I would not say this book is a humorous romp. I found it a rather dark look at how we define ourselves when we reach 60 in a society that is obsessed with youth. How do we prove to ourselves that we are still living the life we want as we age? It is a look at how we deal with death once we realize that no matter what we do death is going to come get us or our loved ones some day. It looks at the things that make life worth the effort. This was a good reminder that we are alive to live not just sit and fear death.

If I had the option I would give this 2.5 stars. It is slightly more deserving than a 2 if for no other reason it held my interest to the end. This book is so full of twists and turns that I was never sure what was real or imagined and felt rather off-kilter until the end. I kept comparing it to The Other Typist as I was reading it except I found the characters in Precious Thing to be fairly contrived and unbelievable overall.

I had a hard time with this book. It started out very slowly and I never really got a feel for the characters. I suppose the intention was to keep the reader off guard and that worked well but for me Marta never seemed like a real person.

I can not remember reading a book quite so heartbreaking. After World War 1 a physically intact yet war damaged Tom Sherbourne accepts a post as a lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, an isolated island in Australia. He marries Isabel and returns to life keeping the lighthouse. After several miscarriages a distraught Isabel hears the cries of an infant. They find dead man and a baby in a small boat. This sets forth a series of events that take on a life of their own. At what point is it too late to correct a wrong or is it ever too late? About the time I felt comfortable with their decisions a whole new dimension is brought in that made me reconsider who the victims really were. From the power we let the past have over us to the urge to protect and comfort those we love this book shows just how judgements can be clouded. The writing captured the desperation and emotions of each character to the point that I found myself sobbing. I will be pondering this book for a while.

This looked so interesting. How would taking part in a survey on marriage impact your marriage? The characters were sort of likeable. This is a family in transition where things are not always what was expected. Much like most marriages it has had it’s ups and downs. Alice has been so busy as a working mother she has lost touch with her husband. He has become a minor part of her life. Her concerns over her children kind of cast a shadow over everything in her life. Is her son gay? Is her daughter anorexic? Because she is focused on everything else she does not seem to notice her husband is kind of lost himself. When his job situation changes she begins to realize just how far they have drifted. In steps the survey. Randomly picked to take part in a survey on marriage she becomes Wife 22. Her answers give us insight into what brought her and her husband together in the first place and how years of marriage and children can change our views. When the person assigned to Wife 22 starts to step outside of the study the story began to become unbelievable. Overall I felt finishing this book was more a labor than a joy. .

This book started off very slowly for me and I had a hard time really getting into the story. Lots of characters and new places. Once it had my interest I enjoyed it and found the in depth history interesting.

I received a copy of Folly Beach to review. I had never read anything by Dorothea Benton Frank before but was familiar with her Lowcountry Tales series.
When the book began I had a difficult time following the story line since it jumps back and forth between scenes from a play set during the Charleston Renaissance and the present. Once I got the hang of that I enjoyed the story. I was totally unfamiliar with the Charleston Renaissance and learned quite a bit about that time which I enjoyed. I will certainly look into the history of the Charleston Renaissance before my next trip there.
The present day story opens at the funeral of Cate’s husband. As details of their relationship are revealed it became apparent this was not a great relationship and her husband had been hiding a lot from his family. I found her total lack of awareness a bit unbelievable but soon grew to like her. The story was decent and overall I enjoyed the book mostly because of the history more than the story itself.