Rating: 
Summary: sleeper success
Review: "...And Ladies of the Club" was an unexpected great success when it was published. This epic tale of a small midwestern town found many eager readers. I found it compelling, and Santmyer's account kept me turning the hundreds of pages, although I am unable to point to reasons.
As a former midwestern girl I could easily plug into the book, since the characters and setting felt so much like home. The sincere goodness of many of the earnest characters reminded me of the people of my own town. Their struggles, joys, redemptions earned and unearned, strike a familiar chord.
This is by any definition a woman's book. Male readers looking for an action/adventure tale might be disappointed. But Santmyer is eloquent in her depiction of slow-paced, relationship-based lives. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: sleeper success
Review: "...And Ladies of the Club" was an unexpected great success when it was published. This epic tale of a small midwestern town found many eager readers. I found it compelling, and Santmyer's account kept me turning the hundreds of pages, although I am unable to point to reasons.
As a former midwestern girl I could easily plug into the book, since the characters and setting felt so much like home. The sincere goodness of many of the earnest characters reminded me of the people of my own town. Their struggles, joys, redemptions earned and unearned, strike a familiar chord.
This is by any definition a woman's book. Male readers looking for an action/adventure tale might be disappointed. But Santmyer is eloquent in her depiction of slow-paced, relationship-based lives. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: For a long lazy summer...
Review: ...AND LADIES OF THE CLUB is a fabulous book. It is very bulky, but worth the time and effort. Pick a long lazy summer to curl up in a hammock and emmerse yourself in 50 years of history and culture. Now don't get me wrong, this is not a boring history book, it is the story of a small town and the people that live there. Every girl in her teens to every elderly lady in her 90s should read this story of love, tragedy, gain, loss, and, most of all, friendship. This is a must-read!
Rating:
Summary: Good Read--Entertaining and Relaxing
Review: ...It is a broad saga of the years from 1868 to 1932...I believe the slow cadence of the story to be one of the best things about it. In a world of action movies and shoot 'em up everything I enjoy retreating into this book every couple of years to revel in the now familiar characters and happenings. The author was a real student of human nature and portrayed the characters in a very real way. If you want to make some new fictional acquaintances this is the book. If you are at all interested in history this book does an excellent job filling in those (to me) somewhat obscure years. How many of you can tell me whether Garfield followed Cleveland as President? You'll have a better grasp of the timeline for this historic period. So, sit back, enjoy, drink lemonade and enjoy the story!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Good Read--Entertaining and Relaxing
Review: ...It is a broad saga of the years from 1868 to 1932...I believe the slow cadence of the story to be one of the best things about it. In a world of action movies and shoot 'em up everything I enjoy retreating into this book every couple of years to revel in the now familiar characters and happenings. The author was a real student of human nature and portrayed the characters in a very real way. If you want to make some new fictional acquaintances this is the book. If you are at all interested in history this book does an excellent job filling in those (to me) somewhat obscure years. How many of you can tell me whether Garfield followed Cleveland as President? You'll have a better grasp of the timeline for this historic period. So, sit back, enjoy, drink lemonade and enjoy the story!!!!
Rating:
Summary: I cried at the end, I felt like a best friend had died.
Review: After I finished reading the book, I gave it to my best friend to read. The story had continuity and showed that sometimes when adversity enters your life, it's better to stick with it (marriage) and resolve things than run away. I have looked for another copy of this book for years and just today had high hopes it might be available on amazon.com
Rating:
Summary: AT ALL COSTS, DON'T MISS THIS ONE!
Review: After the first 20 pages, I was hopelessly hooked on this book. It begins with a graduation from a girls' high school and follows these ladies throughout their entire lives. Each character became a real person to me, and I did not want the book to end. In fact, when I got down to the last hundred pages, I would put it aside for days just to keep it from ending! No matter what, read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Have read this book twice --best family tale ever!
Review: Anyone who loves history and who loves good writing will love this book. I rarely cry whenI read but there are many times in Ladies that propel one to tears! I'm an avid reader and don't usually read anything a second time but ten years later I couldn't resist getting re- acquainted with the beloved characters again. Today's Oprah book club is a sham compared to the level of intellectualism that these women enjoyed in their reading club! Anyone agree?
Rating:
Summary: Gentle story of members of a women's club from 1868-1932
Review: Following the Civil War, some of the women of a small Ohio town form a women's club. We follow some of the members through their lives, through lives, deaths, triumphs, defeats, in good times and in bad. Helen Hooven Santmeyer, in her only significant work (when this was published, and proved popular, they dug up some other stuff of hers and published it) makes the 64 year period live, though the eyes of her characters. We understand the significance, in this era before mass entertainments such as TV or radio, of such activities as the Club, which, though it did many good works, perhaps served best in helping its members fend off boredom and expand their minds in the confinement of a small Ohio town. Full of idiosynchratic characters, who will stick in your memory. Well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Gentle story of members of a women's club from 1868-1932
Review: Following the Civil War, some of the women of a small Ohio town form a women's club. We follow some of the members through their lives, through lives, deaths, triumphs, defeats, in good times and in bad. Helen Hooven Santmeyer, in her only significant work (when this was published, and proved popular, they dug up some other stuff of hers and published it) makes the 64 year period live, though the eyes of her characters. We understand the significance, in this era before mass entertainments such as TV or radio, of such activities as the Club, which, though it did many good works, perhaps served best in helping its members fend off boredom and expand their minds in the confinement of a small Ohio town. Full of idiosynchratic characters, who will stick in your memory. Well worth the read.
|
