Quite a Year for Plums

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Summary: That's right folks, this is small town life!
Review: If you find the slow pace of small towns and just sitting in the woods boring, then Bailey White's people and events in this novel will not interest you... you will want to move on to IMPORTANT events. But I laughed a lot, smiled almost all the time, and really relaxed as I listened to her voice. I think that reading the words would not have produced the same result for me. This book is meant for story-telling, the major pass time for little people in little places back when.

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Summary: Novel? NO! Memoir? Maybe. ABSOLUTELY NO PLOT!!!
Review: The front of the book clearly states, "a novel," but I'm afraid that statement was as much of a bold faced lie as all of the glowing reviews on the back of the book. While White's writing style is undeniably entertaining, it's going to take more than that to consider this book a novel. A novel has a set-up, a conflict, and a resolution, right? We all learned that in English class, I think. For that reason I was EXTREMELY disappointed to reach the end of this "novel" feeling like someone must have cut about four chapters out of the middle of the book without my knowing it. And do I care enough about any of the characters to reread it and find out for sure? Not a chance! If you are from the South and would like to read this book simply to muse about the preferences and surroundings you may have in common with these very elusive characters, go for it. But please don't recommend this book to anyone under the literary title of "novel."

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Summary: THIS BOOK IS A RIOT!
Review: Dadgum, as we Southerners say, this book was so much fun! I saw all of my relatives, hell, I even saw myself in Bailey White's characters. If you love Southern eccentricity and wit, then this book is for you.

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Summary: Disappointing
Review: Bailey White's essays have the power to charm. Unfortunately, her fiction, full of too many forgettable characters and too little plot, does not.

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Summary: Charming, yet vague
Review: Interesting characters as always, but the characters were not very deep. It would have been better to have fewer characters that were more fleshed out. It seems that the cast of characters was expanded at the expense of the characters. There was very little cohesion among the plotlines. An entertaining read nonetheless. For something better, read MAMA MAKES UP HER MIND. Which is absolutely charming.

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Summary: I feel as if I grew up with these people.
Review: I listened to this book on tape as I drove to and from school. I laughed out loud several times when the characters reminded me of people I knew as a child in rural southern Virginia. Hilma, Eula, Meade and even Louise could have been my great-aunts. I wish we could all have a friend like Roger. The agricultural references as well as those related to birds and floriculture were educational, helped to set the scene, and marked the passage of time. I loved the sound of Ms. White's voice. This was a great book to "read" on the road, though sometimes my vision was blurred by a few tears. It relaxed me after teaching all day

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Summary: Disappointing
Review: Although I normally enjoy Bailey White's books, I couldn't even finish this one. The characters were not developed enough to keep an interest in them. The things that the characters were interested in were boring. There was really no definitive plot line and the chapters were almost short stories themselves, with little or no connection to succeeding ones. It was hard to want to continue reading this book because I could not make a connection to the people involved or to the story.

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Summary: What was this book about?
Review: The descriptions of the characters were enough to pique my interest, but not clear enough to remember from one reading session to another who was who. Now that we know a little about each person, could we please have a plot? This gentle novel was a bit too gentle for my taste.

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Summary: Go elsewhere for a good read
Review: Based on my enjoyment of Ms. White's essays of NPR and some favorable press I selected this book for our book club to read. What a mistake! It isn't about anything. There is no plot! There is no story! The characters are paper thin and there is no reason to care about any of them. You will be glad to learn, however, that the author apparently spends a good deal of time at state agricultural conferences. I found nothing to like but I guess I'm just one of the city slickers she rather lamely pokes fun at...

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Summary: Oh, dear. Bailey White has met my family.
Review: I truly did love this story. Bailey White has met my dear, dear, small town South Carolina family and eavesdropped on the whimsy of our dinner conversations. This book is for anyone who can join in mourning a blighted peanut crop or celebrating the beauty of camelias and moss on a flower pot. Just delightful.