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Summary: I just loved this book!
Review: I read Sullivan's Island sitting on the beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and just loved it. I loved it so much that I looked on Amazon.com to see if Dorothea Benton Frank had written anything else. She had not...disappointed. When I found Plantation also on Amazon.com around Christmas I was excited. I have a stack of books to read, but when this one came, I started right in on it. I was NOT disappointed. The book is wonderful. Ms. Frank has a wonderful way of making you vizualize everything. I seem to be able to see this Planation and all the people in the story. I finished it three days ago, I have recommended it to about 20 people...please Ms. Frank, hurry and write the next GREAT story.
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Summary: Lowcountry Delight!
Review: Dorothea Benton Frank has created another Lowcountry delight! A wonderful follow to her first Lowcountry novel "Sullivan's Island", Plantation brings us the unforgettable Miss Lavina. This book is one that you can easily loose yourself and hours of a Sunday afternoon in. It's a wonderfully stiched story of family, perspective and the importance of finding who you are and being that person. It is full of great Lowcountry culture and the characters are vivid and comical. If you enjoy novels based in a geogaphical region, the excitment of the South or a wondefully told story, this is the book for you! It's one of my favorites, and I can't wait for Dorothea's next novel!
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Summary: Family is the golden thread in this authors books.
Review: Caroline Wimbley Levine was reared in southern tradition, on a plantation that her family has owned for generations. Her brother Trip has strayed a bit but is still part of the "good ole boy" generation that sips their bourbon freely, and never speaks of financial matters or politics when the ladies are present. Miss Lavinia is the Lady of the manor and is about to leave things in the questionably competent hands of her children. The author gives us characters that ooze with substance and strength. She is luminous in her presentation of family ties and the love between siblings that miles or years cannot erase. There are some amusing secrets to be uncovered as the author weaves a wonderful story of family loyalty and expectation. I was pleased to find yet another wonderful adventure from the Southern Low Country. After Thoroughly enjoying SULLIVAN'S ISLAND I couldn't wait to pick up another book written by this author. I was not disappointed. I have placed Dorothea Benton Frank on my favorite authors list and so should you. 12/27/01
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Summary: enjoyable but a bit tedious
Review: I enjoyed this book, really, I did. I just grew weary of the main character's (Caroline's) self-indulgent mental pontifications. There were times Caroline just went on for pages exploring Caroline's thoughts about being a good mother, being a good daughter, her husband and divorce, her education and career goals, I mean, it was just too much. It was very funny though... yes, it has many Southern cliches, but cliches start somewhere. I just wondered when Ms. Benthon Frank came to supper at my house to get ideas for the white trash sister-in-law, that was one hilarious dinner around chapter 10. One thing I would mention is that if you are having trouble with PTSD in light of Sept 11th, save this book for later. There is one horrifying chapter involving a plane crash, explosion, burning body, and ashes and body parts everywhere. I might be ultra sensitive because a FDNY captain is very important to me, but it was a very hard chapter to read and set off some PTSD episodes for me. Still an enjoyable book... I actually cried toward the end, I've only cried over a book like that one other time. Worth reading
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Summary: Miss Lavinia Is A Hoot!
Review: If you love a good story about the south, or even if you just love to laugh out loud when you're the only one home you've got to read Plantation. My mother and I bought this book at the same time and we just love to get together and discuss the delightful, zany characters and their equally zany lives. The story revolves around a woman,Caroline, who had moved from the ACE Basin of South Carolina to bustling New York City for college to escape her cantankerous mother, Lavinia. When Caroline's brother calls to tell her that "Miss Lavinia" has tried to shoot him, Caroline rushes home to "see about Mother" only to find that life on Tall Pines Plantation has not changed one bit, but that maybe she has. Be prepared to sit for hours with this book as you won't want to put it down for fear of missing one of Lavinia's episodes.
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Summary: Wonderful
Review: Dorothea Benton Frank's "Plantation" is as good as her first, "Sullivan's Island." She did an extremely good job in capturing the Southern's essence, values, beliefs and just the culture. One can get a feel of how it's like to live in the South and how the Southern people think and act. This book deals with Caroline Levine, whose relationships with her family is anything but okay. The theme of this book is how she rebuilds her relationship with her mother, how she misunderstood her mom when she was young and finally, she understood why her mom was the way she was. She learns more about her family roots and finally came to an understanding that, the plantation was where she belonged. The book is fills with warmth, love, and just what we need to relax and have a good laugh. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: As good as Sullivan's Island... couldn't put it down
Review: I read Sullivan's Island last year and recommended it to every reader I know. I never thought Frank could maintain her record with her sophomore effort but was delighted to find I was wrong. Frank combines Anne Rivers Siddons' deft portrayal of eccentic Southern families and the ties that bind (or strangle) and Conroy's loving depiction for the Lowcountry and its lyric beauty.. Plantation is a wonderful book and I loved every minute of it. Absorbing but not heavy.
