29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Jewel in Siddons Crown., October 29, 2001
This review is from: Colony (Mass Market Paperback)
That is the way a friend described this book to me and I have to admit it is certainly a diamond among the stones. This is an author who takes you to the place that lies deep between the pages or soul of her book. The main character is reflective and strong with undiminished courage. Maude is one of the most memorable characters I have ever come across.
The book begins as she arrives at Retreat, also know as The Colony, her in-law's summer home in Maine. A staunch and uppity "Blue Blood", the matriarch Mother Hannah, is not quick to take to a southern belle of the French persuasion. Maude with her husband Peter by her side, is going to show these Bostonians her strength for decades to come.
The book covers nearly 70 years of her life along with the family and friends that grow close to her heart as well as yours. There are times where the author's language is shear poetry. I place this book on my best books of all times list. It's not one to be missed. Kelsana 10/29/01
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Colony is an engaging story of women's relationships., November 9, 1998
This review is from: Colony (Mass Market Paperback)
Colony is the type of book you can't wait to lend to a friend as soon as you've read the last page. That friend, you'll soon discover, cannot return it because it's been passed on to a family member, a colleague, or another friend (you see the cycle). While on vacation last July, I actually sought out the seaside village in Maine where the story takes place. I wanted to find the haven I had visited through Siddons' vibrant description. Her pine trees and salty air couldn't become more vivid by scratching and sniffing the pages.
Siddons' ninth effort details the life of Maude Gascoigne, a Southerner whose story begins upon her wedding engagement to a privileged Bostonian. Maude recounts her passage from a lazy existence in the South Carolina swamplands to a life of summers at Retreat, an old-money colony in Cape Rosier, Maine. The unsophisticated Maude arrives at the blueblood colony as the young fiancee of the socially prominent Peter Chambliss. Peter soon marries the olive-skinned, French- blooded Maude, defying his mother, the venerable Hannah Chambliss.
Maude joins the fair-skinned young brides who spend their vacations serving their mothers-in-law, the pampered matriarchs of the aristocratic enclave. She finds a comrade in Amy Potter, a sister in servitude who educates her in the escapist art of the feigned migraine. As Peter sails, Maude serves -- to fulfill a pre-ordained tradition and sit among the new order of matriarchs, rocking away their payback years on the sun porches.
Through many seasons, Maude faces antagonizing opposition by jealous contemporaries, including a vengeful beauty who failed to capture Peter's heart. In the face of much personal heartache, she eventually earns the hard-won compassion of the friends who see her through children and grandchildren, marital strife, death, separation and renewal. Maude finds an irreplaceable ally in Micah Willis, a salty townie whose similarly humble roots assisted their initial bonding. Micah's rough-hewn strength becomes part of her own backbone, and their deepening affection eventually causes her to explore long-submerged feelings.
Colony is as much about relationships as it is about Maude. As in her earlier Outer Banks, Siddons uses the main character's bird'seye view to breathe life into the supporting characters, infusing dramatic plot turns to enrich Maude's story. Maude and Hannah finally develop a mutual respect, finding common ground through discovering the sturdy stuff of which each is made.
Maude did not spend her summers vying for a seat on the coveted sun porch, but aimed for a peace closer to her soul: the preservation of Retreat's bountiful nature, an enriched family life, and the hard-won respect of the Colony. Upon Hannah's death, Amy acknowledges, "We don't get up for old women any more. We're the ones with porch privileges." "Oh, Amy," a weary Maude responds, "I never wanted to get there."
After a challenging, off-season life in New Hampshire, a widowed Maude eventually finds peace in Retreat, her last oasis of true respite and enduring family tradition. With the help and hindrance of her granddaughter, Darcy, she successfully tugs Retreat from the grasp of an ill-intentioned developer. Siddons leaves us to believe that Darcy will carry on the Retreat tradition, accepting the torch that has been passed to her generation.
I actually found Cape Rosier last summer, after driving as far as the old, Down East roads could take me. I was disappointed that there were no signs for Retreat. The weather-worn cottages dotted the quiet shore, sitting carefully out of site beyond long, winding driveways. I thought how nice it would be to relax on a sun porch, and reread Colony. Then I remembered, I lent it to my sister.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved this book so much!, November 29, 2001
This is one of my all time favorites. A southern woman marries a
wealthy man and spends her summers at Retreat in Maine.
Her mother-in-law makes no secret of the fact that she finds
Maude totally unacceptable as a wife for her son. At Retreat,
Maude learns the older women rule and they do everything they
can to make Retreat perfect for the men. The book spans
70 years as we watch Maude try to fit in and tolerate her
mother in law. Peter, Maude's husband, is a weak man,
but Maude loves him and carries on the tradition of making
the summers perfect for him. The scenery is as much a
character as Maude and the rest of the blue bloods that
populate it. Anne Rivers Siddons is a master at creating
a setting and making us love the people she has created.
I read this book slowly and savored it because I loved
Maude and didn't want to say good-bye. After I finished it,
I didn't immediately begin another book, as is my usual
custom. I spent several days thinking about it and
accepting the fact that I wouldn't be visiting with Maude
any more. I miss her.
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