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Runnymede #1
Six of One
Perched right on the Mason-Dixon line, tiny Runnymede, Maryland, is ripe with a history almost as colorful as the women who live there—from Celeste Chalfonte, headstrong and aristocratic, who murders for principle and steals her brother’s wife, to Fannie Jump Creighton, who runs a speakeasy right in her own home when hard times come knocking. Then of course, there’re Louise and Julia, the boldly eccentric Hunsenmeir sisters. Wheezie and Juts spend their whole lives in Runnymede, cheerfully quibbling about everything from men to child-rearing to how to drive a car. But they never let small-town life keep them from chasing their biggest dreams—or from being true to who they really are. Sparkling with a perfect combination of sisterhood and sass, Six of One is a richly textured Southern canvas—Rita Mae Brown “at her winning, fondest best”( Kirkus Reviews ).
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
185 people are currently reading
2101 people want to read
About the author
Rita Mae Brown
178 books2,198 followersRita Mae Brown is a prolific American writer, most known for her mysteries and other novels (Rubyfruit Jungle). She is also an Emmy-nominated screenwriter.
Brown was born illegitimate in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her biological mother's female cousin and the cousin's husband in York, Pennsylvania and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Starting in the fall of 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movement. She subsequently enrolled at Broward Community College[3] with the hope of transferring eventually to a more tolerant four-year institution.
Between fall 1964 and 1969, she lived in New York City, sometimes homeless, while attending New York University[6] where she received a degree in Classics and English. Later,[when?] she received another degree in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts.[citation needed] Brown received a Ph.D. in literature from Union Institute & University in 1976 and holds a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
Starting in 1973, Brown lived in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In 1977, she bought a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia where she still lives.[9] In 1982, a screenplay Brown wrote while living in Los Angeles, Sleepless Nights, was retitled The Slumber Party Massacre and given a limited release theatrically.
During Brown's spring 1964 semester at the University of Florida at Gainesville, she became active in the American Civil Rights Movement. Later in the 1960s, she participated in the anti-war movement, the feminist movement and the Gay Liberation movement.
Brown took an administrative position with the fledgling National Organization for Women, but resigned in January 1970 over Betty Friedan's anti-gay remarks and NOW's attempts to distance itself from lesbian organizations. She claims she played a leading role in the "Lavender Menace" zap of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Friedan's remarks and the exclusion of lesbians from the women's movement.
In the early 1970s, she became a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist newspaper collective in Washington, DC, which held that heterosexuality was the root of all oppression.
Brown told Time magazine in 2008, "I don't believe in straight or gay. I really don't. I think we're all degrees of bisexual. There may be a few people on the extreme if it's a bell curve who really truly are gay or really truly are straight. Because nobody had ever said these things and used their real name, I suddenly became [in the late 1970s] the only lesbian in America."
Brown was born illegitimate in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her biological mother's female cousin and the cousin's husband in York, Pennsylvania and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Starting in the fall of 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movement. She subsequently enrolled at Broward Community College[3] with the hope of transferring eventually to a more tolerant four-year institution.
Between fall 1964 and 1969, she lived in New York City, sometimes homeless, while attending New York University[6] where she received a degree in Classics and English. Later,[when?] she received another degree in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts.[citation needed] Brown received a Ph.D. in literature from Union Institute & University in 1976 and holds a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
Starting in 1973, Brown lived in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In 1977, she bought a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia where she still lives.[9] In 1982, a screenplay Brown wrote while living in Los Angeles, Sleepless Nights, was retitled The Slumber Party Massacre and given a limited release theatrically.
During Brown's spring 1964 semester at the University of Florida at Gainesville, she became active in the American Civil Rights Movement. Later in the 1960s, she participated in the anti-war movement, the feminist movement and the Gay Liberation movement.
Brown took an administrative position with the fledgling National Organization for Women, but resigned in January 1970 over Betty Friedan's anti-gay remarks and NOW's attempts to distance itself from lesbian organizations. She claims she played a leading role in the "Lavender Menace" zap of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Friedan's remarks and the exclusion of lesbians from the women's movement.
In the early 1970s, she became a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist newspaper collective in Washington, DC, which held that heterosexuality was the root of all oppression.
