Fair and Tender Ladies (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Fair and Tender Ladies (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
by Lee Smith

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Book Summary Information

Author: Lee Smith
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-06-01
ISBN: 0345383990
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Book Reviews of Fair and Tender Ladies (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Book Review: ONE OF THE BEST OF THE 5 Stars

How I hated for this book to end! I LOVE Lee Smith's writings. She is truly one of THE BEST authors of our time. If you have not read her, PLEASE DO. She NEVER EVER disappoints.

This wondeful book is written in the form of letters by one Miss Ivy Rowe. The letters span the lifetime of Ivy. She LOVES to write letters and writes to friends, family, acquaintances. Ivy chronicles her entire life from a young teenager to her death (SOB!! -- yes, SOB!!) in these letters.

Ivy lives and dies in the Appalachian Mountain area. She lives through World Wars, ups and downs, feast and famine, good times, bad times, pain, sorrow, joy, happiness. Her letters tell all and tell all very, very well. You meet her family and friends all through her letters to various people. She is outspoken, kind, tough, sweet, loving, caring. Ivy's life was never easy, yet she handles every hurdle with common sense and humor.

At first it was a little slow going reading this book as her letters are written in true form of someone who lived in the early 1900's with very, very little education. However, Ivy is one of the lucky people who can read and write and loves to do both.

Her spunk, wit, and just IVY will make this one of your favorite books of all time. I loved the format of the book, it is different than any other book I have ever read. I know this is one book that I will not soon forget. Ms. Lee Smith has the outstanding talent of making her characters so life-like and totally people you believe in. How sad I was when this wonderful tale ended. This book also contained much history of our country and I believe I learned a great deal -- in a fun and interesting way -- about our country's colorful history.

Do yourself a favor and read this book and then read all of the other treasures that Ms. Smith has waiting for you. You will not be sorry.

Thanks!

Pam

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Summary of Fair and Tender Ladies (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

"A TOUR DE FORCE"
- Los Angeles Times

"The story of Ivy Rowe, born near the turn of the century in the Virginia Mountain enclave of Sugar Fork, is told completely through letters that Ivy is forever writing family and friends...Lee Smith exhibits her own understanding and affection for the traditions of the Appalachians. She is at home with the down-home speech and ways of her characters. They come vividly to life, and none more so than Ivy, whose voice and heart and humor sustain Fair and Tender Ladies."
- Philadelphia Inquirer

"Because of Ivy's narrative ability and her zest for living, Fair and Tender Ladies opens for us like a flower with a gloriously unexpected center. There are unforgettable characters...Few readers will be dry-eyed as they watch this extraordinary woman disappear around that last bend in the road."
-Chicago Tribune

"These beautiful letters...display Ivy's soul up close, the way a just-caught firefly illuminates a jar. So real does she become that it is hard to believe that Ivy did not actually live to write her letters."
-USA Today

"This is about a moving a work of literature as has ever been written." ANNIE DILLARD

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