Rating: 
Summary: On the Occasion of my last afternoon
Review: Happiness can always be found eventually. Kaye Gibbons shows this from Emma
Garnet's point of view in her book, "On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon." Emma
Garnet's childhood, living on a plantation having many slaves, is very hard having to
always fear the temper of her father, Samuel L. Tate. Emma Garnet grows up feeling
sorry for her mother who isn't happy with her husband, to realize not all men are like
Mr. Tate. She meets a wonderful doctor, Quincy Lowell, and they become married having
3 children and living happily ever after. Although Emma Garnet finds extreme happiness, she
finds sorrow as well. "On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon" goes through a timeline of
Emma Garnet's life and with that it tells the many people that she loses along the way.
Kaye Gibbons does a wonderful job at telling the story with going back in time so that it
doesn't come across as confusing. Overall I thought that this book was great to read and
very interesting the whole way through.
Rating: 
Summary: Very real
Review: I read four chapters of this book. Then I threw it out the window. In all God-honesty, this book is now sitting in the weedy abandoned lot beside my house. I never ever want to see or hear from it again. It's a lot of politically-correct, sanctimonious moralizing only reinforcing what our equally-holier than thou culture teaches: that Southerners of the period the book focuses on (and before then and today, for that matter) are evil, bloodthirsty folk. Coming from a background similar to the one of the main character's, I am sick and tired of these stereotypes about as much as any black person would grow weary of the image of a shuffling, "yassah, massah"-mumbling Uncle Tom. Give me "Gone with the Wind," give me anything that does not shove a guilt trip and a lot of rewritten history down my throat.
Rating: 
Summary: The most miserable afternoon.
Review: I read four chapters of this book. Then I threw it out the window. In all God-honesty, this book is now sitting in the weedy abandoned lot beside my house. I never ever want to see or hear from it again. It's a lot of politically-correct, sanctimonious moralizing only reinforcing what our equally-holier than thou culture teaches: that Southerners of the period the book focuses on (and before then and today, for that matter) are evil, bloodthirsty folk. Coming from a background similar to the one of the main character's, I am sick and tired of these stereotypes about as much as any black person would grow weary of the image of a shuffling, "yassah, massah"-mumbling Uncle Tom. Give me "Gone with the Wind," give me anything that does not shove a guilt trip and a lot of rewritten history down my throat.
Rating:
Summary: This book is great on tape.
Review: I read this book on tape and it is one of the only readings I've ever heard that I felt really brought the book to life. I was obsessed with the story and found the reading to be totally believable and in line with the text. I could not wait to get back into my car to hear the next installment, and found myself making lots of extra trips to the grocery store, to get gas, etc. to allow me to keep reading. What a wonderful story!
Rating: 
Summary: "On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon" by Kaye Gibbons
Review: I recently read the historical fiction novel, "On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon" written by Kaye Gibbons. I found the novel to be both interesting and factual. I chose the novel in the first place because I had to do a book report for my high school history class on a novel from the civil war period. Many of the events we have been studying in class showed up in this book. Also it was a wonderful first-hand account of how a women might live her life in this time period. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good historical fiction novel.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written page turner
Review: I recommend this book without hesitation. It was an absolute treat. The characters are rich and full of life and the dialogue is remarkable. One critic wrote that there's simply not a bad sentence in the book and I wholeheartedly agree. I will be ordering more of Ms. Gibbons' books right away.
Rating:
Summary: Dark Story but a Good Message
Review: On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon is a novel that explores the deep roots of our country and our families. Part of this novel reminds us of the dark past our nation has come from, times of slavery and the horrors of the civil war. The other piece to this novel reflects on how our childhoods shape who we become, both good and bad. The narrator, recalling her life as she approaches the end of it, recalls for us her terrible childhood, raised by an overbearing and horrendous father who left permanent scars on her psyche. My only complaint with the story is that it seems there is one devastating blow after another and yet for some unfortunate souls, this is life. The lessons to take away from the novel make it worth the read. When you're on your death bed and reflecting upon your life, will you be glad you drove the nicest car and had the finest of treasures? Or will your treasures be the upright and moral life you lived and the way you touched others?
Rating:
Summary: A plea for racial tolerance
Review: On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon is Kaye Gibbon's first literary historical fiction entry. Set in the South, like all her books, this one takes place during the era of the Civil War. Near death, Emma Garnet Tate recounts her life, beginning with her childhood as a bright 12yo in 1842, on a Virginia plantation. Her foulmouthed and racially prejudiced father dominates his long-suffering wife and 6 children but has a literary and artistic side as well. This abusive and tyrannical man collects Old Masters' paintings. Clarise, the formidable black woman who truly runs the family (as the overseer of Samuel Tate's dark secret, she runs him, too), cares for everyone and leaves with Emma when she marries and moves away from `home.' The graphic portrayal of Emma and her surgeon husband's duties tending for the maimed and dying soldiers during the war is a heart-rending expression of the futility of war.
Rating:
Summary: Very real
Review: The writing was so excellent in this book, and the descriptions so real, that I felt as if I KNEW what it was like to have lived during the Civil War. So many comparisons have been made between books. Some have compared McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" to "Confederacy of Dunces" and some have compared "Secret Life of Bees" to "To Kill a Mockingbird." Now people are comparing "On the Occasion" to "Gone With the Wind." I'm not sure about any of these comparisions, but I do know that "On the Occasion" can stand by itself and actually gives us a little MORE than GWTW, but without the length == Thank goodness. The characters in Gibbon's book are so well-developed and they intertwine with each other in such a way as to make the read satisfying and easy. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. Good writing by an intelligent author.
Rating: 
Summary: If only the last afternoon had come sooner!
Review: This book illustrates a perfect case for a good plot dragged out to the point of oblivion. Emma Garnet, the main character, is the daughter of a tyrannical father who strongly favors slavery and faithfully puts politics before his family of six children. Emma is a sensitive child who cleaves to her equally-kind mother and despises the person her father represents. Thankfully, when she is little more than a teenager, she is whisked away by one Dr. Quincy Lowell whom she marries and moves far, far away with, taking the family "slave" (but not really), Clarice with her. Besides feeling guilty for leaving her mother alone to deal with her father, Emma Garnet has never been happier with her husband and three baby girls. As the war begins, she works along Quincy's side in doctoring the wounded, along with feeding and educating the poor. This is where the book should have ended, about two-thirds of the way through. Instead, it drones on and on and on. Quincy is too good to be true (I have never in all my life met such a hero) and Emma Garnet becomes a woman who is constantly trying to prove how strong and wise she is. It just gets dull quick. I can honestly say as I have now read at least three of Gibbons' books, thay I am going to lay to permanent rest those I have missed thus far.
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