When her sister Faye's dreams of marrying her childhood sweetheart are cut short by a violent rape and a botched abortion, Louise Parker flees to London, where she discovers the truth about her sister's tragedy. 35,000 first printing. $35,000 ad/promo.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
On a grand scale but to uneven effect, Allen ( Painted Lives ) tells of two sisters and their travails, tragedies and triumphs. Quiet and frail Faye and charmingly spirited Louise grow up in Toronto in the 1940s and '50s, blamed by their bitter mother for her imperfect life. With the help of their grandmother, the teenage girls escape their mother's mental and physical abuse and move into a place of their own, seeming none the worse for their experiences, although closer than most sisters. When Faye dies of a botched abortion after being raped, 18-year-old Louise moves to London in order to flee her memories. There she creates a new life, making friends and starting a public relations business. But to find--and accept--happiness and love, Louise must journey back to her roots and answer questions raised by Faye's death. The first part of this ambitious novel, describing the girls' childhood, is repetitious, the action attenuated and Faye's characterization one-dimensional. But the pace picks up when Louise moves to London, and her touching, brave search for self-knowledge is both stirring and satisfying. 50,000 first printing; major ad/promo; BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Allen's 27th novel details the generally unremarkable lives of two Canadian sisters, from their miserable Toronto childhood to one sibling's success in London as the owner of a chain of copy shops: a ho-hum Cinderella tale in which the bad guys may be repulsive, but the good guys are fatally dull. Since her early 20s, when her husband abandoned her with two young children to raise, Maggie--Faye and Louise Parker's beautiful mother--has hated men. Depending for emotional gratification on sporadic trysts with her boss at the Toronto umbrella factory where she works, Maggie works out the rest of her frustration by verbally and physically abusing her intelligent, well-behaved daughters. Still, Faye and Louise manage to hang onto their self-respect until their teen years, when, as Maggie takes up a more lucrative career as a call girl, the sisters flee to the welcoming arms of their saintly grandmother. Unfortunately, though, the rescue proves too late for Faye: the sensitive girl's dreams of a quiet home and family with her longtime boyfriend, Raffie, are forever destroyed when Faye dies of a botched, illegal abortion. Grief-stricken and virtually alone at age 18, Louise strikes out for London to put her miserable past behind her, but finds she can't enjoy her own brighter fate--a close circle of friends, success in business, and the love of a middle-aged obstetrician--until she's solved the mystery of Faye's pregnancy and death, and made peace with the powerful forces in her past. Bland, sensible characters and endless pages of descriptive detail smother the plot's dramatic potential. Leftover dreams, in this case at least, don't make for a satisfying meal. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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More About the Author
Charlotte Vale-Allen was born in Toronto and lived in England from 1961 to 1964 where she worked as a television actress and singer. She returned to Toronto briefly, performing as a singer until she emigrated to the US in 1966. She sold her first novel Love Life in 1974. Prior to this book's publication she contracted to do a series of paperback originals, with the result that in 1976 three of her books appeared in print. Her autobiography, the acclaimed Daddy's Girl, was actually the first book she wrote but it wasn't until 1980, after she'd gained success as a novelist, that the groundbreaking book was finally published. One of Canada's most successful novelists, with over seven million copies sold of her 39 books, Ms. Allen's work has been published in all English-speaking countries, in Braille, and have been translated into more than 20 languages. The mother of an adult daughter and grandmother of twins, since 1970 she has made her home in Connecticut.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Leftover Dreams (Paperback)
It's always amazing how nasty the reviewers from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly can be. This book's characters are anything but bland. There's a remarkable cast of truly well-rounded characters, with the lives of each investigated thoroughly. At the heart of the story, Louise Parker is clever and determined, funny and lovable; shattered by the inexplicable death of her sister, she leaves her birthplace, Toronto, to start her life again in London. As always, Allen offers great insights into the whys of her characters, particularly the hateful Maggie, mother of Louise and the ill-fated Faye. Despite its length, this is a book that keeps the reader enthralled from start to finish, as we follow Maggie, her daughters, and her mother for a decade or so--their highs and lows, their joys and sorrows. Particularly wonderful is Allen's use of films as a consolation and soporfic for the tragically vulnerable Faye. There is always something cinematic (visual) about Allen's writing; she manages to create very vivid images for the reader--memorable scenes that stay with one long after the book is done. This is a must-read novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent story of emotionally abused sisters!,
By
This review is from: Leftover Dreams (Hardcover)
Maggie (the mother from hell) vents her anger, bitterness and rage at life on her two daughters, Faye and Louise. This is a great story on the power of sisterly love and overcoming an abusive childhood. I found the characters to be true to life and well rounded. This was a good read that I highly recommend. (Illusions is still my all time favorite of Vale Allen's books!) If you're new to her, be sure to read it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful family saga about overcoming obstacles,
By
This review is from: Leftover Dreams (Paperback)
Faye and Louise Parker's father abandoned the family when the girls were babies - an event that fuels their mother Maggie in all that she does. She sleeps with her boss Jerry, taunting and believing her power over him is part of her revenge at her husband. She ostracizes her widowed mother Ellen, and worst of all, Maggie lashes out at her girls, both physically and emotionally. In her mind, they can do nothing right, simply because they are John Parker's daughters.But in reality, Faye and Louise are beautiful people, inside and out. Sixteen months apart, the sisters are smart and good-natured. Shy, introspective Faye and outspoken Louise are long accustomed to supporting and protecting one another, both against their mother and the world as a whole. Thankfully, they also have their grandmother Ellen - as befuddled by Maggie as they - to turn to. This quietly moving story follows the Parker family over several decades, taking readers through Faye and Louise's childhood, adolescence and young adulthood; Maggie's self-inflicted, oblivious downward spiral; and Ellen's attempts at happiness with her new husband Bob. The sisters' childhood friend Raffie DiStasio quickly becomes close to Faye as the two mature, and although still young, the two dream of the life they will one day have together. As Maggie's behavior grows more horrific, Faye and Louise plan their escape. But their triumph is short-lived as tragedy strikes, and nothing is again the same. This novel - much in the style of Anne Tyler - is at once quiet and slow-moving as well as powerful and meaningful. Allen's skill at fleshing out her characters makes readers care and want the best for them. Also, her talent for introducing minor characters, then having them resurface in a main character's life in a big way makes for a more interesting and tightly-woven story.
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