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Summary: Great summer read!
Review: I was totally engrossed by this book, which meant lots of burned dinners and laundry piling up around my house. It's been ages since I got completely lost in a book, to the point where I just couldn't wait to get the kids to bed and get back to it, but this one did it for me. It was fun to follow the different and overlapping storylines of these women; I was interested in all of them. Truthfully, there aren't a lot of books I'd recommend buying in hard back but this one is really worth it. I know I'll read it again and again and share it with friends.
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Summary: A four-faceted jewel of a book.
Review: This story of love and friendship, glowing with humor and poignancy, takes the readers into the lives and hearts of four fascinating women. The characters are richly realized and human. Entertaining, touching and fun.
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Summary: Great characters; wonderful writing; an emotion-packed story
Review: Four women, devoted to each other and to their bond of friendship, formed over many years, that's made them all stronger than they might have been alone: that's what The Savings Graces is about, pure and simple. Yet there's nothing pure and simple about these characters or about their lives; they're real people, full of doubts and hangups and problems-as well as courage and compassion. It's these latter qualities that give them the strength to face the very worst blow life can dole out to anyone. You think you've read books that made you laugh and cry and *feel*? Well, I promise you, you've never read anything that will put you on an emotional roller coaster like this book will. Laughter, fury, grief-you'll feel it all, not just here and there, during the "big moments," but with every beautifully crafted sentence. If you're looking for light entertainment, this isn't it. But if you're looking for a book-and people-you'll remember and think about for a long, long time, look no further; you've found it. The Saving Graces isn't just a book. It's an experience. Don't miss it.
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Summary: Great fast read book about the depth of women's friendships.
Review: Definitely a "woman's book," The Saving Graces is about the lives and friendships of Lee, Rudy, Emma and Isabel. The four women share intimate weekly dinners and occasional trips to North Carolina's Outter Banks, where we are privy to their thoughts and conversations. Few subjects are off limits to the women, and as readers we are involved in their interactions with men, careers, families, and the individual dilemma each character faces. Lee is the stable one, except that she wants a child and can't conceive. Neurotic Rudy struggles to find herself beneath the smothering domination of a charming but self-centered husband. Emma bemoans her status as a single woman who finds true love with a married man. Isabel, as the book's wise crone, has a life-threatening illness, is recovering from a shattering divorce, and finds an unexpected new love in her life. While every character's story has a singular theme, they are nicely woven together by author Gaffney's clever and clear ability to change voice, becoming first one character followed by the others. She keeps the collective story-line moving forward and at the same time explores the individual feelings of her characters. The book's strength lies in it's readability and accurate revelation of how close women friends interact. This includes the fact that, as in real life, one or two of the characters talk about the others when the others aren't present. The weakness of The Saving Graces lies in the neatly tied up package each woman's life becomes by the book's conclusion. Overall, it's a pleasing, fast read for women of any age. The Graces capture much of what is wonderful about the constancy of women friends in our lives.
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Summary: I didn't want it to end!
Review: What a great book! Women will love it! It shows the true bond between women and the strength of their friendships. Enjoy!
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Summary: I miss these characters -- didn't want the book to end!
Review: This is the best book I've read in a long time -- the most engrossing and engaging -- a couple of times I was even moved to tears, and how often does that happen because of a book? I happened upon this book by accident, and am so gratified that I did. The characters grab you from the first page, the plot moves along and has unexpected twists and turns -- I didn't want to put it down.
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Summary: I say: "Read about what you know"
Review: Wow! I just came across the Saving Graces as I was desperately looking for a book that had substance yet was light enough for summer reading.
Reading Gaffney's novel was pure pleasure. Her characters were so normal and at the same time I wanted to follow them. Why? They weren't fancy people living lives that we can only imagine. I recognize so many of my women friends and so many aspects of my own life.
All this said, there is,in my opinion one prerequesite to meeting The Graces: one MUST have lived long enough,at least 35 to 40 years to really understand what they are made of.
Definitely a book for a somewhat mature reader but just as simple as your life or mine and written by a powerful hand.
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Summary: Great Novel About Friendship & Sisterhood
Review: Heroines: Varied True friendship is a priceless commodity, one which can not be purchased, only given freely. Ethereal Isabel struggles to be a survivor of cancer not once but twice. Lee is a motherly daycare director who ironically craves but cannot have a child of her very own. Rudy is the beauty whose life is so painfully ugly. And Emma is the journalist whose longing to write the next great American novel is eclipsed only by her desire for a man she loves but cannot have. Together these four loving, giving girlfriends see each other through some of the most difficult times of their lives with humor, strength, and of course . . grace. What worked for me: This story was so warm and touching and the characters' circumstances were so very real that I cried and laughed along with them. I was so sorry to come to the end of this book, and my first thought upon closing its covers was, "I want my very own 'Graces'!" What didn't work for me: This novel is written in first person point-of-view, a tricky thing since we hear alternately from each of the four main characters. I found it helpful to mentally assign each woman her own "voice" so that I could better keep them separated in my mind as I was first getting to know them. I did wish for a bit more detail about scenery and character development seen through my own eyes instead having it explained to me by the key players. Essentially, the book reads like a 5-way phone-call between you and the Graces so you may not quite feel you are there with them physically. Overall: "The Saving Graces" is a wonderful read for those who savor bittersweet stories about true friendship, and the dash of romance ought to satisfy fans of eros as well. (I'm definitely going to make more of an effort in searching out "women's fiction" titles of this kind to read!) Warning: there is some coarse language in this book. If you liked "The Saving Graces" you might also enjoy other stories about friendship such as: "Circle of Friends", "Tara Road", "Princess Charming", "Fast Women", and "The Red Tent".
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Summary: Women...at their best!
Review: The Saving Graces is a book that spotlights women at their best. Four women, all at different points in their lives. Rudy, Isabel, Emma and Lee all grow...grow together as a group, and grow individually as they all overcome some huge obstacle in their lives. Patricia Gaffney showcases her amazing insight into how people tick as this story unfolds at a slow drawl, warm and inviting. You'll fall in love with the characters. You'll revel in their triumphs. You'll laugh, cry...and never forget this touching story.
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