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Summary: What a saucy fun book ~~
Review: I read Sullivan's Island last year sometime and when this book came out in paperback, I thought I'd wait and read some more "enlightening books," till my online reading buddies urged me to read this book. So I ordered it to read on a cold wintery day. Only the flu befell me and this was the best book to read in bed ~~ it is easy read. If I had to pick a book in between naps, I would pick this one! I have always been a fan of Southern fiction and this book has propelled itself to the top of the list. It's wonderfully saucy!! The book is written from Caroline's point of view. She escapes Tall Pines to New York ~~ only to come home years later to her mother when in the midst of marital woes. Originally, she escaped from her home and mother because she viewed her mother as this selfish woman when her father died ~~ only to realize that her perceptions of her mother isn't what she thought she was. And she begins to painstakingly restore her relationship with her mother and brother on her journey of self-discovery. This book is a wonderful exploration of a mother-daughter relationship set in the lush low-country of South Carolina. Frank writes with vivid descriptions of Tall Pines and it's proximity to the river ~~ and she injected humor throughout the whole book ~~ that even when you are crying, you are laughing too. It's a wonderful easy read and one that I would recommend for any mother with daughters to read. It may not be the best literary book in the world, but who cares? It's a book that allows you to escape for a short while into the characters' lives. And isn't that what a book is supposed to do once in awhile?
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Summary: Another Great Book From DBF-yanh?!
Review: Looks like she's done it again! Dorothea Benton Frank is one helluva great writer! I anxiously look forward to her next book, whether or not it is another Low Country tale it is sure to be a winner. The way she introduces her characters then develops them is what holds my interest with each chapter. I disagree with the reviewer that said Caroline Wimbley Levine is Susan Hayes all over again! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! I did enjoy it, though, when DBF had the two characters meet up toward the end of the book-maybe someday she will write a book mainly about their friendship. I liked Caroline's character & how she finally got up the gumption to leave her cheating, lowlife hubby & take her son to stay at Tall Pines. I can't decide which character was my favorite, Caroline, Lavinia or Millie-all are good, strong women & they keep you turning the pages. All in all, a terrific story that I highly recommend. Kudos to DFB on her 2nd triumph!
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Summary: Come visit Tall Pines Plantation.........
Review: New York City and South Caroline 1984 - 2000 Caroline Wimbley has left the lowcountry of South Caroline, a flamboyant mother, and drunkard brother behind to live in New York City. To insure a permanent stay, she meets, falls in love, and marries the first man she encounters, Richard, her college professor. She sets up her own interior design business, has the perfect son, and continually forgives Richard for his infidelities, for the next sixteen years. Caroline plans to never go back to South Caroline and doesn't except to visit. Her plans change however when her brother Trip, calls to inform her that Miss Lavinia, their mother, finally flipped out. Miss Lavinia tries to kill Trip with her granddaddy's shotgun, he now plans to put her in a nursing home and take control of Tall Pines Plantation. Caroline rushes home to see what is happening to her mother, but the return evokes memories of why she left. With reflections of yesteryear, Caroline discovers you can come home again. When her mother dies, she must come to terms with her grief for a woman she now admires, a brother who is lost without his family's love, and the father of her son. Can Caroline be the next Queen of the Tall Pines Plantation? Does she want to be? PLANTATION gives readers a first person glimpse into the life of Caroline after she leaves the plantation for the big city and the very eventful return some sixteen years later. As Caroline tells her story, readers will be thrilled with bits and pieces of Miss Lavinia's journal, plus Miss Laviana's thoughts as they talk to the reader in first person. Ms. Frank does a wonderful portrayal of the plantation, events, and the people in this southern state. At times, I could almost smell the fresh cut grass, hear the siren song of the winding river, and bask in the shadows of the tall pines. Even though Caroline's family is dysfunctional, the first person narrative and the pages from Miss Lavinia's journal, make this a must read of the summer. Grab a glass of iced tea, put on a jazz CD, and enjoy the yarn of a true southern family. Debbie Gilbert
Reviewer for Romance Reviews Today
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