Rating: 
Summary: A must read for both sexes!
Review: This is quite simply an amazing book. It follows one woman's entire life through the letters that she writes to others. This woman is not always a role model, not always nice, but always human. She lives, suffers, triumphs, expresses opinions and evolves as we read on. I have recommended this book to my friends, parents and boyfriend and all have loved it! Insightful, inspiring, a look into one woman's ordinary life. A must-read!
Rating: 
Summary: a saturated, shallow blur of activity
Review: This novel was not lacking in candor for a woman of Bess Steed Garner's stature and personality, but it is deficient in range. One cannot expect a novel on "A Woman of Independent Means" to cover every facet of that independent woman's life, but the portrayal of Bess though letters was an insufficient glimpse into the main character. It's impossible to record hidden feelings, facial expressions, other "trivial" things that would never be in a letter but may be significant to the plot itself. In addition, it's also implausible to write a letter every second of the day to record everything, and because of this, the novel only focuses on whatever Bess choose to write about. This book may have been better structured if it was interspersed with an omnicient narrative in between the letters, but then again, it may have tarnished the character and the mood set up by correspondence.
Hailey seems to rely on calamities to keep the novel interesting. It isn't within every lifetime that one marries a childhood sweetheart, her husband and son die, her house catches on fire, her daughter gets run over by a car, etc. The plot is so thick with catastrophe that it seems Hailey cannot nurse other subjects and must depend on these tragedies to keep up the pace. This adds a saccharine atmosphere to the book, and the reader can sense the odd inundation of disasters throughout.
If you're looking to entertain yourself for an afternoon and get a glimpse into the life of a woman, this is the book for you. But if you're looking for more thought, more meaning, more depth to the prose, you'd better look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: More than a Woman of Substance...
Review: This was one of the first books I reviewed for the Pulaski Magazine Club after a series of dull travel books. Centering around the life of a strong, out-spoken woman (to whom I could most certainly identify) with an invincible spirit and no modesty in her letters to "everyone." Written in the form of letters, though it comes through much more like a diary, it spans more than half a century. Beginning as a child in 1899 from Texas to June, 1968, in Dallas, these letters relate the tranquility and lack of opportunities in a small town to the turbulence in the city. Bess Stead Barner had a vivid personality backed with the strength and energy of a vibrant woman ahead of her time. It is an intimate account of one woman's life which surely touches the lives of all who share it, and also those who read it. In our Club, the reviewer had thirty minutes in which to explain the book without giving details; we were to induce a thirst from the members to read the book themselves. At the time, I was the youngest member and very impressionable; I'd just started telling how this writer brought these people to life so that you felt you knew them and barely into my prepared review when the timekeeper said, "five minutes," which meant I had to wrap up in a tidy manner ASAP. I was quite rattled as I had so much to tell about Bess and felt denied my 'time' in which to do it. The timekeeper that day was a friend of mine, an old-maid college librarian who has a tendency to nod off and lose count of the time. My other friend in the Club at the time was a college English teacher who told me later that 'Miss Barnes' really didn't know how long I had been talking and cut me short by some 10-15 minutes. Oh well, the value of experience. I'll keep this one short. But this is one book which influenced me and my life to go on to do things a hard-headed, high-spirited young (now older) woman could do but probably shouldn't.
Rating:
Summary: More than a Woman of Substance...
Review: This was one of the first books I reviewed for the Pulaski Magazine Club after a series of dull travel books. Centering around the life of a strong, out-spoken woman (to whom I could most certainly identify) with an invincible spirit and no modesty in her letters to "everyone." Written in the form of letters, though it comes through much more like a diary, it spans more than half a century. Beginning as a child in 1899 from Texas to June, 1968, in Dallas, these letters relate the tranquility and lack of opportunities in a small town to the turbulence in the city. Bess Stead Barner had a vivid personality backed with the strength and energy of a vibrant woman ahead of her time. It is an intimate account of one woman's life which surely touches the lives of all who share it, and also those who read it. In our Club, the reviewer had thirty minutes in which to explain the book without giving details; we were to induce a thirst from the members to read the book themselves. At the time, I was the youngest member and very impressionable; I'd just started telling how this writer brought these people to life so that you felt you knew them and barely into my prepared review when the timekeeper said, "five minutes," which meant I had to wrap up in a tidy manner ASAP. I was quite rattled as I had so much to tell about Bess and felt denied my 'time' in which to do it. The timekeeper that day was a friend of mine, an old-maid college librarian who has a tendency to nod off and lose count of the time. My other friend in the Club at the time was a college English teacher who told me later that 'Miss Barnes' really didn't know how long I had been talking and cut me short by some 10-15 minutes. Oh well, the value of experience. I'll keep this one short. But this is one book which influenced me and my life to go on to do things a hard-headed, high-spirited young (now older) woman could do but probably shouldn't.
Rating:
Summary: Life Immemorial
Review: This wonderfully sensitive book has been a cherished possession since the late 70's when I was fortunate enough to have Ms. Hailey autograph my copy. Since, I have given this book to countless friends, old and young. I saw Barbara Rush brilliantly perform this one woman play adapted from the book and took all my friends to that also. Then thoroughly enjoyed the miniseries on NBC with Sally Field.
Currently, I am producing this play as a benefit for my local Women's Center in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. It will play in a small intimate theater Feb. 18, 19, 20.
I obviously love the book, the play, the message. Women everywhere are inspired to exhibit strength and independence with softness, grace and humor. Buy this for your daughters and granddaughters. Then, get the play produced in your town as a benefit for a local Women's Center or other agency that reaches out and supports women.
Any literary piece that is as relevant after 20+ years as it was the day it was written is pretty amazing!
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