Brown told Time magazine in 2008, "I don't believe in straight or gay. I really don't. I think we're all degrees of bisexual. There may be a few people on the extreme if it's a bell curve who really truly are gay or really truly are straight. Because nobody had ever said these things and used their real name, I suddenly became [in the late 1970s] the only lesbian in America."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
July 8, 2023
The Publisher Says: Whether careening through town propelling cars like long-range missiles, or laying waste to a costumed July Fourth parade, Wheezie and Juts Hunsenmeir are Runnymede's most irrepressible, mule-headed sister scat. together these unrivaled Southern siblings cheerfully raise hell—and a hell of a family—among some of the most colorful townsfolk you're ever likely to meet. Chief among them is elegant Celeste Chalfonte. As exquisite as she is fearless, Celeste kills a man and marries a woman, sloe-eyed Ramelle Bowman. And when Ramelle has Curtis Chalfronte's child, no one bats an eye—even though Ramelle has no intention of leaving her beloved Celeste. Then there's Fannie Jump Creighton who runs a speakeasy in her mansion. And activist Fairy Thatcher, who disappears into Hitler's Germany. Through it all run Wheezie and Juts, heading pell-mell into the future with their hands firmly gripped around each other's throats. spanning more than fifty years of the tumultuous twentieth century, Six of One is a joyous celebration of the human sprit—and the ties binding even the unlikeliest families.
My Review: The life and times of a matriarchal clan made up of a mixture of lesbians, hell-raisers, and goody-two-shoeses in the fictional town of Runnymede that sits smack on the Mason-Dixon line. From 1909 to 1980, Cora Hunsenmeir and her daughters Julia Ellen and Louise live, love, fight, make up, and generally enjoy themselves hugely, often to the detriment of though never at the expense of their fellow-travelers and employers Celeste Chalfonte, Ramelle Bowman, and Fannie Jump Creighton, that horny old dipsomaniacal hussy. (She's my hero.)
There is a lot of pleasure to be had in re-reading books that once made an impact on you. If, of course, they hold up well. This novel holds up well. It's not perfect, it's got small inconsistencies and this 1984 printing wasn't ever corrected for some minor textual flubs, but even the Pieta has chisel marks.
The women in this story are heroes and role models for me. I wish with all my might that they were my sisters, mothers, the crones who ruled my town. CERTAINLY not my wife, not a one of 'em, who needs the tsurres? I'll take a nice, easy man any day. (Which I now have the *legal* option to do!) But damn, is it fun to watch Julia Ellen get revenge on Louise for stealing her birthday hair ribbon on her fourth birthday in 1909...revenge served up in 1980! Had this been my own sisters, the revenge would've been a knife in the ribs, or a tchotchke smashed on the head...real hatred and sibling rivalry taken to a toxic extreme. Which is why, when I discovered this book in 1978, I loved it so immoderately.
I yearned to be witty, worldly Celeste Chalfonte, and also wise, simple Cora Hunsenmeir...but suspected deep down that I was already fated to be alcoholic sex addict Fannie Jump. (Which bit of self-knowledge changed nothing, thank GOD.) I was sure I would find redemption in these characters. (Redemption, like happiness, can't be pursued. It's not a grouse. {That's a quote.}) It was clear to me that this was a road map, a way to live my life, if I could just...Well, I never could, darn it, but the book lost none of its impact for all that. It's a real pleasure to come home to Runnymede and sit on Cora's porch listening to crickets and Idabelle's accordion from the porch of her own house at the bottom of Bumblebee Hill. Then wander over to Celeste and Ramelle's back porch to have magnolia droppings (aka gin, in discreet frosted glasses) with the ladies. Join in the tutting as Minta Mae Dexter assaults good taste with her brigade of soiled doves, the Sisters of Gettysburg. Rejoice heartily when Brutus Rife, the town's robber-baron industrialist, is ushered off this mortal coil in one of my very favorite literary homicides.
The magic of the book for me is that I can and do...these pleasures haven't faded for being re-experienced. I still sob at the loss of sweet gentle souls whose lives are lived in honest labor, and the inevitable passing of the ladies grand and common of the early generation in their various ways. Characters like this are a real pleasure to discover. This level of investment in the fictional lives of fictional people indicates a very high level of writerly ability is at work. The plot, the execution of the life-patterns of the women, is in a way secondary. The events chosen by the author to illuminate the spirits of the characters are the important criteria...though there are a lot of wonderful lines and zingers in here, make no mistake: "Who cares who you fuck in Pittsburgh?" demanded of a rigidly conventional sourpuss by a hearty old bawd is a favorite; but of them all, the reason I truly treasure this novel is the sad, sad glory of Cora Hunsenmeir's final moments: As she knows she is dying, she, this unlettered laboring daughter of a working man with no pretensions to status or learning, reaches up for the sun one last time and says, "Thank you, God, for all of it."
