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Guests on Earth
It’s 1936 when orphaned thirteen-year-old Evalina Toussaint is admitted to Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina, known for its innovative treatments for nervous disorders and addictions. Taken under the wing of the hospital’s most notable patient, Zelda Fitzgerald, Evalina witnesses cascading events that lead up to the tragic fire of 1948 that killed nine women in a locked ward, Zelda among them. Author Lee Smith has created, through a seamless blending of fiction and fact, a mesmerizing novel about a world apart--in which art and madness are luminously intertwined.
326 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
355 people are currently reading
5984 people want to read
About the author
Lee Smith
43 books984 followersGrowing up in the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia, nine-year-old Lee Smith was already writing--and selling, for a nickel apiece--stories about her neighbors in the coal boomtown of Grundy and the nearby isolated "hollers." Since 1968, she has published eleven novels, as well as three collections of short stories, and has received many writing awards.
The sense of place infusing her novels reveals her insight into and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Lee Smith was born in 1944 in Grundy, Virginia, a small coal-mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not 10 miles from the Kentucky border. The Smith home sat on Main Street, and the Levisa River ran just behind it. Her mother, Virginia, was a college graduate who had come to Grundy to teach school.
Her father, Ernest, a native of the area, operated a dime store. And it was in that store that Smith's training as a writer began. Through a peephole in the ceiling of the store, Smith would watch and listen to the shoppers, paying close attention to the details of how they talked and dressed and what they said.
"I didn't know any writers," Smith says, "[but] I grew up in the midst of people just talking and talking and talking and telling these stories. My Uncle Vern, who was in the legislature, was a famous storyteller, as were others, including my dad. It was very local. I mean, my mother could make a story out of anything; she'd go to the grocery store and come home with a story."
Smith describes herself as a "deeply weird" child. She was an insatiable reader. When she was 9 or 10, she wrote her first story, about Adlai Stevenson and Jane Russell heading out west together to become Mormons--and embodying the very same themes, Smith says, that concern her even today. "You know, religion and flight, staying in one place or not staying, containment or flight--and religion." From Lee Smith's official website.
The sense of place infusing her novels reveals her insight into and empathy for the people and culture of Appalachia. Lee Smith was born in 1944 in Grundy, Virginia, a small coal-mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not 10 miles from the Kentucky border. The Smith home sat on Main Street, and the Levisa River ran just behind it. Her mother, Virginia, was a college graduate who had come to Grundy to teach school.
Her father, Ernest, a native of the area, operated a dime store. And it was in that store that Smith's training as a writer began. Through a peephole in the ceiling of the store, Smith would watch and listen to the shoppers, paying close attention to the details of how they talked and dressed and what they said.
"I didn't know any writers," Smith says, "[but] I grew up in the midst of people just talking and talking and talking and telling these stories. My Uncle Vern, who was in the legislature, was a famous storyteller, as were others, including my dad. It was very local. I mean, my mother could make a story out of anything; she'd go to the grocery store and come home with a story."
Smith describes herself as a "deeply weird" child. She was an insatiable reader. When she was 9 or 10, she wrote her first story, about Adlai Stevenson and Jane Russell heading out west together to become Mormons--and embodying the very same themes, Smith says, that concern her even today. "You know, religion and flight, staying in one place or not staying, containment or flight--and religion." From Lee Smith's official website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 986 reviews
May 21, 2014
Okay, I'm a little biased as I know Lee, and she's the reason I am published. She took me under her wing and helped me find an agent. But BEFORE that, I was a huge fan, and this book is one of her best. I loved it so much, especially the NC stuff as that's my home state. All of her books are great. She is my role model.
September 13, 2016
While I found this book surprisingly enjoyable with a well-developed and likable main character, I can't give it a higher rating. The author seems to have gotten to the end and just given up entirely. The entire "climax" of the book (as defined by the back cover) takes place in the last ten pages, and we get no real sense of its significance. [Spoiler] This is a story about a woman who breaks down after the death of her mother, again after the death of her daughter, and we are supposed to believe she just watches the only home she's ever known burn down, with 9 of her friends in it, and she's just completely fine? The end was just completely unbelievable for me, and it didn't do Evalina (who i really liked) justice. Definite cop out.
October 17, 2014
Three and a half stars, rounded up. I was very interested to read Lee Smith's treatment of the tragedy at Highland Hospital in Asheville that resulted in the death of Zelda Fitzgerald, as it has been a subject that has intrigued me (as all things Asheville do). I've read about it a bit myself, though not nearly to the thorough extent Ms. Smith has, as evidenced by her "Note on Sources." Though she opens the book with the AP news report of the 1948 fire at Highland Hospital, and the first page of chapter one begins with the narrator saying she has intended for years to write her own impressions of Zelda Fitzgerald and "to bring a certain insight and new information" to the horrific tragedy, Smith doesn't really accomplish that. What she has done instead is to create a fascinating character, Evalina Toussaint, and placed her in the halls of the hospital for "nervous diseases" at the time of Zelda's on and off again treatment there.
Though the reader feels she comes to know Evalina, she and her past remain a bit mysterious. She seems a reliable and honest narrator - a good student, an industrious worker, one who follows rules and doesn't buck the system. Is she actually damaged by her past and her genetic heritage? For Evalina certainly was a hard luck story - the daughter of a courtesan who loved her, but whose own mental health was fragile, and raised in the red light district of New Orleans, while being taught by the nuns at the Catholic school. Her surroundings improve when her mother becomes mistress to a wealthy man who puts them up in a home of their own, but it is only a brief respite until she is orphaned and her mother's lover sends her off to Highland Hospital. Evalina had been traumatized by her mother's death and couldn't speak or eat, and thus she became a patient and a ward at the hospital. She manages to escape the insulin shock treatments by her own wariness and cunning, but observes the effects on others. Mrs. Carroll, the wife of the medical director of Highland, takes Evalina under her wing and tutors her in the piano, eventually sending her off to study at the Peabody Institute, and attempts to direct the course of her life. But Evalina falls prey to other elemental desires and leaves her studies, following a lover to Paris and back and eventually to New Orleans again, until she has a collapse of her own and ends up back in Highland (the mechanics of which are never quite satisfactorily explained).
The bulk of the action takes place in Asheville, in and around Highland Hospital, and we meet many of the patients, or 'guests', and staff from both Evalina's childhood and adult years. Smith has the ability to make them all distinct individuals, but, alas, there are too many of them to be able to keep up with! Part of this may be the very environment that a hospital would engender - patients are always coming and leaving, so of course Evalina is always making new friends, only to have them return to their own homes. For Evalina, Highland becomes her home. But I found myself having to try to remember the salient details of the various mental patients who walked through these pages and not confuse the many characters. Zelda Fitzgerald is only one, but as the celebrity centerpiece she is given special accord, much as she is treated as a patient at Highland. Smith has done a good job, I feel, in the depiction of Zelda and made her behavior seem believable, but Zelda is not the focus of the novel. As well as the patients, several of the doctors and staff become significant characters, and here Smith blends fact and fiction, because, like Zelda, several are actually real people. I wished that Smith had given more background in her acknowledgements about some of these real life characters, and how she had fleshed them out. There are also some real people I think I recognize whose names she has changed.
