Customer Reviews

The House on Olive Street

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book opens rather ominously with the death of fifty-year-old Gabby, a writer whose life is closely intertwined with that of four other women, all of them successful writers, and all of them with dark little secrets begging to be revealed. Their grim task, as outlined in a letter Gabby leaves behind for close friend Eleanor, is for Elly to go through Gabby's papers, personal documents, unpublished manuscripts, etc., and deal with it all. As Elly enlists the help of the other three women and they settle down to fulfill their late friend's final request, they begin sharing parts of their lives that have remained hidden through all their years of friendship.

The four women are wonderfully human, non-cardboard characters who deal with the little - and sometimes big - struggles of life and find succor and support in one another.

We have Barbara Ann, the midlist romance writer who seems to be the one on top of it all - happy family, book after book hitting the shelves - and who is, in fact, about to explode from frustration. While Barbara Ann simmers, Sable Tennet is discovering life without make-up. This polished woman (think Danielle Steel's career and Sable the Wrestler's looks) finds that she can live in sweats and knit shorts, walk around barefoot and not lose face in front of her friends. Meanwhile, mystery writer Beth finds her writing to be the only refuge from her abusive pig of a husband, until the strength of the other women begins to slowly seep through her. Last but not least, intellectual Elly, the academic writer who hates children, is tired and afraid of continuing her life as she has lived it for years - keeping everyone at a distance.

As summer progresses, the women begin facing their inner demons; Beth, the youngest and shyest of the four women, makes a decision but keeps the reader guessing as to whether she will go back on her word. For Sable, it's facing the ghosts, coming to terms with events from nearly twenty years ago and setting free the girl she once was. While Barbara Ann makes a drastic change in her life after she ends up in jail because of her inconsiderate, slovenly family, no one expects dry spinster Elly to change much, and in the end, her story is all the sweeter for it. Gabby's house gets a little more cramped with the arrival of her mother, Ceola, with eight husbands to her name and a knack for manipulating the four women into catering to her every need. Four healthy women are not enough to contend with Ceola's softly voiced demands and she ends up staying, and becoming part and parcel of the group.

There is also work to be done, however, and while contracts are drawn and manuscripts resuscitated, a single masterpiece emerges: Gabby's own love story, told in a book that will be fiction to everyone else, but to the friends, it will provide the final chapter to the story they only knew bits and pieces of.

I liked this book - a lot. While the ending might seem rather tidy considering how real each woman's set of problems was, it is not totally unrealistic. Each of them has changed for the better, but has not lost what made her unique in the process. While Fiction rather than Romance is still not my "thing," I will make an exception in the case of author Carr, and will definitely check out her next book

So often, one opens the new novels written by members of that small and exclusive club of best-selling authors, and the entire book is nothing more than re-cycled garbage. Maybe the garbage once was fresh and new, but after the umpteenth airing, there's nothing to recommend it. Still, these writers have become brand names, so their publishers give each of their new books the big send-off with the requisite advertising budget and a publicity tour. And faithful readers buy these books without hesitation.

Then, one stumbles upon a gem, a little perfect gem. THE HOUSE ON OLIVE STREET is just such a gem. Its author deserves the book tour, the big ad budget. Instead, this book simply will have to make its own way on the paperback racks. That's fair neither to Robyn Carr, who wrote HOUSE, nor to the legion of women who look forward to reading good fiction and who should be assisted in finding her novel more easily.

This novel has all the elements: A half-dozen complex characters, real and well-drawn, multiple plots, lively prose. The underlying subtext is about values and about love. None of the storylines descend to cliche. Unlike many similar novels, the ending is not entirely predictable, either, much to Ms. Carr's credit.

The thread that weaves HOUSE together is a writers' group, with some of the members single, some married, some childless, some with large broods, each of whom writes a different kind of book and all of whom support and nurture the others through every kind of crisis.

THE HOUSE ON OLIVE STREET deserves a big success. Read it, you'll like it.

I've enjoyed all of Robyn Carr's romances, but approached this with a bit of caution since it's more women's fiction. I should have had more faith in Carr's talent. This is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in months, filled with beautifully constructed characters, relationships, emotion, and humor. (Poor Barbara Ann with her testosterone-ridden household of five hulking males was as funny as she was poignant.) The insights into different aspects of writers' lives were also dead on. I hope we see many, many more equally fine women's fiction novels from Ms. Carr.

