Divining Women

Rating:
Summary: not Ms Gibbons best work
Review: Although this book was good it is not Ms Gibbons best work in my opinion. It starts out way too slow. Troop is unbearable and why his wife didn't totally lose her mind is beyond me. I was very disappointed in Ms Gibbons remarks in her acknowledgements. "I called my agent and threatened to find a real job. I could be a prison guard or bottle soda pop, for the daily terror and repetitive drudgery of both jobs seemed in line with what was being required of me right then...' I do not have either of those jobs myself, but I would think anyone who does would take offense. I expect better of a professional author than to belittle her readers.

Rating:
Summary: Good - But Not Her Best
Review: First, let me say that I LOVE Kaye Gibbons and have read all of her books, so naturally I couldn't wait to get my hands on this, her latest.

I was slightly disappointed because I thought it wasn't nearly as powerful as some of her previous novels. BUT: I enjoyed it and gained some insights into the terrible harm that verbal abuse can produce.

And: Kaye Gibbons is STILL one of my favorite authors.

Rating:
Summary: could have been much more
Review: I finished "Diving Women", but barely. The author could have done more with the subject of mental/emotional abuse, but didn't. Too much of the book wasted on desciptions of past events. I wasn't even upset when tragedy happened later in the book(I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone).

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful read
Review: I had high expectations for Kaye Gibbons's first book in six years, as she is one of my all-time favorite writers. Divining Women does not disappoint.

The story: Mary is a young woman who grew up around wealthy, free-thinking relatives during the first part of the 20th century. One grandfather is a nudist, another plays host to the spirits who come through their house on the way to somewhere else in their afterlives. She has also enjoyed the benefit of a variety of strong female role models, including her mother and grandmothers. Due to WWI, Mary education is on hold. Her mother decides to send her to take care of her aunt (her mother's half-brother's wife), Maureen, who is heavily pregnant, in North Carolina. Maureen's husband and Mary's uncle, Troop, due to his upbringing and family history, is the worst sort of man: selfish, abusive, cowardly, and manipulative. He has constantly manipulates reality to suit himself and has gone through extreme trouble to crush every ounce of his wife's spirit and passion. As the women's relationship develops, the influenza outbreak worsens, the war goes on, and they slowly learn from each other and band together against the evil in their lives.

This novel is dark, but it would be unrealistic if it were otherwise, as it takes place in a dark time: during World War I, in the midst of the influenza breakout. Gibbons draws off her own experiences with love, heartbreak, and renewal, as well as tragic events of modern times, such as September 11th. Her writing is magical, beautiful, and masterful. I often found myself reading the same passage over and over to ensure that I got every drop of enjoyment out of it. Unlike other reviewers, I found the characters to be completely unique, but utterly believable. Gibbons uses humor as well as tragedy to construct an amazing, gratifying, and empowering story. Additionally, the novel gives great insight into southern life in the early 20th century.

Although Gibbons has written many wonderful books, this is one of her greatest. It is easily one of the best books of the year, if not of modern times.

Rating:
Summary: not the usual Gibbons quality
Review: I'm a Gibbons fan, so I snatched this book up when I found it. Sadly, I found it wanting. It seemed choppy to me as though two books, about the narator's life and her life with her abused aunt were clumsily connected to each other. The characters are well-drawn and the dialogue good, but overall the book is weak.

Rating:
Summary: can't get enough
Review: I'm not normally one to post things on the internet. However, I must make an exception when it comes to my favourite author Kaye Gibbons.
I eagerly (and obsessively) awaited the publication of her latest novel. Of course, it was worth the wait. Yet again I feel validated as a woman, capable of anything, and am more keenly aware of the influence my life has on the males in it and vice versa.
Ms. Gibbons writes the most darkly, inspiring stories in the most beautiful way. It's not just what she writes but the way she writes it. Thank you, Ms. Gibbons and when can we expect more?

