Customer Reviews

The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed The Ladies of Covington Send their Love, which is the story of three women over 65 who are redefining their lives, starting careers, and falling in love. These women--Hannah, Grace, and Amelia--offer a dynamic vision of growing older. When Amelia inherits a rundown farmhouse in rural North Carolina, the women pool their resourses and move from a dismal boarding house to the tiny hamlet of Covington. Consequently, friendships are tested, survive, and grow stronger. As each woman is confronted with possibilities, she must review the habits and limiting beliefs of a lifetime. Joan Medlicott makes no attempt to mitigate the challenges the women face as they strive to make a home together. A comforting sense of extended family comes into play as their tolerance and ability to accept one another is tested--by loneliness, anger, jealousy, joy, and satisfaction. Ultimately, the support system they provide one another is to be envied. I thank Ms. Medlicott for introducing me to these three wonderful and wise older women, all of whom I fell in love with. I look forward to reading more by this exciting author!

We always tend to think that after a certain age, you have stopped living. Not so in this book. Here you have a group of ladies who after living in a dismal "old ladies" boarding house, that they CAN start over and improve their lot. I am looking forward to the sequel. Only thing I didn't like about this book is that one of the ladies kept going off and getting lost.(She did it twice)Other than that, I enjoyed reading that.

When I started reading this book, I did not realize what a treat I was getting into. It is about three elderly women living in an ugly boarding house, sort of waiting until their time is up but not interacting very much. But suddenly one of them is left a run down house and some money down south. They decide to go down to see it and decide to use that money to fix up the house and literally start new and more useful and energetic lives.... they literally come alive again. It was most heartening and not boring at all. I cannot wait for the author to write another book since this one was her first. I recommend to all women especially those of us in "the best years of our lives".

The three ladies in this story share a dislike of a controlling landlady, so when one inherits a property in Covington, they pool their resources, renovate the property and move in to build a new life. Each lady has a distinct personality and set of worrying problems to work through with or without the help of the others.

On one level, that of entertainment, the book rates higher than 3 stars. But I lost interest in it about halfway through -- I did read the whole thing -- because it was too predictable and the characters lost credibility.

It's a rare book today where women don't express their independence by going along with society's contemporary views of morality. These women do exactly that -- and much too easily for women of their time and place. I wondered if this is really the way Medlicott wrote the book or if a lot of it wasn't changed by suggestions from a younger editor. I can just see the argument: "Modern readers won't accept..."

Don't get me wrong, now, the characters do struggle, but with the wrong problems. They agonize over trivialities. I'm of this generation of women as are most of my friends, and we're Southerners, too. This just doesn't ring true.

Joan Medlicott and Jan Karon must be America's answer to Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy. However, Pilcher's books are spectacular in their warmth and sensitivity. They celebrate independent women who unashamedly value home life and family. She seems to have found the balance that eludes the others.

It's The Golden Girls without Sophia...it's Rosamund Pilcher by way of Miss Read. If you love the close bond shared by TVs Golden Girls, and you love the stories and daily-life details by Pilcher and Miss Read that sweep you up in their fascinating stories, then you'll love The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love. Relaxing, fun, and NICE to read. Loved it.

I enjoyed this book, although I was frustrated enough to toss it several times. WHERE WAS THE EDITOR? When you pay $25 for a hardback book, you expect the author to know: that Tom and Jerry are cartoon characters, Ben and Jerry make ice cream (really, see for yourself at the end of chapter 7), the difference between role and roll when talking about film (she uses role)... I could go on and on. I hope these mistakes will be fixed before the paperback because they really take attention away from an otherwise good book. It's about three women in their "senior" years who, united at a less-than-pleasant boarding house, take an opportunity to renovate and move into a home in Covington, North Carolina. Together, they face demons that have been following them. One is afraid to face her fears and learns to have confidence in herself. One believes herself to be plain and simple and finds love, and one finds passion in the simple things, like growing fruits and vegetables. It's an inspiring story about three women at an age when they're expected to knit and "grow old gracefully" learning new lessons about life and themselves.

This first book was interesting and introduces most of the characters for future stories. I did not read it first, and that would be preferable. Did not think the incidents were as compeling as later stories.

I'd like to meet all the Ladies of Covington....particularly Hannah and Grace. Amelia is a bit weak but fits into the picture. The "ladies" meet all sorts of "life issues"....old fears, re-live past sorrows, past failures...and through sharing it all...come through with flying colors. Granted I'm about the age of Hannah, Grace and Amelia so I could really relate to their foibles and successes and how they approached a situation.They may all three be a little "sugar=-coated" but reading this book will give you a real lift...although....beware....a few tears may fall too. Enjoy...but don't think you've got it figured out...there are lots of surprises.

I was so ready for a book I could be swept away in and I found it in The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love! This was a comfortable, delightful read from the first page - reminded me of reading The Mitford Series. I feel I have known these women, I want to be with these women, and someday, I want to be one of these women. Such a fresh approach to the latter years of life! Young in spirit if not in body. A wonderful reminder of the role my women friends play in my life. Thank you Joan Medlicott for this refreshing book. I am waiting for you to write for us again!

The ladies of Covington are three women who have found themselves in the same boarding and are facing living out their lives there. Through a twist and an unknown family member, one woman comes into possession of an old house in the small town of Covington, KY. Each woman takes a step away from the past to strike out and move into this old house and reclaim their lives. Family relationships are tested, mended and revealed. Each woman has the opportunity to discover some deeper truth within her. The writing is delightful and descriptive, and the portraits of each woman are tender and well thought out. The supporting people are also a good mix of personalities. This was a very soothing and affirming book to read