Fair and Tender Ladies

Rating:
Summary: #l library recommendation
Review: I am the director of a small rural public library in MO. When a readers comes in looking for something good, I often point them to "Fair and Tender Ladies". Even tho it is an older title, it is still my all time favorite book and one which appeals to men and women. It is one of the only works of fiction which I reread almost every spring. There is always some new insight to be gained from Ivy Rowe. This is my all time favorite fiction book!

Rating:
Summary: Neither fair nor tender.
Review: I enjoyed this book for about the first quarter or third. It begins as a charming tale of a young, naive Appalachian girl in the early 20th century, and tells her story through the letters she writes to the various people who come into her life. Ivy Rowe is cheerful, inquisitive, and fierce - as a young girl devoted to her family but longing for something past the mouth of the holler where she lives, she is a likeable and even endearing character.

But as time passes (it ultimately encompasses about six decades), she becomes less likeable. As she ages, she does not seem to mature hardly at all (though her writing DOES become a little less riddled with phonetic spelling and poor grammar), and changes from a sensible child, to a foolish young woman, and finally to the type of old woman that makes younger folk cringe with her friendly tangents and innocent incoherency. This was annoying; as a reader, I expected more from Ivy. Another example of this is her faith. After years of reveling in a sinful existence and wondering about God but not really caring one way or the other, I was sure that at some point she would either chuck religion all together or get redeemed.

Lee Smith's writing device of telling the entire story in letters all written by Ivy is interesting, and would be brave for an author if they did it up right. I don't know if there really is a way to do it up right, though, unless it was an exchange of letters back and forth. One-sided as it is, oftentimes the letters do not ring true as actual letters. There are long paragraphs of dialogue and kinds of descriptions that just do not fit in authentic correspondence, but are necessary for the story. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** And while, at first glance, the revelation near the end that Silvaney (who a good portion of the letters were written to) has been dead for years looks like an interesting turn of events, it ultimately seems more like a cop-out to further the narrow style in which the book is written. ***END OF SPOILERS***

On top of everything else, I don't think the title particularly fits the story. I guess I expected something different - and something better.

Rating:
Summary: Neither fair nor tender.
Review: I enjoyed this book for about the first quarter or third. It begins as a charming tale of a young, naive Appalachian girl in the early 20th century, and tells her story through the letters she writes to the various people who come into her life. Ivy Rowe is cheerful, inquisitive, and fierce - as a young girl devoted to her family but longing for something past the mouth of the holler where she lives, she is a likeable and even endearing character.

But as time passes (it ultimately encompasses about six decades), she becomes less likeable. As she ages, she does not seem to mature hardly at all (though her writing DOES become a little less riddled with phonetic spelling and poor grammar), and changes from a sensible child, to a foolish young woman, and finally to the type of old woman that makes younger folk cringe with her friendly tangents and innocent incoherency. This was annoying; as a reader, I expected more from Ivy. Another example of this is her faith. After years of reveling in a sinful existence and wondering about God but not really caring one way or the other, I was sure that at some point she would either chuck religion all together or get redeemed.

Lee Smith's writing device of telling the entire story in letters all written by Ivy is interesting, and would be brave for an author if they did it up right. I don't know if there really is a way to do it up right, though, unless it was an exchange of letters back and forth. One-sided as it is, oftentimes the letters do not ring true as actual letters. There are long paragraphs of dialogue and kinds of descriptions that just do not fit in authentic correspondence, but are necessary for the story. ***SPOILERS AHEAD*** And while, at first glance, the revelation near the end that Silvaney (who a good portion of the letters were written to) has been dead for years looks like an interesting turn of events, it ultimately seems more like a cop-out to further the narrow style in which the book is written. ***END OF SPOILERS***

On top of everything else, I don't think the title particularly fits the story. I guess I expected something different - and something better.

Rating:
Summary: Lee Smith's best book
Review: I'll read anything by Lee Smith, but this is her best. It's a saga, the chronicaling of a child's (as she grows to old age and death) Appalachian life in a cabin 'up a holler.'
Rich with loving detail, philosophy, and the indications of the passing of time not only for the protagonist but also for her community and the country itself, it'll make you laugh and cry and sigh.
Read it, if you haven't already!

Rating:
Summary: Lee Smith's best, and my favorite book ever!
Review: Lee Smith is a fantastic writer with a real feel for what being an Appalachian woman is all about. She makes the reader feel the importance of place and family and shows us the strength, endurance, and creative soul of the people. This book makes you feel as thought Ivy were a friend or sister. It is well-written, intimate, and mysterious. A super read.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've read
Review: The writing style of this book is very different but I think it made it easier to understand. The "letters" are wrote in everyday "Dixie" language. I loved this book. It was fun and it was touching. The story of interaction between family women---and sometimes here in the south, that can be a love/hate relationship. Wonderful book. Ivy loved her family and the memories.

Rating:
Summary: I hated for it to end.
Review: This book consumed all my time until I finished, then I hated that I didn't take longer to read it, just to make it last. It is so so good. I felt like these were my own people. I've heard little bits and sayings, even the strange older names like the ones in this book all of my life and now I know where it all came from. I want to now get more in touch with some of my own family history that came from the hills just like these. The writing and dialect may be harder for someone not raised in the south or appalachia, but you will get it, and be careful you may find yourself talking just a little like these people, the story gets into you.

Rating:
Summary: I hated for it to end.
Review: This book consumed all my time until I finished, then I hated that I didn't take longer to read it, just to make it last. It is so so good. I felt like these were my own people. I've heard little bits and sayings, even the strange older names like the ones in this book all of my life and now I know where it all came from. I want to now get more in touch with some of my own family history that came from the hills just like these. The writing and dialect may be harder for someone not raised in the south or appalachia, but you will get it, and be careful you may find yourself talking just a little like these people, the story gets into you.

Rating:
Summary: A delight!
Review: This book was a dream to read. The main character, Ivy Rowe, seems just like an old Auntie or neighbor or someone everyone who grew up Southern would have known. She is a cut up. Her life was not an easy one, but she remained fairly optimistic throughout. It was a sweet and very touching book and it was extremely well written. The way Ms. Smith wrote the dialect was impecable. It was as if someone were telling you a story in your ear rather than reading pages in a book. I was truly transported to all the mountains and towns she writes about in this book. Now I cannot wait to sink my teeth into some of her other works.

Rating:
Summary: Engulfing
Review: This is my favorite of Lee Smith's novels.
It is the kind of book that makes you want to write.

You will be entranced by the characters and the development that is brought.

This is a must read.