Rating:
Summary: The beautiful friendship of two women.
Review: Mary is a young woman, sent by her mother, to help her Uncle's new wife through the end of her pregnancy. Uncle Troop is a proud, cruel man and his family cannot understand why his lovely wife, Maureen, married him in the first place. Troop detests his eccentric family, on his father's side, and was taught to hate them by his own mother. Mary is walking into a disastrous situation, but she has been raised to stand up for herself and others. Troop has met his match when his niece arrives at his home. She steers the destiny of the family in a new direction.

This is a book reminiscent of "Fried Green Tomatoes", not in timing, but in the relationship that develops between Mary and Maureen. It is a quick read, but written in lovely prose by Kaye Gibbons. Mary is a wonderful character who makes one proud to be a woman.

Rating:
Summary: Something evil this way comes
Review: Something evil this way comes.
There is something about a book that portends disaster and then gently lures you to observe the trecherous event. Kaye Gibbons has crafted such a beguiling tale of madness and redemption that I couldn't put it down.I wanted to,I couldn't stand to see Maureen slowly pulled towards the destruction her husband Troop seemed bent on delivering. Mary Oliver,Troop's 22 year old niece has entered the household so she can be a companion and help to Maureen as Maureen prepares to deliver the couple's first child.Mary is clear eyed and feels the heaviness in the air....and witnesses the malevolence in Troop's actions. She is determined to shield Maureen and her child from the madness that slowly reveals itself and threatens the household. This book was so well paced and so intriguing that I couldn't put it down.I wanted to avert my eyes but I was pulled in and had to know the outcome. A spellbinder!

Rating:
Summary: Something evil this way comes
Review: Something evil this way comes.
There is something about a book that portends disaster and then gently lures you to observe the trecherous event. Kaye Gibbons has crafted such a beguiling tale of madness and redemption that I couldn't put it down.I wanted to,I couldn't stand to see Maureen slowly pulled towards the destruction her husband Troop seemed bent on delivering. Mary Oliver,Troop's 22 year old niece has entered the household so she can be a companion and help to Maureen as Maureen prepares to deliver the couple's first child.Mary is clear eyed and feels the heaviness in the air....and witnesses the malevolence in Troop's actions. She is determined to shield Maureen and her child from the madness that slowly reveals itself and threatens the household. This book was so well paced and so intriguing that I couldn't put it down.I wanted to avert my eyes but I was pulled in and had to know the outcome. A spellbinder!

Rating:
Summary: Uneven, Still Worthwhile
Review: The first thing I had to do with this book was create a genealogy chart. Then I went back and started reading it over again. That done, I was finally drawn in. The beginning, with the flashbacks of how dreadful Troop's mother was, struck me two ways. First, however evil she was, her character was simply too cardboard to support what her son became. Second, I loved the way that, in contrast, the household in Washington was developed. Mary's mother, two sets of grandparents, and their free-thinking circle, were delightful. I don't know how believable it was that a well-known nudist and his family would appear so often (or perhaps Nora made that up too!) in the newspapers, or dine so often in society or diplomatic circles. I think Washington may have been too "proper" then, as now.

Mary's fear of Troop turned out to be very well founded. Her concern for Maureen was every bit as well founded. Troop's character was a little less cardboard than that of his mother, but not much. We saw more of him, saw that in his business dealings he was more or less a success. At least enough so that he could build a large impressive house for his wife. One interesting clue is that the house was originally built with a bedroom for him and a bedroom for her. She had no say over the rest of the house, but was allowed to decorate hers as she saw fit. Apparently this was because theirs was an asexual relationship until he decided to allow her a child before forcing a hysterectomy on her. And I agree with other reviewers that this is an excellent example of a verbally abusive marriage. The verbal aggression stole all the things he professed to care about her when he married her. But indeed, he never cared about her, because he was not capable of caring. Notice I don't use the word love because that never entered into his calculations at all.

The fact that the primary action of the novel takes place in Maureen's room, until she has already, with Mary's help, decided to take back herself, is important. That room she has created to get away from him finally becomes just too claustrophobic. She has to break out, and knows that she will, after the baby frees her from her body.

I didn't give it more stars because I found some of the language jarring. It just didn't "feel" like 1918. I know there were feminists then, and sadists then, and women's friendships forged in the oddest of circumstances. But it is only the last that I really believed in in this story.