looking for salvation at the dairy queensusan gregg gilmore
c. 2008
250-ish pages
completed 7/31/2008
*may contain spoilers*
I loved this book. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. It was so funny. The characters were great, they were all really well written. There were the usual small town weirdos and stereotypes, but they weren't so outrageous as to make them unbelievable. Catherine Grace's voice was wonderful, giving lots of insight and back story to every character and event.
What was especially impressive was the Christianity of the book. And by that I mean, this is a story about a preacher's daughter in small town Georgia. There was a lot of church talk and biblical references, but it was never too "preachy." And even though everyone learned to love one another and be good Christians after Catherine Grace gave her eulogy, I loved that she was like "let's be for real, that wasn't going to last long."
There were only two small things I wasn't thrilled with.
The characterization of Flora made me slightly...uncomfortable. It was a little too much of a stereotype for me. Of course this book was set in Georgia in the 70's and maybe I'm too much of a Seattle girl of the new millennium to know if that was just "how it was."
Also, the storyline of Lena Mae coming back from the dead was a little abrupt for me. I understand how it fit with the story, but there wasn't really enough explanation of why she left and couldn't come back. I know why she left, but why couldn't she come back? And then in the end, she just slipped away again.
Even with those two small issues, I still loved the book. And I look forward to more to come.
5/5
What was especially impressive was the Christianity of the book. And by that I mean, this is a story about a preacher's daughter in small town Georgia. There was a lot of church talk and biblical references, but it was never too "preachy." And even though everyone learned to love one another and be good Christians after Catherine Grace gave her eulogy, I loved that she was like "let's be for real, that wasn't going to last long."
There were only two small things I wasn't thrilled with.
The characterization of Flora made me slightly...uncomfortable. It was a little too much of a stereotype for me. Of course this book was set in Georgia in the 70's and maybe I'm too much of a Seattle girl of the new millennium to know if that was just "how it was."
Also, the storyline of Lena Mae coming back from the dead was a little abrupt for me. I understand how it fit with the story, but there wasn't really enough explanation of why she left and couldn't come back. I know why she left, but why couldn't she come back? And then in the end, she just slipped away again.
Even with those two small issues, I still loved the book. And I look forward to more to come.
5/5
1 comment:
I haven't heard of this book, but when I saw the title, I was intrigued (having grown up in NC in the 70s, which wasn't that long ago!) Thanks for the review.
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