13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes! The Covington Ladies Return!, October 14, 2004
Joy upon joy! They are here again! I cannot even begin to explain how happy I was to see this book. Grace, Hannah, and Amelia step gracefully back into our lives with this fifth installment of the Covington series. Our Ladies are now aging a bit, but that is part of what makes the Covington stories so realistic. It allows us to identify with The Ladies more as old friends than as characters in a novel. Amelia, the youngest of the trio, is now 70-years old. Grace, our loving grandmother figure, is 71-years old, and Hannah, the most robust of the three, is 75-years old. If you read the first book of this series, you will surely remember that they ran away from a nursing home to establish a life with each other in Covington. Hey, that is true intestinal fortitude!
As the story begins, Charles (Grace's son Roger's longtime companion) has recently died from AIDS. The graveside funeral service is being held in December with the Ladies and a small party of mourners in attendance. Although most of their friends and neighbors had not really known Charles, they gathered at the graveside out of love and respect for Grace.
Joan Medlicott's descriptive first lines set the scene:
"The wind moaned as it skirted the white clapboard wall of Cove Road Church and snaked between the headstones in the small cemetery, tweaking women's coats and burrowing with stealthy fingers between men's gloves and wrists."
Hannah Parrish's friend, Max, is pressing her to set a wedding date. This would be a marriage between friends for convenience only, and something about that rubs our Hannah the wrong way. Then, unexpectedly, Hannah received a mysterious diary from her past in the mail. This diary's contents have the power to turn Hannah's life upside down. It was written by a woman whose husband had been madly in love with Hannah many years ago, and with whom Hannah had a lengthy affair. Hannah had not realized that the wife even knew about the long ago affair, and her heart is tortured by the woman's entries in that diary.
Amelia senses unease among the Ladies, and suggests that they all take an exotic Caribbean cruise to raise their spirits. She has brochures at the ready, and the Ladies finally agree. What an amazing time the three ladies had on their cruise can best be explained by saying that it was everything they had dreamed it would be, and more, as each of our Ladies indulged in her favorite shipboard pastime - dancing, gambling, and introspection.
Upon returning from their cruise, the Ladies have wonderful adventures to tell, but there is a conflict brewing between Amelia and Hannah that has the ability to dissolve their living arrangements and disrupt their long-standing friendships.
This book is filled with everyday life, as it weaves itself around family members and the problems that are faced by young and old alike. For instance, Grace learns more than she wants to know about modern dangers, as her young protégé, Lucy, becomes the victim of an Internet predator at her middle school. Of course, our Ladies and their friends all rally to Lucy's rescue. When Grace continues to ignore her diet, she lands in the hospital and comes to realize that she must accept the reality of her diabetes and face that problem head on. Then we have Amelia, who must contend with jealousy as Roger begins to monopolize the time of her young photography companion. Finally, new happiness enters the Ladies' lives when Hannah's pregnant daughter has a beautiful baby boy, giving them all cause to rejoice as this child becomes part of their extended family. Then, when Hannah learns to accept her past for what it was, she is able to set a wedding date with Max.
Joan Medlicott is masterful with the art of creative writing. Her timely use of metaphors, similes, and personification enhances the reader's enjoyment of her stories. These tools deliver startlingly clear images to the reader, thereby making the text more enjoyable and comprehensible. Mental images can often transport readers to a place where they can grasp what the author's message truly is and more readily identify with the story's characters. This is Ms. Medlicott's forté.
*****At Home in Covington is very highly recommended reading. This book is not only for those people who like what some refer to as a "gentle read" (oh, how those words annoy me), but also for the many people who simply enjoy good literature and fascinating stories about human nature in everyday life. At Home in Covington, like the complete Covington Series, is a winner!*****
Reviewed by Ruth Wilson for Huntress Reviews.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fine Covington tale, July 15, 2004
Roger Singleton sadly calls his mother Grace to inform her that his long time companion Charles is dying. Grace always liked the kind Charles and immediately flies up from North Carolina to Pennsylvania to help her son cope and to say her good byes to his nice soul mate. He tells Mother Singleton to watch over her son, as he is worried about how Roger will be once he is gone.
When Charles dies, Grace's companion Bob Richardson and her two pals Amelia DeClose and Hannah Parrish arrive for the funeral. Grace has her own health problems as she suffers from diabetes, but as a southerner who loves sweet tea, only sugar counts. Hannah receives an old diary that provides her information about her deceased beloved Dan. Amelia suggests they need to get away and recommends a cruise to the Virgin Islands, which they do and enjoy. Now they must return to their home to get on with their lives.
The latest entry in the Covington series is a fine tale starring wonderful protagonists struggling with mortality that hits home to the three geriatric friends, but especially Grace. The story line reads like a gentle summer breeze in spite of the final days of the pleasant loving Charles. Fans of the series will enjoy this comforting tale that provides solace for those who do not need any action inside a placid story line.
Harriet Klausner
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