A Cure for Dreams [Hardcover]

Kaye Gibbons (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 1991

A story that traces the bonds between four generations of resourceful Southern women through stories passed from one generation to another.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Further enchancing her reputation as a chronicler of small-town life in the South, Gibbons ( Ellen Foster ) limns an engaging portrait of a possessive mother and her obedient daughter as the foreground of a larger canvas depicting women's roles in a society bound by tradition, convention and poverty. Deliberately old-fashioned in prose style, down to the chapter headings reminiscent of 19th-century novels, this slim volume is narrated by Betty Randolph, who tells of her domineering mother's life: how she rejected her husband after Betty was born and was relieved to be left a young widow and the "queen bee" of the community; how mother and daughter became inseparable, until Betty was in her 20s and suddenly realized she was on her way to spinsterhood. The plot is a series of loosely connected vignettes, enlivened by Betty's tart comments and the pithy aphorisms of plain country folk (of an officious woman, Betty says, "I'm sure when she died and entered heaven she asked to see the upstairs"). Gibbons conveys the atmosphere of the Depression and World War II with frequent comments about Presidents Hoover and FDR, and such period detail as the birth of the Dionne quintuplets. Though entertaining, the novel is short on suspense, however; one of the few instances of narrative tension turns on the question of why Betty's suitor has blue lips.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This episodic novel, Gibbons's third, is set during the Depression in back-country Virginia and Kentucky. In 19 vignettes, Betty Davies Randolph reveals her childhood and her mother's life along Milk Farm Road. Gibbons, winner of several literary awards for her first novel Ellen Foster ( LJ 4/15/87), has captured magnificently the dailiness and sense of community of rural life--from midwives and WPA ballads to suicides and men gone wild. Southern, and full of the folk wisdom of generations, Gibbons's voice reveals life's truths: "Listen and hear what men call their wives. . . . It's easier without a mother at a borning. . . . The ears are the most important parts of a baby." Times are tough--Betty's father kills himself and is found upside down on his head in the river with "rocks on either side, like bookends"--but the women are amazingly resilient; they help each other survive. As an old woman, Betty dies in "her chair talking, chattering like a string-pull doll," but the reader is assured that the storytelling will go on through her daughter and "the sounds of the women talking." Recommended.
- Doris Lynch, Oakland P.L . , Cal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 182 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1st edition (January 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945575335
• ISBN-13: 978-0945575337
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,186,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a South I never knew, November 2, 2001

By 

Porter Crane (Wokingham, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cure for Dreams (Paperback)

Kaye Gibbons' books all focus on a South that I have never known. That said, I love this place that she creates. It is a bit of old-school South, in that it seems like bad things are just bubbling under the surface, waiting to burst free. This is the same world that Faulkner, Dickey, and Welty inhabit. A world where human passions are often dark and where salvation is often not forthcoming. But unlike the others, Gibbons's character's are frequently rescued from the pit by their relationships with family. All of her books have a bittersweet poignancy that will leave you feeling tearful and introspective, but not depressed. I have enjoyed all of her books.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful style..., December 22, 2000

By 

Matthew Turner - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Cure for Dreams (Paperback)

I found this novel to be perfect for the person who wants to get his or her mind off of things. A CURE FOR DREAMS travels through several generations in the American south, allowing us into the lives of an interestingly eccentric family. The language used in the books, the ways the words flow, if pure genius. Gibbons has done it again.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Sweet Little Story (and a One Day Read), October 28, 2004

By 

Rebecca Kinson (Fredericksburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Cure for Dreams (Paperback)

"A Cure for Dreams" is the story of a mother's life, as told to her daughter. The characters are lovable and the story moves quickly. There is no actual plot or finale; it's more like a chat session between mothers and daughters.

Though not as noteworthy as "Ellen Foster," this book is enjoyable and I highly recommend it. It's a small book, and due to the interesting dialogue, most readers will keep turning pages and finish on the same day they started.