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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Multifaceted story about a woman making a new life for herself, February 12, 2009
This review is from: The Laws of Harmony: A Novel (Paperback)
I've read all three of Hendrick's previous books, and have a special fondness for one of them, her first novel Bread Alone. Bread Alone is the story of a woman in an unhappy marriage who moves away and makes a new life for herself. The thing I remember most about this book is the fact that the main character bakes bread, oh does she bake bread! By the end of the book, I was so seduced by Hendrick's descriptions of yeast and kneading and rising, that I baked my own bread.
Hendrick's latest novel, The Laws of Harmony, is similar to Bread Alone in some ways: the main character also leaves her life to begin again and she is also a cook.
Sunny Cooper grew up on a commune in New Mexico and as soon as she is an adult she does everything in her power to leave her past behind. She attends college, supports herself, and eventually moves in with her boyfriend Michael. She is looking for a 'normal' life, but events will dictate otherwise. Sunny receives news that Michael has died in a car accident; soon after her home is broken into. Sunny's life is shattered, she realizes that Michael's job was not what it seemed and she is in danger. Sunny sells everything and moves to San Miguel Island, one of the Channel Islands. There she begins again, finding a home, job and new friendships. Several surprise discoveries turn Sunny's life upside down yet again, and she struggles to maintain equilibrium and mend the troubled relationship with her mother whom she left on the commune.
I enjoyed reading The Laws of Harmony, it's an easy read and I found that the 478 pages flew by. There's a lot going on in this book and Hendrick's does a good job of pulling it all together. As I was nearing the end of this book, I suddenly realized there was no way Hendrick's was going to tie up all the loose ends in this novel. On the one hand, this leaves things open for a sequel, which I would probably read, on the other hand, after 478 pages, I would have liked a little bit more closure - it's the sort of thing where you sort of know what is going to happen and I would have liked to read about it, rather than imagine it. That just might be my own preference.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What I know for sure about Hendricks' novels & I've read them all, March 7, 2009
This review is from: The Laws of Harmony: A Novel (Paperback)
is they always make me laugh out loud, shed a few tears and learn something new (baking, fiber art, riding a Harley, voice over talent).
To say nothing of giving me the shivers with her elegant prose or making my mouth water with descriptions of meals that are as luscious as the satisfying story she always serves up.
This time she takes us to New Mexico and the Pacific Northwest with Sunny Cooper, a woman traveling back and forth from her present to her past, a protagonist as funny and feisty and flawed as a reader could hope for.
Like other novelists I love (Elizabeth Berg, Barbara Kingsolver) Hendricks never disappoints. The pleasure of reading The Laws of Harmony is a sure thing in these uncertain times. Treat yourself.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Start of a series?, February 15, 2009
This review is from: The Laws of Harmony: A Novel (Paperback)
Sunny Cooper is one of those characters so real and flawed, so tough and tender, that I feel as if I could have her as a neighbor, and would like to share coffee with her, or better yet, some of those blackberry brownies! Her life hasn't been easy, and much of that hasn't been up to her, rather her circumstances were dictated by her parents's choices, one of which was to bring their kids up on a commune in northern New Mexico. I'd never really thought of how that must have been for the children of the hippies until reading this book. Sunny has every reason to feel bitter, but she's a fighter, and she goes after happiness the same way a boxer gets up after being knocked down.
One of Hendricks's strengths as a writer is the ability to create a fictional world that is so solid and layered, so filled with characters that are flawed and human, that she leaves you hoping for a sequel. This book is exactly like that. The details that make a story come to life are here, from the plants she grows to the jobs she juggles to the island dog everyone knows. If you're looking for a beach read, this isn't your book. This is a story that is so real it makes you cheer. I suggest you buy two copies so that when you lend yours to a friend, and she doesn't give it back, you still have the book to enjoy reading for a second, third or fourth time. Loved it and looking forward to her next book.
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