Smith is excellent at placing the hospital in its setting. For one who knows the area, the places are easy to recognize, but, more than that, she evokes the beauty of the mountains and a bit of the wildness of Appalachia. She gets the flora right (there is a good bit of work in the garden and walks in the woods) and manages to convey the lovely mix of wildflowers and cultivated this area is blessed with. The characters Ella Jean and Pan most embody the native mountain folk, with Pan being as elemental as his name evokes, more than just a 'mountain man,' but one who is at one with nature and beasts. In another culture he would be considered a shaman. Evalina is inexorably drawn to the deep peace at the center of his strangeness, yet I found her attraction unconvincing, especially after her experiences with Joey and then Freddy. I didn't find her romantic attachments compelling, though I can't say why, particularly. The feelings weren't convincing somehow, especially when she is courting Freddy and going off to Pan's lair at the same time.
The most disappointing part of the book is the ending. We know from the outset that the story is progressing to the devastating fire at Highland. But this, both its causes and aftereffects, are given short shrift, a mere five and a half pages at the end of the book. The last chapter, slightly more than two pages, didn't seem believable at all. It was as if, after finally getting to the fire, the author decided to end the book, though the story wasn't over. Evalina's postscript was hardly satisfying, as well as unconvincing.
This is a book that is beautiful at times, intriguingly giving a glimpse into an expensive and highly regarded mental institution of the 1930's and 40's, without overly indulging in the horrors of either mental illness or the now cruel-seeming archaic treatments of the time. The characters, though often difficult and downright wacky, are made real and sympathetic. Zelda is seen in both her bright and dark moments. Evalina herself, though we feel we have come to know her, remains elusive still. The question lurks in the background - were women who just didn't fit into societal norms considered ill and needing rehabilitation? The sad conclusion was too often a yes.
Though the reader feels she comes to know Evalina, she and her past remain a bit mysterious. She seems a reliable and honest narrator - a good student, an industrious worker, one who follows rules and doesn't buck the system. Is she actually damaged by her past and her genetic heritage? For Evalina certainly was a hard luck story - the daughter of a courtesan who loved her, but whose own mental health was fragile, and raised in the red light district of New Orleans, while being taught by the nuns at the Catholic school. Her surroundings improve when her mother becomes mistress to a wealthy man who puts them up in a home of their own, but it is only a brief respite until she is orphaned and her mother's lover sends her off to Highland Hospital. Evalina had been traumatized by her mother's death and couldn't speak or eat, and thus she became a patient and a ward at the hospital. She manages to escape the insulin shock treatments by her own wariness and cunning, but observes the effects on others. Mrs. Carroll, the wife of the medical director of Highland, takes Evalina under her wing and tutors her in the piano, eventually sending her off to study at the Peabody Institute, and attempts to direct the course of her life. But Evalina falls prey to other elemental desires and leaves her studies, following a lover to Paris and back and eventually to New Orleans again, until she has a collapse of her own and ends up back in Highland (the mechanics of which are never quite satisfactorily explained).
The bulk of the action takes place in Asheville, in and around Highland Hospital, and we meet many of the patients, or 'guests', and staff from both Evalina's childhood and adult years. Smith has the ability to make them all distinct individuals, but, alas, there are too many of them to be able to keep up with! Part of this may be the very environment that a hospital would engender - patients are always coming and leaving, so of course Evalina is always making new friends, only to have them return to their own homes. For Evalina, Highland becomes her home. But I found myself having to try to remember the salient details of the various mental patients who walked through these pages and not confuse the many characters. Zelda Fitzgerald is only one, but as the celebrity centerpiece she is given special accord, much as she is treated as a patient at Highland. Smith has done a good job, I feel, in the depiction of Zelda and made her behavior seem believable, but Zelda is not the focus of the novel. As well as the patients, several of the doctors and staff become significant characters, and here Smith blends fact and fiction, because, like Zelda, several are actually real people. I wished that Smith had given more background in her acknowledgements about some of these real life characters, and how she had fleshed them out. There are also some real people I think I recognize whose names she has changed.
Smith is excellent at placing the hospital in its setting. For one who knows the area, the places are easy to recognize, but, more than that, she evokes the beauty of the mountains and a bit of the wildness of Appalachia. She gets the flora right (there is a good bit of work in the garden and walks in the woods) and manages to convey the lovely mix of wildflowers and cultivated this area is blessed with. The characters Ella Jean and Pan most embody the native mountain folk, with Pan being as elemental as his name evokes, more than just a 'mountain man,' but one who is at one with nature and beasts. In another culture he would be considered a shaman. Evalina is inexorably drawn to the deep peace at the center of his strangeness, yet I found her attraction unconvincing, especially after her experiences with Joey and then Freddy. I didn't find her romantic attachments compelling, though I can't say why, particularly. The feelings weren't convincing somehow, especially when she is courting Freddy and going off to Pan's lair at the same time.
The most disappointing part of the book is the ending. We know from the outset that the story is progressing to the devastating fire at Highland. But this, both its causes and aftereffects, are given short shrift, a mere five and a half pages at the end of the book. The last chapter, slightly more than two pages, didn't seem believable at all. It was as if, after finally getting to the fire, the author decided to end the book, though the story wasn't over. Evalina's postscript was hardly satisfying, as well as unconvincing.
This is a book that is beautiful at times, intriguingly giving a glimpse into an expensive and highly regarded mental institution of the 1930's and 40's, without overly indulging in the horrors of either mental illness or the now cruel-seeming archaic treatments of the time. The characters, though often difficult and downright wacky, are made real and sympathetic. Zelda is seen in both her bright and dark moments. Evalina herself, though we feel we have come to know her, remains elusive still. The question lurks in the background - were women who just didn't fit into societal norms considered ill and needing rehabilitation? The sad conclusion was too often a yes.
July 24, 2022
RECOMMENDATION: SKIP THIS ONE.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A GLIMPSE INTO THE INNER LIFE OF ZELDA FITZGERALD, IT IS NOT HERE.
NOT MUCH ELSE IS EITHER!
I was interested in reading this book since it was about Highland Hospital in Asheville, NC where I recently visited. In 1948 there was a horrible fire that killed 9 patients and 20 others were able to get out. One who died on a locked ward was Zelda Fitzgerald. The book is supposed to delve into her life. It doesn’t. That was an interesting aspect, but I could have overlooked it had the book been compelling. It wasn’t.
The book is a rambling narrative by Evalina Toussaint, an orphaned girl sent to Highland by her mother’s wealthy married lover. Evalina’s mother dies and she is sent for a while to this man’s house with his family. She is not doing to well and eating little. So, the family sends her at 13 years old to Highland. She is given insulin therapy. This is just the beginning of her life at Highland which she views as her family. Evalina appears to have absolutely no mental illness and the entire book is done in an upbeat tone. She has highs and lows in her life and all are given little attention. At one point she even has a baby girl that dies after 3 days, yet about one paragraph is dedicated to this. She does return to Highland and many characters are introduced. This was a real hospital and supposed to be known for it’s progressive therapies, yet insulin therapy and shock therapy are used, but the narrative during these times is never of depressed patients and certainly not Evalina. The book reads as a beautiful resort and wellness center to rejuvenate oneself. This is very hard to read as credible when describing being in a mental hospital.
