Girl from the South

Rating:
Summary: Britain Meets the Deep South
Review: Although thoroughly British writer Joanna Trollope has on occasion ventured into other venues (Italy and Spain), she has never set most of a novel in the United States. As one who has read all of her books, I admit I had a bit of apprehension about the change of locale...I expected a false American accent, if you will.

To my surprise and delight, "Girl from the South" proved to be one of Trollope's best works to date. In a story that switches from London to Charleston, South Carolina, and back again, the author introduces us to a number of disaffected people in their 30s--none of whom seem to be able to make a commitment. It is only Tilly, the beautiful but conventional Londoner, who seeks a settled way of life. But her boyfriend, Henry, cannot buy into her view of domesticity, despite years of living together. Tilly and Henry's roommate, attractive and feckless William, is even worse--he has a blonde bombshell girlfriend, Susie, with whom he shares a bed and a quasi relationship, but his true feelings are elsewhere.

Into this interesting mix comes Gillon, the "girl from the South." Stifled by the demands of her very proper southern family, bohemian Gillon, an art historian, flees to London to seek some sense of self. She provides the unwitting catalyst for a whole series of profound life changes among her newfound friends--and yet, seems powerless to make any changes herself.

The story's denoument is at once a disappointment and a revelation, as the main characters find fulfillment in the most unexpected of ways. As always, Trollope remains true to her characters and her story. This is no happily-ever-after romance, as none of her novels are--but it is life-affirming and positive, nevertheless. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Insightful Comfort Food
Review: I have to say I love reading Joanna Trollope and this book is no exception. I agree with some of the reviews that dialogue of the characters in South Carolina is at times "British" vs. "American" but I forgive that. It's a story about roots and a sense of place or home, obligation vs. freedom, security vs. isolation, and the desire to forge your own identity. Its emotionally honest and insightful. I didn't want the novel to end.

Rating:
Summary: Spare yourself
Review: I love British novels, I love Southern novels, and normally I love Joanna Trollope. She's on my top 10 list. But with this novel, she flops.

A ruthless American editor could have saved it, but clearly it didn't have one. It's obviously written by a British novelist who has visited Charleston, but not for long enough to get the hang of how Americans really talk. At one point a blue-blooded young Charlestonian man says, at a moment of great emotion, "Yo, *man*!" Yo, please!!!

Joanna Trollope clearly saw Charleston in terms of its inhabitants' English roots--the furniture, the holiday celebrations, etc. That's all fine--*but they don't see themselves that way.* No Americans do, not even Anglophiles. I can imagine polite Southerners pointing out similarities to an English guest. Apparently she fell for it.

What also might have saved this novel is if it had a British narrator, and if most of its characters were transplanted Brits. As it is, the continual intrusion of British English, coupled with rarely-on-target American English, is incredibly annoying, and detracts completely from the novel's good points. Rosamunde Pilcher is largely successful with her Americans, primarily because she gets them onto her turf. Unfortunately, Trollope bit off far more than she could chew.

Spare yourself the grief and read one of Trollope's many excellent novels, such as The Rector's Wife or A Spanish Lover.

Rating:
Summary: No Southern Comfort
Review: I picked up this novel with delighted anticipation: I love the South [even with all its pecularities], and I am an anglophile. So I was anticipating the best of both worlds! As an added bonus, reviews had led me to belief that Joanna Trollope [a descendent of "the" Trollope] wrote in "elegant prose".

I was disappointed on both counts. Trollope's style was not what I had been led to believe: any style which requires EIGHT commas in a single sentence is plodding, not elegant. In a novel which seems to investigate the allure of home and family, the portion of the novel that is set in England takes place in a rather shakily realised London.

The plot was minimal, the novel resting more on the unfolding of characterizations and relationships. That is fine -- but the unfolding should consist of surprises, and not be too predictable. The characters are familar to us: the Stokes family in Charleston consists of Gillon, a twentysomething who is "searching"; her sister Ashley has always acted the quintessential Southern Belle, but now feels unloved and unable to maintain the facade; her mother Martha, who has rebelled against the Southern Belle tradition by becoming a feminist and aloof to her family; her father Boone, who initially thought he wanted to break out of his environs, but as he ages sinks deep into its comfort. We know these characters, we are familiar with these characters -- but we learn nothing new about them, or about ourselves. The only character I wanted to know more about was Gillon's grandmother, Sarah. Since the plot is minimal, the lack of character development is lethal.

The British side fares somewhat, but not a lot, better. Henry, who comes to the States when Gillon returns home, is supposed to be a catalyst, or at least a reflecive lens, through which the characters see their environment in new way and are transformed. However, Henry is non-critical to the point of being transparent. Tilly, Henry's rejected girlfriend, slowly learns to be less dependent on the idea of marriage to define herself. But still: 'We're supposed to have so much choice, aren't we,' Tilly said. 'We're supposed to have more choice than anyone has ever had, personally or professionally, before. But we still go round, don't we, like hamsters on wheels, doing the same stuff, wanting the same things, dogged by the same doubts and fears.' "

That's how I felt reading this book -- going round and round, like a hamster on a wheel, not getting anywhere.

Rating:
Summary: take us back to England
Review: I'm a girl from the South and I miss Ms. Trollope's Merrie Olde. I'm wondering if her editor insisted she set a novel in the states to attract more American readers. This novel isn't as deliciously, cleverly complicated as her previous ones, with much less of the intricacies of plot and character than she usually displays with such talent in her domestic reality genre. I'm a great advertiser of Joanna Trollope, and will return to her, but if you're a first time reader, try Marrying The Mistress or Other People's Children. No one does the small details of children, marriage, and flawed characters better.

Rating:
Summary: A Different Trip for Trollope
Review: Joanna Trollope's newest novel, GIRL FROM THE SOUTH, has a few surprises in it for those who are expecting some of the same. I've always enjoyed the way she creates relationships in her books, whether it's platonic, romantic, or even the "old married couple." She does it well and continues to do it well here.

This is not a romance novel. It's not a novel that takes you where you think it will, with two people utterly and totally in love with one another and giving up everything they love to be together. How refreshing! Henry and Gillon have their own interests, their own lives. They have found a passion in their lives and it isn't based on another person. I found this to be inspiring. And a good lesson for those who think you can only find happiness when you find the right person.

This is different because it takes place in South Carolina (one of my favorite states) and England. An interesting change and even though there were times when the southerners spoke like they'd been raised in London, it wasn't something that detracted from the novel's plot or point.

I found GIRL FROM THE SOUTH to have a more modern attitude of relationships. She introduced us to individuals who were still searching but learning their way through life with intelligence and adventure.

I liked it. No disappointments for me at all.