Ms. Carr's THE HOUSE ON OLIVE STREET is that good. It has been quite a while since I've had the joy of reading such a satisfying book. Ms. Carr's characters became my friends; I laughed, cried, and shouted in triumph with them as each grew and experienced events that I could relate to, both as a struggling writer and simply as a person. Be prepared to put down everything else while you read; my world stopped while I experienced the lives of these remarkable women--Beth, Elly, Sable and Barbara Ann, and their families. Thank you, Robyn, for a terrific read! This book is beautiful.

This book dealing about women in a writers' critique group is not only a wonderful book about women's friendships but also gives some insight into the world of writers. We meet Sable, a bestselling author of romance novels who has a past she is reluctant to reveal but comes back to haunt her when a tabloid reporter tries to dig up dirt on her; Ellie, a professor, nonfiction writer, and book reviewer who hides a private romance with a man she's embarrassed to introduce to her friends; Barbara Ann, a prolific author of category romances who wants to break out into single title books but whose life taking care of a husband and four young adult sons is standing in her way; Beth, a popular mystery author whose books are her outlet for dealing with an abusive husband; and posthumously we meet Gabby, an author whose books have never been bestsellers in part due to an editor who wasn't really committed to her. The women gather together after Gabby's death in order to organize her personal papers, and all for one reason or another end up spending the summer in Gabby's home together. This is a terrific read and I can only hope it gets the audience it deserves. Brava Ms. Carr!

Brilliant set-up--4 friends get together to finish the novel of their friend who died. This is by turns side-splittingly funny and heartbreaking. Each woman is someone you know well--the bestselling star novelist, the struggling paperback romance writer/underappreciated housewife.... They leap off the page. Pure entertainment in scene after scene. Can't wait to read her other books.

I knew this book was something special when, less than a third of the way through, I found myself thinking about the characters as I was driving around town, thinking about their problems and how I would like to help them solve them as if I were a friend of theirs. The women in this novel are so well-written, so multi-dimensional, you feel as if you've known them for a long time. Each of them has strengths and weaknesses, enjoys grand sucesses and suffers indignities large and small; but what is especially well done is we see how their problems result not only from outside sources but from their own personal faults and idiosyncracies, and this makes the solutions they struggle to find so much more real and riveting. Although the women in this book are all, to a greater or lesser extent, sucessful writers, their story is something anyone can relate to. I recommend this book to all my friends--as an opportunity to make some new, literary ones.

In Sacramento, California, four members of a writing group arrive at the home of the fifth participant to celebrate the author's fiftieth birthday. However, a shocked Barbara Ann, Beth, Elly, and Sable find Gabby dead from natural causes. The loss of a beloved friend devastates each of them.

Gabby leaves behind a note for Elly. She asks the writer to organize her personal papers with the help of the others in the group. friends. Each one of the women has their own reason to honor Gabby's last request. Romance writer Barbara Ann finds her personal life with a spouse and four kids out of control now that Gabby is no longer her sanity anchor. Mystery writer Beth hides an abusive relationship. Only her novels and Gabby helped her to contend with the difficulties. Elly lost her best friend and fears the loneliness that engulfs her. Best-selling superstar Sable hides her less than glamorous past that Gabby knew, loved, and encouraged her to reveal to the world. The inheritance that Gabby has given them is a chance to renew their lives to the fullest.

THE HOUSE ON OLIVE STREET may be the relationship drama of 1999. The story line focuses on the writers and several secondary characters reexamining their lives after the individual serving as their focal point dies. The characters seem genuine and their motives touching. Readers perceive Gabby through the eyes of much of the ensemble cast. That adds a haunting and poignant feel to the plot. Robyn Carr shows her skills as she brilliantly juggles the subplots and traits of her characters into a consistent and entertaining novel that deserves best seller status and critical acclaim.

Harriet Klausner

I just finished reading this book for the second time (and for me, that's saying a LOT)! It's just wonderful, well written. I was so absorbed with the story and the characters, it was as if I was there with them. Crying with them, rooting for them, laughing with them. The story was very believable and showed how women can empower themselves and each other. This was not sappy, or soap opera-y though. Just great women's fiction. If you like this, I'd suggest Five Fortunes by Beth Gutcheon, another wonderful women's fiction story.

Honestly, I had a difficult time getting into the book for the first few chapters, but suddenly I was hooked and by the middle of the book I couldn't put it down. The characters are all so complex and you find yourself really pulling for them all. Like other Robyn Carr books, I find that The House on Olive Street gives a well-rounded picture of many different characters and their lives. It is not just centered on one or two major players. Definitely recommend.