This is mainly Evalina’s account of her life, and as said there is really no emotion and it does not read true in any way. The other women introduced also seem to go there due to problems with the men in their life. Certainly, at this time period, the 1930’s-1940’s, a woman had a very defined role in life. If you were different, tried to break out of this role, or suffered abuse from your spouse or someone else, you could easily be sent to Highland Mental Hospital. I real in depth look at the lives of women there, including the real one, Zelda Fitzgerald would have been quite interesting. This is not at all what was encountered.
This book just was not for me, was a very shallow look at life during this time period and glossed over stories worth hearing about.
I read the book along with using Audio 🎧 and that did work well.
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A GLIMPSE INTO THE INNER LIFE OF ZELDA FITZGERALD, IT IS NOT HERE.
NOT MUCH ELSE IS EITHER!
I was interested in reading this book since it was about Highland Hospital in Asheville, NC where I recently visited. In 1948 there was a horrible fire that killed 9 patients and 20 others were able to get out. One who died on a locked ward was Zelda Fitzgerald. The book is supposed to delve into her life. It doesn’t. That was an interesting aspect, but I could have overlooked it had the book been compelling. It wasn’t.
The book is a rambling narrative by Evalina Toussaint, an orphaned girl sent to Highland by her mother’s wealthy married lover. Evalina’s mother dies and she is sent for a while to this man’s house with his family. She is not doing to well and eating little. So, the family sends her at 13 years old to Highland. She is given insulin therapy. This is just the beginning of her life at Highland which she views as her family. Evalina appears to have absolutely no mental illness and the entire book is done in an upbeat tone. She has highs and lows in her life and all are given little attention. At one point she even has a baby girl that dies after 3 days, yet about one paragraph is dedicated to this. She does return to Highland and many characters are introduced. This was a real hospital and supposed to be known for it’s progressive therapies, yet insulin therapy and shock therapy are used, but the narrative during these times is never of depressed patients and certainly not Evalina. The book reads as a beautiful resort and wellness center to rejuvenate oneself. This is very hard to read as credible when describing being in a mental hospital.
This is mainly Evalina’s account of her life, and as said there is really no emotion and it does not read true in any way. The other women introduced also seem to go there due to problems with the men in their life. Certainly, at this time period, the 1930’s-1940’s, a woman had a very defined role in life. If you were different, tried to break out of this role, or suffered abuse from your spouse or someone else, you could easily be sent to Highland Mental Hospital. I real in depth look at the lives of women there, including the real one, Zelda Fitzgerald would have been quite interesting. This is not at all what was encountered.
This book just was not for me, was a very shallow look at life during this time period and glossed over stories worth hearing about.
I read the book along with using Audio 🎧 and that did work well.
November 25, 2013
Evalina comes to the renowned Highland hospital for acute sadness. Her mother had died and she found herself in untenable circumstances, which will eventually lead her to this cutting edge hospital for mental disorders under the innovative Dr. Carroll. There she will find a home and friends that will become for her a new family and a supportive community.
Of course, this hospital became famous because of Zelda Fitzgerald, who was in and out of care here, for many years. She plays a role in this story as Evalina is here at the same time Zelda is also hospitalized. We get to meet the enigmatic Zelda, the sad Zelda, and Evalina herself remarks that Zelda never looks the same way twice.
The reader will meet many other characters and get an insightful view of the treatments available for the mentally ill at this time. Some of the woman committed here are here because they do not fit into the society of which they are part. Not being happy in a life, that one should be, children, wonderful husband but still sad and in they go. Insulin shock therapy, ECT and other treatments are all used to jolt these women back into a semblance of compliance or wellness. I greatly came to sympathize and to like many of these woman, and at book's end realized I would miss many of them. They had their own community ,put on dances and shows, suffered with and leaned on each other.
The fire that would kill Zelda and others happened in 1948, and the author offers explanations on how and who started the fire, though I don;;t believe that a cause was ever really stated to a degree of certainty. The author became interested in Zelda and the hospital because she has first hand knowledge, her own father being a patient there in the fifties and her son, ongoing treatment there in the eighties.
I loved how the author treated all these women so tenderly, writing with a great deal of empathy, showing the courage of those thought to be mentally ill and those who were not, but still needed help of some kind. Also some of the doctors, who tried to find more humane treatment for those who needed them most and who treated them as people and grew to care about them. Well done.
Of course, this hospital became famous because of Zelda Fitzgerald, who was in and out of care here, for many years. She plays a role in this story as Evalina is here at the same time Zelda is also hospitalized. We get to meet the enigmatic Zelda, the sad Zelda, and Evalina herself remarks that Zelda never looks the same way twice.
The reader will meet many other characters and get an insightful view of the treatments available for the mentally ill at this time. Some of the woman committed here are here because they do not fit into the society of which they are part. Not being happy in a life, that one should be, children, wonderful husband but still sad and in they go. Insulin shock therapy, ECT and other treatments are all used to jolt these women back into a semblance of compliance or wellness. I greatly came to sympathize and to like many of these woman, and at book's end realized I would miss many of them. They had their own community ,put on dances and shows, suffered with and leaned on each other.
The fire that would kill Zelda and others happened in 1948, and the author offers explanations on how and who started the fire, though I don;;t believe that a cause was ever really stated to a degree of certainty. The author became interested in Zelda and the hospital because she has first hand knowledge, her own father being a patient there in the fifties and her son, ongoing treatment there in the eighties.
I loved how the author treated all these women so tenderly, writing with a great deal of empathy, showing the courage of those thought to be mentally ill and those who were not, but still needed help of some kind. Also some of the doctors, who tried to find more humane treatment for those who needed them most and who treated them as people and grew to care about them. Well done.
January 25, 2018
Lee Smith’s work is a classier, more subtle, and far more intelligent version of the vulgar, pink-hatted women’s marches going on these days. It is much more thought provoking a protest as well.
This quiet story is a daisy chain tale of women’s lives, back in a time when being wifely was expected. Zelda Fitzgerald is featured as one of the women patients - called guests - of a psychiatric hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, but she is but one flower in this exotic bouquet. Girls who sunk into depression following family tragedies were sent here or chose to come of their own free will.
Chemical shock treatments with high doses of insulin were used to induce comas and wipe ugly memories away. Electro shock therapy was prescribed as a daily treatment for weeks on end. While this type hospital sounds nightmarish today, staying there was usually a bit of relief, if you can believe it. There were nature hikes, gardening, mini dance performances, art class. If you forgot that you’d ever given birth to a damaged child or lost a baby, so much the better. Introspection was avoided. In a surreal sort of way, these ‘guests’ dealt with pain by erasing it.
Women who were incredible writers, musicians, and scholars often had their wings clipped by societal expectation in a way girls today will never fully appreciate. Sacrifice and submittal were revered, and if a woman could not bring herself to do so with grace, she questioned her own sanity.
