Edith who is now in her 70s living on he island of St. Thomas. The story goes back and forth with Edith remembering her Sugar Planting father, her neglected mother who drinks too much because of her father's affair and her husband, Charles, who has died. Her granddaughter, Leona has come back to live with her which brings life for Edith in topsy-turvy situations. Edith holds the future money for Leona and her mother Diana. Edith has two brothers who now run the family's multi-million dollar business interests of their late father, Meredith Harper.
The writer, Stephen Birmingham, throughout the book, has a tendency to take the reader back and forth from one era to another through his main character, Edith, or as Leona calls her, "Granny". I found this going back and forth somewhat annoying at times while reading the book. I guess that is what stopped me from saying this a Great Book. One minute he is telling the reader about what Edith is thinking and the next minute he has Edith back in the present again.
This is a quick read and not a difficult story to get through for the reader. It was written back in the early 1960s, but it can still be found on Used book sites such as Thriftbooks.
The writer, Stephen Birmingham, throughout the book, has a tendency to take the reader back and forth from one era to another through his main character, Edith, or as Leona calls her, "Granny". I found this going back and forth somewhat annoying at times while reading the book. I guess that is what stopped me from saying this a Great Book. One minute he is telling the reader about what Edith is thinking and the next minute he has Edith back in the present again.
This is a quick read and not a difficult story to get through for the reader. It was written back in the early 1960s, but it can still be found on Used book sites such as Thriftbooks.
May 28, 2021
Written in 1964, I found this book to be very interesting. Having just finished reading Mary Trump's book about her uncle, I instantly started to recognize some of the same type of characters in this book! For instance, the patriarch, Meridith Harper, reminded me of Fred Trump, and his wife, Dolly, of Mary Trump. Even the sons, Harold and Arthur, reminded me of Donald and Robert Trump!
But this book centers around Edith Harper, Meridith's eldest and only daughter, who is in her 70s and lives in a rambling old mansion on St. Thomas, and her granddaughter, Leona, who at 27 has been married and divorced three times and who has blown through all of her money. Poor Leona is floundering and because she's broke, she's desperate. In many ways, Leona reminded me of Scarlett O'Hara--because she is spoiled, rash, headstrong, willful, and impetuous.
It appears that the entire Harper clan harbors secrets: Meridith was a horrible bully; Dolly was a closet drinker; Edith had an affair before she married (scandalous); Harold is in trouble with the SEC, and Leona sleeps with a lout for money.
There were parts of this book that gave me nervous anxiety: The racism, the casual use of people, the ruthless financial control over family members, and then "The Great Gatsby" moment on a desolate road through the Mohave Desert in Arizona where something terrible happened that would change Leona and her "starter" husband, Jimmy, forever.
And there's one more book that I was reminded of as I read this one: "Three Tall Women" because of Edith's running dialogue that she keeps inside her head: It encompasses her early years, her middle years, and her final years as she discovers that she has cancer.
[There was another tiny section of this story that I found interesting as well as insulting: When the Caribbean maids waxed the furniture for Edith, she made them use their palms because she thought it made a better shine. Whoa.]
But this book centers around Edith Harper, Meridith's eldest and only daughter, who is in her 70s and lives in a rambling old mansion on St. Thomas, and her granddaughter, Leona, who at 27 has been married and divorced three times and who has blown through all of her money. Poor Leona is floundering and because she's broke, she's desperate. In many ways, Leona reminded me of Scarlett O'Hara--because she is spoiled, rash, headstrong, willful, and impetuous.
It appears that the entire Harper clan harbors secrets: Meridith was a horrible bully; Dolly was a closet drinker; Edith had an affair before she married (scandalous); Harold is in trouble with the SEC, and Leona sleeps with a lout for money.
There were parts of this book that gave me nervous anxiety: The racism, the casual use of people, the ruthless financial control over family members, and then "The Great Gatsby" moment on a desolate road through the Mohave Desert in Arizona where something terrible happened that would change Leona and her "starter" husband, Jimmy, forever.
And there's one more book that I was reminded of as I read this one: "Three Tall Women" because of Edith's running dialogue that she keeps inside her head: It encompasses her early years, her middle years, and her final years as she discovers that she has cancer.
[There was another tiny section of this story that I found interesting as well as insulting: When the Caribbean maids waxed the furniture for Edith, she made them use their palms because she thought it made a better shine. Whoa.]
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews