The author of Blood Tie, winner of the National Book Award, traces the life of a courageous Southern woman, a child of privilege who fights for labor rights during the Depression and civil rights during the sixties. Tour.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Written with urgency, conviction and grace, this keenly observed story of one woman's passage through the storms of the 20th century is Settle's best book since the novels in the Beulah Quintet. Her protagonist, born Melinda Mason Kregg in the early 1900s into a genteel, wealthy Richmond family, is a frivolous society deb until her father's death shocks her into social activism. Now the widowed Lady Dunston, at 83 she lies dying at her villa on an island off Italy, reflecting on her life. The first time Melinda makes a choice about the direction of her life is in 1931, when she joins the Red Cross and is sent to Harlan, Ky., where striking coal miners are being starved and brutalized by greedy mine owners. In Spain, she drives an ambulance through the carnage of the Civil War and experiences the futility of idealism when the major nations of the world cynically support Franco. In England, she endures the privation and danger of WWII, while her physician husband, also a veteran of the International Brigade, literally works himself to death. Back in America, she is drawn into the racial unrest of her native South through the heroism of the youthful freedom riders. Melinda's commitment to humanitarian principles and social justice is a gradual process; it's decency of character and a sensitive conscience that force her to eschew the safe, conventional path and take the harder road. Settle textures her narrative with a remarkable knowledge of period detail and an artist's eye for scenes that become emblazoned on the mind: desperate miners' families meeting in a church; a mass of Spanish refugees being strafed by Franco's airplanes; a London neighborhood destroyed by a V-2 bomb; a trio of polite Southerners preparing to lynch a white youth who has "betrayed" their side. Distilling the essence of some of our century's most pressing political and social issues, she humanizes them through complex, appealing characters. The theme is larger than one woman's life, but it's animated and made memorable by that very conjunction of the personal with the tides of historical events. This is a solid literary novel with sure sales potential. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Southern belle Melinda rejects gentility for a life of commitment. From the author of the National Book Award Winner Blood Ties (LJ 8/77).
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling story by a veteran author but new to me.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Choices (Paperback)
Choices was a holiday gift to me in 1996 and I was surprised to discover a Southern writer who had written so many books that I'd not heard of. Then, once I read Choices, I was really amazed that I'd missed a writer of such quality with such a compelling story to tell. Because my books circulate to family and friends, this copy of Choices has been dropped in the ocean or bathtub or both and now bears a fair amount of tape.But it's battered condition shows the number of folks that have enjoyed it; each exclaims that this is such a good book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous Surprise!,
By Chrissy "Chrissy" (Redmond) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Choices (Paperback)
I picked up this book in the bargain bin at a book store. What a wonderful story!! It thoroughly involved me in the facinating life of this gutsy and adventurous heroine, capturing 60ish years of world events through her eyes. She begins as a privileged and naive 20 year old, in the twenties, roaring off to help the red cross in the coal mines of the south. What she experiences there turns her into a true humanitarian. This leads her on to Spain during a revolution and many other adventures. The characters are well developed and very likable. I have read most of the best sellers this year and this stands out as one of the best!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most moving novel I have read this year.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Choices (Hardcover)
*Choices* is exquisitely written, epic in scope yet deeplypersonal. I found myself completely caught up in it.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
ON THE TWENTY-SIX of September 1931, Melinda was finally ready to go to Kentucky. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
gun thugs, been strafed, mine guards Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Uncle Brandon, Aunt Maymay, Nurse Gordon, New York, Señora Zuda, Straight Creek, World War, Continental Hotel, Kregg's Crossing, Labour Party, Grandma Haycroft, Grandmother Mason, Lady Dunston, Sister Grafton, Michael's Square, National Health, Theodore Dreiser, Viva la República, Baton Rouge, International Brigades, Magnolia House, Mother Benedicta, Anton Chekhov, Cristo Rey, Hyde Park New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
ON THE TWENTY-SIX of September 1931, Melinda was finally ready to go to Kentucky. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
gun thugs, been strafed, mine guards Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Uncle Brandon, Aunt Maymay, Nurse Gordon, New York, Señora Zuda, Straight Creek, World War, Continental Hotel, Kregg's Crossing, Labour Party, Grandma Haycroft, Grandmother Mason, Lady Dunston, Sister Grafton, Michael's Square, National Health, Theodore Dreiser, Viva la República, Baton Rouge, International Brigades, Magnolia House, Mother Benedicta, Anton Chekhov, Cristo Rey, Hyde Park New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 30
books:
See all 30 books this book cites
- Merry Men by Carolyn Chute in Back Matter
- The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Carolyn Chute in Back Matter
- Ugly Ways by Tina McElroy Ansa in Back Matter
- Rootie Kazootie (Harvest Book) by Lawrence Naumoff in Back Matter
- ALL THE BRAVE PROMISES by Mary Lee Settle in Front Matter
See all 30 books this book cites
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