There were male patients too, and employees who had once been under care of the doctors. A boy locked in a cage for years and another who was simply too brilliant for his aristocratic family to understand found a type of Eden at the hospital. Like Zelda Fitzgerald and many others, they would live in the real world for a period of time only to return to this place of safety. Interesting that the author took the title for this book from a letter that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote to daughter Scottie while her mom Zelda was back at Highland Hospital. It evokes respect and compassion to her and the other patients. “The insane are always mere guests on earth, eternal strangers carrying around broken decalogues that they cannot read.”
For some reason, this novel was listed as a mystery. The hospital itself had a tragic fire that took the life of Zelda Fitzgerald and eight other female guests in the late 40s, and I was under the impression that the storyline would be more about the actual cause of the murderous blaze. The nine were upstairs in a locked ward and couldn't get out, and no one has ever pinpointed the cause for the fire's start. Instead of a trumpet-blaring solution to this mystery, I found a beautiful work of introspection and subtle commentary on how intelligent and talented women have had to subjugate themselves. On how men and women both face emotional or biochemical turmoil that not all are armed well enough to manage. This was more Sylvia Plath Bell Jar than what I was in the mood for, but it was beautiful.
What with the angry fuschia signs, full of vulgarity plastered all over the television this week, the juxtaposition with this tale was jarring. Had I not read this book while all this was going on, I might not have had as much appreciation for this writer as I now do. I absolutely salute Lee Smith for putting forth a more logical, revelatory case for women’s rights.
No tantrums. No screeching. Just a clever, thoughtful message that hits home.
This quiet story is a daisy chain tale of women’s lives, back in a time when being wifely was expected. Zelda Fitzgerald is featured as one of the women patients - called guests - of a psychiatric hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, but she is but one flower in this exotic bouquet. Girls who sunk into depression following family tragedies were sent here or chose to come of their own free will.
Chemical shock treatments with high doses of insulin were used to induce comas and wipe ugly memories away. Electro shock therapy was prescribed as a daily treatment for weeks on end. While this type hospital sounds nightmarish today, staying there was usually a bit of relief, if you can believe it. There were nature hikes, gardening, mini dance performances, art class. If you forgot that you’d ever given birth to a damaged child or lost a baby, so much the better. Introspection was avoided. In a surreal sort of way, these ‘guests’ dealt with pain by erasing it.
Women who were incredible writers, musicians, and scholars often had their wings clipped by societal expectation in a way girls today will never fully appreciate. Sacrifice and submittal were revered, and if a woman could not bring herself to do so with grace, she questioned her own sanity.
There were male patients too, and employees who had once been under care of the doctors. A boy locked in a cage for years and another who was simply too brilliant for his aristocratic family to understand found a type of Eden at the hospital. Like Zelda Fitzgerald and many others, they would live in the real world for a period of time only to return to this place of safety. Interesting that the author took the title for this book from a letter that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote to daughter Scottie while her mom Zelda was back at Highland Hospital. It evokes respect and compassion to her and the other patients. “The insane are always mere guests on earth, eternal strangers carrying around broken decalogues that they cannot read.”
For some reason, this novel was listed as a mystery. The hospital itself had a tragic fire that took the life of Zelda Fitzgerald and eight other female guests in the late 40s, and I was under the impression that the storyline would be more about the actual cause of the murderous blaze. The nine were upstairs in a locked ward and couldn't get out, and no one has ever pinpointed the cause for the fire's start. Instead of a trumpet-blaring solution to this mystery, I found a beautiful work of introspection and subtle commentary on how intelligent and talented women have had to subjugate themselves. On how men and women both face emotional or biochemical turmoil that not all are armed well enough to manage. This was more Sylvia Plath Bell Jar than what I was in the mood for, but it was beautiful.
What with the angry fuschia signs, full of vulgarity plastered all over the television this week, the juxtaposition with this tale was jarring. Had I not read this book while all this was going on, I might not have had as much appreciation for this writer as I now do. I absolutely salute Lee Smith for putting forth a more logical, revelatory case for women’s rights.
No tantrums. No screeching. Just a clever, thoughtful message that hits home.
September 8, 2025
#️⃣4️⃣4️⃣0️⃣ Read & Reviewed in 2025 💔🩸
Date : 🚀 Friday, September 5, 2025 🚫🔻❌
Word Count📃: 89k Words 🧨🔪🎈
⋆⭒𓆟⋆｡˚𖦹𓆜✩⋆ >-;;;;€ᐷ °‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡
( ˶°ㅁ°) !! My 14th read in "READING AS MANY BOOKS AS I CANNN 😢 cuz smth....happened.....irl.........😥" September ⚡
3️⃣🌟, i liked the clock illustration.....i guess 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
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➕➖0️⃣1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣7️⃣8️⃣9️⃣🔟✖️➗
"This book is about Zelda Fitzgerald"
I don't know how the book managers to advertise itself as that but it definitely isn't one, there are many times where the narrative is just too long and that nothing is really happening. There are many telling and not many showing, there are talks and subjects about mental illness matter but its just there to be a plot device and even Zelda Fitzgerald herselffff 😭😭😭, is used as a plot device in thes book. Trying to hide the fact that there isn't much events and action to off of and not much character dynamics being explored.
The ending was the biggest let down of all. This was trying to be like a 'slow-burn' where the last few pages are where the climax goes and where all of the story makes sense and everything that concluded at that point but it's just lacking any appeal and...anything really.
The imagery here is at least good. There are many descriptions of the setting and even the way that the scene is treated and described is dne in such a way that you can imagine that you're right there, sitting with the patients, discussing about life and life's numerous questions. (And also the food, yeah definitely more on about the food lol). Also add the literal imagery, no like LITERAL IMAGE of the blueprint of a clock....yeah thats almost the the only thing memorable in here.
Date : 🚀 Friday, September 5, 2025 🚫🔻❌
Word Count📃: 89k Words 🧨🔪🎈
⋆⭒𓆟⋆｡˚𖦹𓆜✩⋆ >-;;;;€ᐷ °‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·｡
( ˶°ㅁ°) !! My 14th read in "READING AS MANY BOOKS AS I CANNN 😢 cuz smth....happened.....irl.........😥" September ⚡
3️⃣🌟, i liked the clock illustration.....i guess 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
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"This book is about Zelda Fitzgerald"
I don't know how the book managers to advertise itself as that but it definitely isn't one, there are many times where the narrative is just too long and that nothing is really happening. There are many telling and not many showing, there are talks and subjects about mental illness matter but its just there to be a plot device and even Zelda Fitzgerald herselffff 😭😭😭, is used as a plot device in thes book. Trying to hide the fact that there isn't much events and action to off of and not much character dynamics being explored.
The ending was the biggest let down of all. This was trying to be like a 'slow-burn' where the last few pages are where the climax goes and where all of the story makes sense and everything that concluded at that point but it's just lacking any appeal and...anything really.
The imagery here is at least good. There are many descriptions of the setting and even the way that the scene is treated and described is dne in such a way that you can imagine that you're right there, sitting with the patients, discussing about life and life's numerous questions. (And also the food, yeah definitely more on about the food lol). Also add the literal imagery, no like LITERAL IMAGE of the blueprint of a clock....yeah thats almost the the only thing memorable in here.
September 10, 2016
With 50 pages left, I closed the book. Why? There were too many skips in the story line, too many unanswered questions, too many sequelae that simply did not make sense within the foundation or characterization established by the author. There were also too many characters wandering in and out of the Highland Hospital as noted by another reviewer. Before closing the book, I checked the reviews here on GoodReads and saw that the ending was going to be both disappointing and anti-climactic. At the time I was being saddened to see our protagonist, Evalina, running off to Pan's lair while being courted by Freddy. I really didn't want to read about that further.
Some of the unanswered questions throughout the book included, Who was supporting Evalina? Yes, her stepfather paid for her original hospitalization, but [it was made clear] not later. What about her education? Yes, she had a scholarship, but I doubt seriously that that included clothes and transportation and food away from campus. What about her professional career in music? That's not something you just walk away from. She had worked long years to become skilled and to establish herself professionally. And I could go on and on. Why didn't she stay with the nuns where she was safe and happy rather than being shuttled off to NC?
The time sequences didn't flow, either. That may have been a matter of poor proofing or editing, but it was very distracting. For example, Zelda returned to the hospital before Christmas 1948. From p. 213: "[Zelda]'s only 48, I remember because she was born in 1900." After Christmas, came January 1948 and the fire was March 11, 1948. So obviously it was 1947, not 1948.
There were similar holes in the time flow in Evalina's life.
The history of the hospital was very interesting to read about as well as the treatments offered.
Some of the unanswered questions throughout the book included, Who was supporting Evalina? Yes, her stepfather paid for her original hospitalization, but [it was made clear] not later. What about her education? Yes, she had a scholarship, but I doubt seriously that that included clothes and transportation and food away from campus. What about her professional career in music? That's not something you just walk away from. She had worked long years to become skilled and to establish herself professionally. And I could go on and on. Why didn't she stay with the nuns where she was safe and happy rather than being shuttled off to NC?
The time sequences didn't flow, either. That may have been a matter of poor proofing or editing, but it was very distracting. For example, Zelda returned to the hospital before Christmas 1948. From p. 213: "[Zelda]'s only 48, I remember because she was born in 1900." After Christmas, came January 1948 and the fire was March 11, 1948. So obviously it was 1947, not 1948.
There were similar holes in the time flow in Evalina's life.
The history of the hospital was very interesting to read about as well as the treatments offered.
February 7, 2014
Where's the Zelda?
I was disappointed by the lack of Zelda in this novel. The book jacket seems to promise something the novel couldn't deliver. While Zelda Fitzgerald is present in the story, she doesn't play any central role, only appears periodically and is never revealed as more than a caricature of herself. Based on the book blurb I was expecting more.
The books starts off slowly, the narrator, Evalina Tousaint, narrates, her recollections, despite including some very emotionally charged situations, are rather staid. There’s also a lot of telling rather than showing. Many difficult relationships and feelings are either mentioned in passing or rattled off like items on a grocery list. For a novel that focuses around women who are institutionalized this novel surprisingly lacks a depth of emotion. There are many issues that are never explored and on the whole I think more is left unsaid than said.
Though there were elements and relationships that were well done and enjoyable, I liked the setting in Asheville, NC and the history of treating mental illness was interesting. Other readers may just love this but I found it somewhat dull and unemotional.
I was disappointed by the lack of Zelda in this novel. The book jacket seems to promise something the novel couldn't deliver. While Zelda Fitzgerald is present in the story, she doesn't play any central role, only appears periodically and is never revealed as more than a caricature of herself. Based on the book blurb I was expecting more.
The books starts off slowly, the narrator, Evalina Tousaint, narrates, her recollections, despite including some very emotionally charged situations, are rather staid. There’s also a lot of telling rather than showing. Many difficult relationships and feelings are either mentioned in passing or rattled off like items on a grocery list. For a novel that focuses around women who are institutionalized this novel surprisingly lacks a depth of emotion. There are many issues that are never explored and on the whole I think more is left unsaid than said.
Though there were elements and relationships that were well done and enjoyable, I liked the setting in Asheville, NC and the history of treating mental illness was interesting. Other readers may just love this but I found it somewhat dull and unemotional.
January 3, 2014
I am partial to Ms. Lee Smith but this is one of her best. The setting of a famed Asheville, NC mental hospital that treated Zelda Fitzgerald provides a southern slant on a historical review of mental illness treatment and Appalachian living beginning in the 1930's. Evalina Toussaint is a character that you will fall in love with as well as many of the other personalities at the Highland Hospital. And you may just bump into someone who seems familiar as Smith's strength is in recreating places and people that appeal to all of our senses. From the mouth watering backwoods country supper of ham beans and skillet cornbread to the crisp, fresh cutout paperdolls to the wasted decay of the French Quarter the morning after, it's all marvelously here. Painfully, magically,marvelously here at Highland Hospital.
January 7, 2015
This was my first Lee Smith book (a local author for me) but it will not be my last. She did a brilliant job of combining historical events with the fictitious characters she created. The story is told by Evalina who spends the majority of her life as a "guest" at Highland Hospital in Asheville, NC. The hospital and the famous Dr. Carroll were real, as were the infamous Zelda Fitzgerald who was a guest there as well until she died in a fire at the hospital.
Highland was a mental hospital which was very progressive for it's time. I thought Smith did a wonderful job of allowing the reader to have a true glimpse into the world of mental illness, and the people who both suffer with it and those who care for them. Her characters were believable and I could imagine any one of them being based on real folks. They came from all walks of life, all different social levels but almost became family in this institutional setting. Though ill, these patients were creative, talented and most were caring. I appreciated how she conveyed the compassion and empathy that the staff had towards their somewhat unique wards. This was not a "one size fits all" hospital and every effort was made to allow these women (and men) to return to productive lives as the unique people they were. So many folks in that time ended up in mental hospitals and did not need to be there, but after time had become institutionalized and couldn't leave successfully.
I loved most of these characters....I loved the tidbits of southern and mountain life, from descriptions of Asheville and New Orleans, the Grove Park, the food, the music, dances and fashions of the time as well as the "voices" of these characters....I could hear the cadence, the accents and their tone as they spoke.
The only reason that this was not a 5 star read was due to a few not as believable things....that Evalina would have so much freedom, her relationship with Pan. Throughout the book I felt that she would be a survivor, and turn out fine as I felt she was not as "ill" or unbalanced as most of the characters and I took everything she said as the truth....and I loved that Smith added just enough at the end that I questioned if that was so or not.
Highland was a mental hospital which was very progressive for it's time. I thought Smith did a wonderful job of allowing the reader to have a true glimpse into the world of mental illness, and the people who both suffer with it and those who care for them. Her characters were believable and I could imagine any one of them being based on real folks. They came from all walks of life, all different social levels but almost became family in this institutional setting. Though ill, these patients were creative, talented and most were caring. I appreciated how she conveyed the compassion and empathy that the staff had towards their somewhat unique wards. This was not a "one size fits all" hospital and every effort was made to allow these women (and men) to return to productive lives as the unique people they were. So many folks in that time ended up in mental hospitals and did not need to be there, but after time had become institutionalized and couldn't leave successfully.
I loved most of these characters....I loved the tidbits of southern and mountain life, from descriptions of Asheville and New Orleans, the Grove Park, the food, the music, dances and fashions of the time as well as the "voices" of these characters....I could hear the cadence, the accents and their tone as they spoke.
The only reason that this was not a 5 star read was due to a few not as believable things....that Evalina would have so much freedom, her relationship with Pan. Throughout the book I felt that she would be a survivor, and turn out fine as I felt she was not as "ill" or unbalanced as most of the characters and I took everything she said as the truth....and I loved that Smith added just enough at the end that I questioned if that was so or not.
January 9, 2014
This novel paints a picture and creates a world of Highland Hospital in Asheville, NC through the eyes of Evalina Toussaint, an unusual child who spent her teen years and a lot of her adulthood "inside the snow globe" as a patient and staff member of the mental hospital. Although Evalina was a fictional character, through her we meet Zelda Fitzgerald, the most famous patient of the hospital, who died there in the tragic fire in 1948. This was a beautifully written book that illuminates the author's love for the mountains and mountain people portrayed in the story. The last short chapter left me a little confused, but definitely gave me something to think about.
January 15, 2014
Having grown up in Asheville and worked at Highland Hospital I find this book an excellent fictional tale of life at Highland. It is an easy read with wonderful facts about the city and Highland. Excellent entertaining story.
October 14, 2013
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
Lee Smith is a perfectly engrossing author, and one who easily captures the heart and imagination in a folksy, down-in-your-heart way. I've been fascinated with stories about Zelda Fitzgerald all summer long, as you know. This novel by Ms Smith has a different twist as it's seeing Zelda through the eyes of a young girl throughout her life who is actually raised as an orphan in Ashville's Highland House sanatorium. The really strong kicker of this book, however, is the extension of mini-vignettes of other patients at the hospital connected to the orphan, Evalina.
The different characters' mental illnesses mesmerized me. Their manifestations weren't always evident at first glance which made it even more intriguing. The characters were respectfully and beautifully drawn. In fact, this book will be so memorable in that respect to me. Often mentally ill people aren't as kindly written or talked about, or even as well understood whether in literature or in the "outside" world.
The showcase character of this book wasn't Zelda as I had expected. While she popped up as a main figure at times, and she was always on the mind of the main character, Evalina, she wasn't the focus of the novel. I found this not at all a problem. It really didn't take away from the interest of the story, though when she was included, it was like salt to the whole and was a point of clarity that Zelda was only one of many who suffered from a mental disorder.
The sections that told of Zelda and Fitzgerald and their intimate times observed were sweet and sorrowful, capturing the essence not only of their relationship, it seemed, but of so many relationships that flounder under the heavy blanket of the mental heartbreak. I thought these were especially lovely passages.
This is a book that flows easily from the pen of Lee Smith to our hearts. I loved the many characters, the story it told and the hope it engenders about the future of those who suffer mental illness. It spreads a good message that those who walk that path are special people who are just like anyone else, but who have to overcome injuries like many on earth do, as well. It speaks to their courage as well as those injuries and flaws.
I loved this book and hope many of you will be inspired to pick it up to read this year.
5 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame
Lee Smith is a perfectly engrossing author, and one who easily captures the heart and imagination in a folksy, down-in-your-heart way. I've been fascinated with stories about Zelda Fitzgerald all summer long, as you know. This novel by Ms Smith has a different twist as it's seeing Zelda through the eyes of a young girl throughout her life who is actually raised as an orphan in Ashville's Highland House sanatorium. The really strong kicker of this book, however, is the extension of mini-vignettes of other patients at the hospital connected to the orphan, Evalina.
The different characters' mental illnesses mesmerized me. Their manifestations weren't always evident at first glance which made it even more intriguing. The characters were respectfully and beautifully drawn. In fact, this book will be so memorable in that respect to me. Often mentally ill people aren't as kindly written or talked about, or even as well understood whether in literature or in the "outside" world.
The showcase character of this book wasn't Zelda as I had expected. While she popped up as a main figure at times, and she was always on the mind of the main character, Evalina, she wasn't the focus of the novel. I found this not at all a problem. It really didn't take away from the interest of the story, though when she was included, it was like salt to the whole and was a point of clarity that Zelda was only one of many who suffered from a mental disorder.
The sections that told of Zelda and Fitzgerald and their intimate times observed were sweet and sorrowful, capturing the essence not only of their relationship, it seemed, but of so many relationships that flounder under the heavy blanket of the mental heartbreak. I thought these were especially lovely passages.
This is a book that flows easily from the pen of Lee Smith to our hearts. I loved the many characters, the story it told and the hope it engenders about the future of those who suffer mental illness. It spreads a good message that those who walk that path are special people who are just like anyone else, but who have to overcome injuries like many on earth do, as well. It speaks to their courage as well as those injuries and flaws.
I loved this book and hope many of you will be inspired to pick it up to read this year.
5 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame
October 4, 2014
Some readers were dissatisfied with the relatively small part that Zelda Fitzgerald played in this story. Not so for me. My interest was in Highland Hospital, so in that regard I wasn't disappointed.
The story is well written and an easy read and I enjoyed the first half very much, getting to know Evalina, her life, and how she came to be at Highland.
The history of the treatment of mental illness in the 1940's was interesting, (although the mention of a lobotomy, performed through the eye socket, made my stomach clench!) as was the day to day life at Highland, but then it started to drag and I got bored with it all.
There were way too many people to keep track of, and at times I struggled to remember who was who with the minor characters.
Overly descriptive dances, performances, musicals, rehearsals and costumes made my eyes glaze over, and at times I had to skip a few pages.
It became a little disjointed, and threads of a story sometimes never went anywhere.
Evalina's relationship with Pan was bizarre.
Then we come to the fire, which was briefly dealt with...and then Evalina is in New Orleans...and then...The End!
July 9, 2016
GUESTS ON EARTH is taut and captivating, a vivid and moving account of one girl’s life as she progresses from a difficult childhood to an even more difficult adulthood. As Smith reveals in the author’s note, she has special insight into the subject of mental illness because both her father and her son were patients at Highland Hospital in Asheville, NC. Smith’s handling of mental illness is controlled, insightful, and gives new understanding.
Zelda is a character in the novel, but is not featured prominently, so if you are looking for a more biographical account in novel form, read Therese Fowler’s Z or R. Clifton Spargo’s BEAUTIFUL FOOLS. Book clubs, in particular, will get much out of reading GUESTS ON EARTH, especially in tandem with the other Zelda novels. I highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys character-driven historical fiction; it has a cast the reader will not forget.
Zelda is a character in the novel, but is not featured prominently, so if you are looking for a more biographical account in novel form, read Therese Fowler’s Z or R. Clifton Spargo’s BEAUTIFUL FOOLS. Book clubs, in particular, will get much out of reading GUESTS ON EARTH, especially in tandem with the other Zelda novels. I highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys character-driven historical fiction; it has a cast the reader will not forget.
June 18, 2024
Ugh- classic case of amazing premise, terrible execution.
A historical fictionized account of the mental institution, Highland House in Asheville, NC where Zelda Fitzgerald spent significant time prior to her premature (and horrific) death. The concept of this account would be an auto-buy for me every. single. time. This is told from another patient's account - Evalina Toussaint. Evalina's story could have been so much more powerful, but it fell completely flat. I was bored and uninterested in this the entire read through.
There were so many amazing plot points, or characterizations this book could've taken, and instead just left them all on the surface, none of these characters were fleshed out, or interesting. Next please!
A historical fictionized account of the mental institution, Highland House in Asheville, NC where Zelda Fitzgerald spent significant time prior to her premature (and horrific) death. The concept of this account would be an auto-buy for me every. single. time. This is told from another patient's account - Evalina Toussaint. Evalina's story could have been so much more powerful, but it fell completely flat. I was bored and uninterested in this the entire read through.
There were so many amazing plot points, or characterizations this book could've taken, and instead just left them all on the surface, none of these characters were fleshed out, or interesting. Next please!
April 25, 2017
I feel like this book tried to do too much; too many characters, too many storylines; and would have benefited from some editing and a more directed focus. The writing was just okay for me and I never really felt emotionally invested in the characters or the events. That being said, for some reason this book was still compellingly readable for me and I found myself looking forward to going back to it. So in the end it was an enjoyable experience but not one that will really stick with me.
November 8, 2013
Author Lee Smith has delighted readers of southern American fiction for years; her latest Guest on Earth may be her finest work to date. Smith has turned her talent to historical fiction based upon actual events to create a thoroughly captivating story. On March 10th 1948 the notorious Highland Hospital, a well known mental hospital, in Asheville North Carolina, burned and several residents perished in the fire. Among those who were not able to evacuate was the hospital’s most famous resident, Zelda Fitzgerald. Yet Smith does not just create a biographical study of Zelda. Instead she creates a fictitious narrator, Evalina Toussaint whose story is fresh and unique. Evalina is an orphaned girl of thirteen in 1936 when she is first admitted to the hospital and first encounters Zelda. This perspective allows readers to experience the treatment of those deemed insane or suffering from mental disorders in the 1930s and ‘40s. Smith has created a novel that examines creativity and passion, the rules that women of the time needed to follow and the consequences of breaking those rules, and the treatment of those deemed mentally unstable in a time when not much was understood about mental health. From page one, readers will find themselves enthralled by Evalina and her unique story, a story that will haunt them for years to come.
October 20, 2014
This book was very annoying and pointless. I felt that the main character, Evalina, was only created to show the interactions with Zelda Fitzgerald in the mental hospital. Why not just write a book about Zelda Fitzgerald? Evalina loved living in the mental hospital and considered it her home and the patients and doctors her family. She was a messed up character who wasted all of her potential and expensive schooling to run after a wastrel. Her baby dies and the book never even addresses her grief as it was only a flimsy plot point to get her back into the mental hospital and interact with Zelda Fitzergerald. Evalina then starts a love affair with two men; one a boy who grew up in a cage and now lives in the woods and a doctor. I couldn't even understand what was going on with any of this.
February 12, 2014
I found the story interesting historically and the setting was scenic, but some of the narrative was annoying to me. Our protagonist, Evalina Toussaint, comes to Highland Hospital in Asheville, NC in 1936 a young orphaned girl. Immediately she is taken under the wing of the wife of the head psychiatrist who sees the young girl's musical talent. Throughout the novel, Eva comes of age and eventually turns from patient to staff member. Zelda Fitzgerald is also a patient there, and the two bond...somewhat. Z comes in more like a character to represent the symbolism of growth, "the nature of time", ultimately revealed in her "Dance of the Hours" ending. That works okay for me since she really only plays a minor character in the story.
I also enjoyed the salamander theme throughout the book; the mythical and natural, the mythical being Zelda, the natural being Eva. I found that very interesting.
What irks me regarding the narration is the abrupt middle portion of the novel. Up until that point we get a fairly reliable if a wee bit teetering too familiar 1st person past tense narrator. As Eva moves to music school (after being threatened shock treatment if she didn't --what?!?!), we jump to a series of letters as sent to her "mother", Dr. Carroll's wife. Okay, Lee Smith, I see what you are doing there, and I can appreciate that. Then we jump back to her previous narrative style, totally leaving out a certain major plot point, saving that nugget for a later clumsily placed flashback. (Oh, and then getting some shock treatment after all -- huh!?!?) If this technique was done for some form of suspense for the reader, it came off irritating to me more than anything. Another irksome bit was the way the narrator suddenly and informally tells us various patient "stories" and how they came to arrive there. Usually starting off with an awkward, "Oh hey (reader), let me tell you so and so's story." Well okay, I guess that may have been the only way the exposition could be done, but I found it atrociously staged.
Again with these type of historical novels based on fact, the actual history is the most fascinating; Smith captures well Highland Hospital and that era of psychiatric care. Those captured moments are really the highlight of the book for me.
I also enjoyed the salamander theme throughout the book; the mythical and natural, the mythical being Zelda, the natural being Eva. I found that very interesting.
What irks me regarding the narration is the abrupt middle portion of the novel. Up until that point we get a fairly reliable if a wee bit teetering too familiar 1st person past tense narrator. As Eva moves to music school (after being threatened shock treatment if she didn't --what?!?!), we jump to a series of letters as sent to her "mother", Dr. Carroll's wife. Okay, Lee Smith, I see what you are doing there, and I can appreciate that. Then we jump back to her previous narrative style, totally leaving out a certain major plot point, saving that nugget for a later clumsily placed flashback. (Oh, and then getting some shock treatment after all -- huh!?!?) If this technique was done for some form of suspense for the reader, it came off irritating to me more than anything. Another irksome bit was the way the narrator suddenly and informally tells us various patient "stories" and how they came to arrive there. Usually starting off with an awkward, "Oh hey (reader), let me tell you so and so's story." Well okay, I guess that may have been the only way the exposition could be done, but I found it atrociously staged.
Again with these type of historical novels based on fact, the actual history is the most fascinating; Smith captures well Highland Hospital and that era of psychiatric care. Those captured moments are really the highlight of the book for me.
March 30, 2014
What was Lee Smith thinking as she wrote this book? I've read several others and liked them all, she's a good writer. I live near Asheville so have read all about Zelda Fitzgerald's death at Highland Hospital. I guess that's what she started with and tried to write a story around it. I won't go through the plot, although there's barely any, because you can read it on the book site. Besides having very little story line, we don't see much of Zelda, people drift in and out making it difficult to keep track of them, and the ending was totally off kilter. Was Smith trying to let us know what a mental hospital was like in the 40's, giving us a glimpse into Zelda's "problems", or trying to make us decide whether Evalina is sane or insane? Maybe all three, but I don't think she did a good job of any of them which is a shame because any of those fully developed would have made a much better book. To add to this, Smith makes a few errors of time and place which add to the confusion. The Christmas before the fire was in 1948 and the fire the next March was also in 1948. Evalina and her friends go "down from the mountains" into Asheville (Highland Hospital is not on a mountain) and then up again onto a mountain north of town to eat dinner. Makes no sense to those of us who know Asheville which is probably quite a few of the people who read Smith's novels. Perhaps just carelessness, but disconcerting nonetheless. Hope the next one is better.
July 19, 2014
I have read and loved Lee Smith's books since I read Black Mountain Breakdown about 30 years ago. In this book, Smith does what she does best - portraying the complexities of the lives of women, particularly southern women, in a specific southern location. While there are real historical figures in this book, primarily Zelda Fitzgerald, and the setting of the book - Highland Hospital, a mental institution in Asheville, North Carolina - does exist, this is a work of fiction and it is Smith's skill that brings the women and their experiences to life. She also does a great job of showing how those who were identified as mentally ill were treated in the mid-20th century.
October 17, 2013
"The insane are always mere guests on earth, eternal strangers carrying around broken decalogues that they cannot read."-F.Scott Fitzgerald. So begins Lee Smith's wonderful new novel set in Ashville, NC in the 193-40's. It focuses on treatment for the mentally ill during that period and is alive with colorful characters. (Zelda, among them.) Reading Lee Smith is a true Southern American pleasure. All of her books charm you.
October 15, 2013
"Any life is such - different stories like different strands." Our narrator, Evalina, has spent much of her life in Highland Hospital, and institute for the insane. Famously, it is also the home of Zelda Fitzgerald who stays there on and off until the end of her life. Evalina employs the insights she has learned in treatment to share the the diverse paths of her closest fellow patients and of the staff. As a narrator, she possesses the precious ability to share what she sees within herself as well as her insights into other minds. Psychotherapy itself plays a vital character in this novel. Evalina' a stays at Highland Hospital have afforded her a view of theories as they come and go in dominance. She and her fellow patients encounter occupational therapy, insulin therapy, group therapy, and finally talking therapy. On the horizon is shock therapy never given to Evalina, and lobotomy only glimpsed in its casualties admitted on site.
I do find it difficult to separate out the cult of Zelda Fitzgerald whose recent popularity serves to actually muddy the novel for me. However, the mystery of the fire that ended her life serves as a dominant foreshadowing throughout this book, so the plot demands her presence. Far more interesting to me is Evalina herself who had come to the hospital after being told that her father is also her mother's father. Her growth and observations serve to hold the plot together and to enable the reader to know a number of other fascinating characters. My two favorites are Jinx, who is present due to her incorrigibility, and Pan, found caged and mute in his mother's basement. Of course as a patient, Evalina misses much of the treatment of those patients who are unable to join their stories to those struggling to find a place to stand in the world. I think this weakens the overall picture of the hospital in a possibly unavoidable way. Still, in the tapestry of this book, Smith's prose readily shares with us the status we share with these characters as guests on Earth.
I do find it difficult to separate out the cult of Zelda Fitzgerald whose recent popularity serves to actually muddy the novel for me. However, the mystery of the fire that ended her life serves as a dominant foreshadowing throughout this book, so the plot demands her presence. Far more interesting to me is Evalina herself who had come to the hospital after being told that her father is also her mother's father. Her growth and observations serve to hold the plot together and to enable the reader to know a number of other fascinating characters. My two favorites are Jinx, who is present due to her incorrigibility, and Pan, found caged and mute in his mother's basement. Of course as a patient, Evalina misses much of the treatment of those patients who are unable to join their stories to those struggling to find a place to stand in the world. I think this weakens the overall picture of the hospital in a possibly unavoidable way. Still, in the tapestry of this book, Smith's prose readily shares with us the status we share with these characters as guests on Earth.
November 22, 2013
Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald was tragically killed in a fire at Highland Hospital (a mental hospital) in Asheville, NC on March 10, 1948. Ms. Smith tells a story of life in that institution through the eyes of a young woman, Evalina Toussaint, the daughter of a New Orleans exotic dancer, who has been sent to Highland at the age of 13 and remains there for several years. It is an absorbing piece of historical fiction as many of the characters in the book are real historical figures. Prominently figured is Dr. Robert Carroll who was a pioneer in mental health treatment in the 1930s and 40s. Ms. Smith introduces us to a host of colorful characters, tells why they are hospitalized and describes some of the treatment processes. Since the book begins with a newspaper account of the fire, we know that is looming in the future. I feel that I know more about Zelda Fitzgerald after reading this book and it inspired me to look at some of her paintings. There weren't many that I would want to hang on my walls, but it did give me a glimpse into the painter's soul.
January 30, 2014
The newest novel by master writer Lee Smith tells the story of life in North Carolina's Highlands Hospital, a real mental facility. Smith tells the story through the fictional character of Evalina Toussaint, first a patient starting in 1936, and later a member of the staff.
Evalina sees the good in the people in the hospital, including Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of F. Scott. Smith uses this novel to show the plight of people with mental illness.
Both of Lee Smith's parents and her son suffered from mental illness, and both her father and son spent time at Highlands Hospital.
"The insane are always mere guests on earth, eternal strangers carrying around broken decalogues that they cannot read."-F.Scott Fitzgerald.
Evalina sees the good in the people in the hospital, including Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of F. Scott. Smith uses this novel to show the plight of people with mental illness.
Both of Lee Smith's parents and her son suffered from mental illness, and both her father and son spent time at Highlands Hospital.
"The insane are always mere guests on earth, eternal strangers carrying around broken decalogues that they cannot read."-F.Scott Fitzgerald.
April 27, 2014
Zelda Fitzgerald has been a hot topic in novels for the last year or so. Smith's latest book is about Highland Hospital in Asheville NC, where Zelda is a patient, on and off for about ten years. During that time a young girl is also admitted, released and admitted again. Though Zelda is a character in the book, the main character is Evalina. She also narrates the book. I found her heartbreak chilling and her life sad but triumphant at the same time. Smith is perfect at portraying the South and what makes it special. I enjoyed this book very much. Would recommend as book club read. Excellent and well written.
August 18, 2014
I don't know what I was expecting this to be exactly but whatever it was, Guests on Earth just didn't work for me. If you're a fan of Zelda Fitzgerald it might be worth a read, but I think Z: A Novel is a better choice. (Though in all fairness, Guests on Earth isn't exclusively about Zelda, but a whole cast of characters at Highland Hospital.)
(And dear proofreader: Vivien Leigh's name is not spelled "Vivian.")
(And dear proofreader: Vivien Leigh's name is not spelled "Vivian.")
November 15, 2020
Fascinating story of Highland Hospital, a progressive mental institution in Asheville, NC, that famously (and mysteriously) caught fire in 1948. Nine patients died in the blaze, seven of them in a locked ward, including Zelda Fitzgerald, the widow of F. Scott Fitzgerald. From this historical event, Lee Smith builds a theory of the who and the why, delivered in beautiful prose. The author makes several interesting artistic choices in the storytelling that I really enjoyed, particularly the many references to music, poetry, performance, and dance. Mainly, by presenting the story of a group of tragic figures interacting with one another in that time and space, she casts light on the way society handles mental illness, how much better the treatment is for patients with money, and who, really, are the crazy ones among us.
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