I hope that, when my time comes as it surely must, I can say that line with as much gratitude and sincerity as Cora did. I will live my life so as to make that a reality.
My Review: The life and times of a matriarchal clan made up of a mixture of lesbians, hell-raisers, and goody-two-shoeses in the fictional town of Runnymede that sits smack on the Mason-Dixon line. From 1909 to 1980, Cora Hunsenmeir and her daughters Julia Ellen and Louise live, love, fight, make up, and generally enjoy themselves hugely, often to the detriment of though never at the expense of their fellow-travelers and employers Celeste Chalfonte, Ramelle Bowman, and Fannie Jump Creighton, that horny old dipsomaniacal hussy. (She's my hero.)
There is a lot of pleasure to be had in re-reading books that once made an impact on you. If, of course, they hold up well. This novel holds up well. It's not perfect, it's got small inconsistencies and this 1984 printing wasn't ever corrected for some minor textual flubs, but even the Pieta has chisel marks.
The women in this story are heroes and role models for me. I wish with all my might that they were my sisters, mothers, the crones who ruled my town. CERTAINLY not my wife, not a one of 'em, who needs the tsurres? I'll take a nice, easy man any day. (Which I now have the *legal* option to do!) But damn, is it fun to watch Julia Ellen get revenge on Louise for stealing her birthday hair ribbon on her fourth birthday in 1909...revenge served up in 1980! Had this been my own sisters, the revenge would've been a knife in the ribs, or a tchotchke smashed on the head...real hatred and sibling rivalry taken to a toxic extreme. Which is why, when I discovered this book in 1978, I loved it so immoderately.
I yearned to be witty, worldly Celeste Chalfonte, and also wise, simple Cora Hunsenmeir...but suspected deep down that I was already fated to be alcoholic sex addict Fannie Jump. (Which bit of self-knowledge changed nothing, thank GOD.) I was sure I would find redemption in these characters. (Redemption, like happiness, can't be pursued. It's not a grouse. {That's a quote.}) It was clear to me that this was a road map, a way to live my life, if I could just...Well, I never could, darn it, but the book lost none of its impact for all that. It's a real pleasure to come home to Runnymede and sit on Cora's porch listening to crickets and Idabelle's accordion from the porch of her own house at the bottom of Bumblebee Hill. Then wander over to Celeste and Ramelle's back porch to have magnolia droppings (aka gin, in discreet frosted glasses) with the ladies. Join in the tutting as Minta Mae Dexter assaults good taste with her brigade of soiled doves, the Sisters of Gettysburg. Rejoice heartily when Brutus Rife, the town's robber-baron industrialist, is ushered off this mortal coil in one of my very favorite literary homicides.
The magic of the book for me is that I can and do...these pleasures haven't faded for being re-experienced. I still sob at the loss of sweet gentle souls whose lives are lived in honest labor, and the inevitable passing of the ladies grand and common of the early generation in their various ways. Characters like this are a real pleasure to discover. This level of investment in the fictional lives of fictional people indicates a very high level of writerly ability is at work. The plot, the execution of the life-patterns of the women, is in a way secondary. The events chosen by the author to illuminate the spirits of the characters are the important criteria...though there are a lot of wonderful lines and zingers in here, make no mistake: "Who cares who you fuck in Pittsburgh?" demanded of a rigidly conventional sourpuss by a hearty old bawd is a favorite; but of them all, the reason I truly treasure this novel is the sad, sad glory of Cora Hunsenmeir's final moments: As she knows she is dying, she, this unlettered laboring daughter of a working man with no pretensions to status or learning, reaches up for the sun one last time and says, "Thank you, God, for all of it."
I hope that, when my time comes as it surely must, I can say that line with as much gratitude and sincerity as Cora did. I will live my life so as to make that a reality.
September 3, 2007
I'm a sucker for this book, which I reread after a decade and still loved. I picked it up because I wanted a book that would, cheesy as it sounds, fill my heart with inspiration and joy. And of course, lots of laughs as quirky women live life to the fullest in a small town.
"Everything is possible. Pass the word."
"Everything is possible. Pass the word."
October 13, 2022
I re-read this one for about the gazillionth time. I first read it when it came out in the early 80s, but have returned to it again and again for the sparkling wit, wonderful storytelling, and the appeal of Juts and Louise, elderly sisters who have battled each other for their whole lives but who couldn't survive without each other. There are scenes that still make me laugh out loud, and the whole book is so colorfully written that I can "see" the characters and scenes clearly as I read. Nice foray into an old favorite!
August 15, 2025
one of my favourite books ever
August 23, 2012
*Six of One* was the first Rita Mae Brown novel I read ... I was at university, living in a walk-up apartment, devouring the book late one evening, shortly after I'd finished a term of study. One of my friends had loaned it to me, saying it'd be a good counter to all the academic texts I'd been hoovering.
I laughed so hard -- during a scene that involved a handbag -- that I woke up my neighbours in the apartments beside and above mine. Three of these neighbours were friends, so they bounded downstairs and into the home of me and my roommate. We all piled onto my bed (a single) and read that one scene back and forth to each other until we were doubled over and fit only to pass out. Back to bed we all went, and for the rest of that summer, we went out of our way to waggle the words "Fanny" and/or "handbag" into every conversation -- especially when we were with people who hadn't read the book. That whole summer was a fit of laughter ...
:-D
I laughed so hard -- during a scene that involved a handbag -- that I woke up my neighbours in the apartments beside and above mine. Three of these neighbours were friends, so they bounded downstairs and into the home of me and my roommate. We all piled onto my bed (a single) and read that one scene back and forth to each other until we were doubled over and fit only to pass out. Back to bed we all went, and for the rest of that summer, we went out of our way to waggle the words "Fanny" and/or "handbag" into every conversation -- especially when we were with people who hadn't read the book. That whole summer was a fit of laughter ...
:-D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2008
Great depiction of southern women. I know, I grew up with them.
February 23, 2014
One of the funniest books I've ever read. It's just so lovely.
December 26, 2022
Das wurde echt immer besser. Ich liebe es Frauen dominierte Bücher zu lesen und zu lesen wie Frauen teilweise in den 20ern - 70ern gelebt haben ist irgendwie so berührend und inspirierend. Das ist auf jeden Fall eins dieser Bücher was das Gefühl zu Leben und zu Leiden gut einfängt. Hab geweint, gelacht, gelitten.
Es ist aber auch ein sehr wuseliges Buch.
Außerdem fühl ich mich meiner Mutter näher wenn ich es lese. Irgendwie versteh ich sie dadurch besser.
Es ist aber auch ein sehr wuseliges Buch.
Außerdem fühl ich mich meiner Mutter näher wenn ich es lese. Irgendwie versteh ich sie dadurch besser.
May 19, 2015
I wish that Rita Mae Brown would write more books like this one. I think this one is her best, although I am very fond of her early Sneaky Pie Brown books.
The narrative switches back and forth from the 1920's to the 1980. There is humor, sadness, but above all friendship. I really enjoyed this book, unlike the ones she's written the the last 3-4 years or so.
The narrative switches back and forth from the 1920's to the 1980. There is humor, sadness, but above all friendship. I really enjoyed this book, unlike the ones she's written the the last 3-4 years or so.
June 27, 2017
Not good, not bad. I loved the character development, and the story itself was interesting enough. It just wasn't one of those books that I feel the need to get back to when I wasn't reading it.
June 29, 2021
For the most part, I enjoyed this novel. Basically, the storyline follows one family and a few intimate friends. The plot and time period cover multiple generations, from the late 1800's up through 1980. The current events of the fictional community of Runnymede are deftly interwoven with the actual historical events of the time period. This was perhaps the most interesting aspect. Most characters are well developed. My only annoyance is the dialogue between characters often meanders well past the point of interest.
This is first in a series. I will most likely give the sequel a try.
This is first in a series. I will most likely give the sequel a try.
June 23, 2017
I adore these Runnymede books and intend to read them all. As #1 in the series, this was a wonderfully enjoyable read.
September 14, 2022
thuis in een boek <3
June 10, 2023
It took me a bit to get into this story but it was worth reading further. Funny and touching, I enjoyed this story.
Read
July 21, 2025möglicherweise ein neues lieblingsbuch
December 30, 2017
On a lurk before a break, I ran to the library to find books for my vacation. A newer release-Catwalk was on the front display. After realizing it was a series, I thought why not? A series will occupy me for a week. I didn't realize the "newer" series was first written in 1978.
It was tough at first getting use to the language of the early 1900s and southern dialect and idioms. Eventually you get the hang of it in context.
As a history teacher, I was intrigued by how "racy" the book's characters would have been for their time. A lesbian heiress who lives with her lover. "Help" who are treated as friends to some degree. The impact of the Civil War still looming on the heels of nationalism. The great divide of old money, no money, and new money. The book walks you through the major events of 1905 to the 1950s, with the future being the 1980s. Loved the early periods and the World Wars through the eyes of two generations, saw little need for the part about the 1980s.
What makes us sisters? Blood? Kinship? As much as sisters may be different or battle each other in competition-in the end does the fact we are sisters always bond us as allies?
Has the strength of this country been born on the shoulders of women?
It was tough at first getting use to the language of the early 1900s and southern dialect and idioms. Eventually you get the hang of it in context.
As a history teacher, I was intrigued by how "racy" the book's characters would have been for their time. A lesbian heiress who lives with her lover. "Help" who are treated as friends to some degree. The impact of the Civil War still looming on the heels of nationalism. The great divide of old money, no money, and new money. The book walks you through the major events of 1905 to the 1950s, with the future being the 1980s. Loved the early periods and the World Wars through the eyes of two generations, saw little need for the part about the 1980s.
What makes us sisters? Blood? Kinship? As much as sisters may be different or battle each other in competition-in the end does the fact we are sisters always bond us as allies?
Has the strength of this country been born on the shoulders of women?
May 19, 2013
It's a long, long time since I read this but I still remember how much I enjoyed it. Great fun and great characters.
June 7, 2018
This book is like sunshine.
February 28, 2022
I've read other books in this series, but finally found the first that started it off. I love Rita Mae Brown & am a fan of all her series works. This series carries a lot of her family & childhood. The battling Hunsenmeir sisters, Julia Ellen (Juts) & Louise (Wheeze) can't stop arguing & trying to one-up each other through their entire lives, but are there for each other when needed. They are based on Brown's mother & aunt, & the town where they are born & raised, Runnymede, on the town where she lived. Runnymede is smack dab on the Mason-Dixon line, divided during the Civil War between North & South & still feuding, just like the sisters. The story begins in the early 1900s with Cora Hunsenmeir, the girls' mother, who works as housekeeper/cook for the wealthy Celeste Chalfonte. The Chalfontes live & own factories in the Southern half of Runnymede while the Rifes, a cruel, dominating family, has a munitions factory in the Northern half & use questionable tactics to prosper. The town is full of eccentric characters & the story covers events from 1908-1980, including both world wars, prohibition, & the Wall street crash as well as the personal stories of its inhabitants--the joys, sorrows, love, hate, fun, & tough times. I love these characters who seem like your own family by the end of the book. A great story.
March 15, 2018
This lovely book is an exercise in character study. This story spans from the early 1900s to 1980 in a little town of Runnymead that straddles the Mason Dixon line. Just as the Virgina side and the Baltimore side are in a constant little friendly battle, so are the sisters Louise and Julia Ellen. These polar opposite s are always battling with each other, except when they team up against someone else. The story starts in 1980, with two old lady's and Julia's grown daughter Nichole. But then it goes back to when these ladies where children. We meet a whole cast of characters that include the friendships of several strong women. There are 3 spirited , rich women, a lover, a maid and her children. We also have all the friends and the men in these women's lives as colorful supporting characters. The book follows these women through a half century, showing us snippets of their lives, occasionally flipping back to the 1980 story
I recommend this sweet story to almost any woman. One of the many stories that thread through this book, is the beautiful enduring love story of two beautiful women.
I recommend this sweet story to almost any woman. One of the many stories that thread through this book, is the beautiful enduring love story of two beautiful women.
December 2, 2020
Challenges: Grinchathon July 2020 - Love/romance/author's series I would love to read (1); Reading Goal Posts/Stacking the Series - Tier 2/Runnymede 1/5. Published in 1978, a dual timeline takes place in present day 1980 and then covers the lives of Jutes and Weezer on the Mason Dixon Line from 1909 to 1965. At the beginning there are still folks in Runnymede who lived through The Civil War, and now the younger generations experience The Great War and WWII. North (PA) and South (MD) Runnymede battle it out, as do the characters in this story in love and war. In the trenches or in the kitchen, your heart is touched. Rita Mae Brown remains one of my most beloved authors.
May 31, 2021
Dieser Roman ist es wirklich wert, gelesen zu werden. Er gehört nicht zu denen, die mich so gefesselt haben, dass ich ihn nicht aus der Hand legen konnte (deswegen habe ich auch eine Weile dafür gebraucht), aber er war gut.
Es hat mich weder gestört, noch ist es mir negativ aufgefallen, dass alle Protagonisten des Buches weiblich sind, Männer kommen nur am Rande vor. Dennoch wirkt es nicht überzogen feministisch.
Amerika zwischen 1905 und 1980, zwei Schwestern, die nicht mit- und nicht ohneeinander können... ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass man daraus eine so unterhaltsame Geschichte machen kann, die auch noch in einem hervorragenden Stil geschrieben ist.
Es hat mich weder gestört, noch ist es mir negativ aufgefallen, dass alle Protagonisten des Buches weiblich sind, Männer kommen nur am Rande vor. Dennoch wirkt es nicht überzogen feministisch.
Amerika zwischen 1905 und 1980, zwei Schwestern, die nicht mit- und nicht ohneeinander können... ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass man daraus eine so unterhaltsame Geschichte machen kann, die auch noch in einem hervorragenden Stil geschrieben ist.
March 19, 2019
I have read this book and Rita Mae Brown was always the quintessential lesbian and mystery writer and will always be a classic. She was an activist and mentor for women around the world. She blazed a trail for many to follow. Her writing always puts you right in the story as if you are walking through the life of the characters and the settings. You can always get lost in her writing and suddenly you are laughing, crying, and even mad. Rita Mae Brown evoke emotions in her readers through her writing. I will always rate her as a woman who did what she set out to do and then some.
January 30, 2025
Six of One (Runnymede, #1) by Rita Mae Brown
In Six of One, this writer has you feeling as if you really are in the small town of Runnymede, Maryland interacting with an interesting cast of characters with rich antics. She earns my vote mainly because she makes me laugh out loud.
This book is sassy and irreverent. There seems to be a few people who did not find the two arguing sisters as funny as I did, but then again, they didn’t grow up with my sister!
Rita Mae Brown does not write about passive women, struggling and in pain but rather about strong, opinionated, passionate and funny women, and for that, we are thankful.
In Six of One, this writer has you feeling as if you really are in the small town of Runnymede, Maryland interacting with an interesting cast of characters with rich antics. She earns my vote mainly because she makes me laugh out loud.
This book is sassy and irreverent. There seems to be a few people who did not find the two arguing sisters as funny as I did, but then again, they didn’t grow up with my sister!
Rita Mae Brown does not write about passive women, struggling and in pain but rather about strong, opinionated, passionate and funny women, and for that, we are thankful.
July 6, 2020
This is a highly entertaining novel about family and friendship in a small town on the Mason Dixon line. The book covers approximately 70 years and several generations of primarily women in Runnymede. All types of relationships are depicted, but the central relationships are of two sisters and a lesbian couple. Though some of the book is a bit unrealistic in how certain relationships are perceived by much of the town, this book was laugh out loud funny and very witty.
July 22, 2023
Picked up from a little free library while road tripping & read in VT which is where Brown went on to teach WGS in Plainfield which is a coincidence. I found this story of wild women entertaining but unlikely with people donning politics like outfits to the same party where confederates rub shoulders with communists & everyone still loves each other at the end of the day because no serious conversations are ever had?
October 7, 2017
This novel chronicles the lives of a group of brave, beautiful, unconventional women whose lifelong friendship sees them through three quarters of the 20th century. As their world changed around them, they endured hardship and loss but always found a way to cope and carry on, leaning on the friendships that are strengthened over many years and finding joy in every day pleasures.
August 10, 2018
I normally like books by this author but she has a quirk in her style that bothers me. Hard to describe but I shouldn't have read it after "Cry Me a River" by Pearson because his style is so smooth and flowing. The characters in this book are fun and the setting is interesting and so is the plot. Most people would enjoy it, I think.
February 9, 2025
Lost interest after 30 pages of repetitive silly unrealistic conversation. Fiction is fiction, but if this is supposed to represent American life, I don’t think anyone actually gabbled all day long, year after year, in the way depicted. The vulgarity in the latter pages demeans the finished body of work.
October 20, 2017
This is actually a solid 4 1/2 stars.
Loved the characters and the plot.
Interesting but well defined time line that was easier and more enjoyable to follow than most that jump between different periods.
Time to add the series to the list.
Loved the characters and the plot.
Interesting but well defined time line that was easier and more enjoyable to follow than most that jump between different periods.
Time to add the series to the list.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews