Liberating Paris: A Novel [Paperback]

Linda Bloodworth Thomason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2005

Woodrow McIlmore is leading the perfect life in Paris, Arkansas: married to his high school sweetheart, he has two wonderful children and a warm circle of family and friends. When Wood's daughter announces that she wants to marry a college classmate, Wood is stunned. But that's just the tip of the iceberg -- her intended is the son of the woman who left Wood twenty years earlier, the free-spirited Duff. And so begins a tumultuous year in Paris, as Duff returns and familiar sparks fly with her old flame. Their rekindled passion affects not only Wood and Duff but also their good friends, as they must now all decide what in their lives is worth keeping and what needs to be thrown away.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The collapse of a marriage comes as a seismic shock to a group of six high school friends now on the verge of middle age in this splendid, often hilarious first novel by television writer and producer Bloodworth Thomason (Designing Women, etc.). Five of the friends still live in unpretentious Paris, Ark.: Wood MacKelmore, the third-generation local doctor ("Wood was to the group what Frank Sinatra was to the Rat Pack"); Milan, Wood's gorgeous wife of 20 years who grew up dirt poor; Wood's close friend Earl Brundidge Jr., who runs the town liquor store and is a single father of two little girls; Mavis Pinkerton, Milan's best friend, an accomplished cook who owns a bakery; and Carl Jeter, a quadriplegic who was injured in a football game at 17 and is now a poet. The sixth member of the group is flamboyant rebel Duff, Wood's first love and Milan's nemesis. Duff moved away after high school, but when Milan's daughter, Elizabeth, comes home from college announcing plans to marry a classmate, Luke Childs, it isn't long before everyone realizes that Luke is Duff's son. Thrown together by their children's engagement, Wood and Duff rekindle their long-ago affair, jeopardizing not only Wood's marriage but also the relationships among their friends. A thicket of sideplots—including the unwelcome arrival of a chain discount megastore, Mavis's quest to find a sperm donor and Brundidge's long-distance romance with a New Yorker—give the novel a rich, layered feel. Poignant, welcoming and warmly funny, this is an irresistible page-turner.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Throughout her career as an award-winning and groundbreaking television producer and writer (M*A*S*H, Designing Women), Thomason has given the world some of TV's most memorable characters. Now she brings her trademark talent for combining humor with humility, intelligence with insouciance, to a sparkling debut novel that chronicles one exceptional year for a circle of longtime friends in Paris, Arkansas. Woodrow MacKelmore has led a charmed existence. The son of the town's beloved doctor, Wood is himself a respected physician married to his high-school sweetheart, Milan, and the father of a beautiful daughter who is about to marry the son of his other high-school sweetheart, Duff. But when the impending nuptials bring Duff and Wood together for the first time in decades, the rekindling of their youthful romance threatens everything Wood holds dear. As a national mega-retailer's new superstore similarly endangers Paris' charming mom-and-pop downtown, Wood and his friends confront the countless new beginnings and harsh endings that seem endemic to middle age. Offering a touching and tender tribute to small-town Arkansas, Thomason excels at creating larger-than-life yet down-to-earth characters, endowing them with endearing flaws, enriching wisdom, and ennobling courage. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 341 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (September 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060596732
• ISBN-13: 978-0060596736
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved every minute of it!!, January 15, 2005

By 

Mercedes L. Johnmeyer "The Most Happy" (Summerville, SC) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Liberating Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

This was such a wonderful book! I fell in love with almost everyone from the sweet little town of Paris, Arkansas right away. Once I picked this book up I wasn't able to put it down. I became hooked pretty much from the get-go.

The story centers around a group of 5 friends. Wood McIlmore, the town doctor, and his socially perfect wife Milan. Mavis...the owner of the local bake shop, Brundidge...who runs the liquor store and is always impeccably dressed...and Jeter, their quadriplegic (due to a football accident in high school) friend who resides at the nursing home.

As Ms. Thomason takes us deeper and deeper into the lives of these 5 people, you actually begin to feel like you've know them all your life. The problems this group faces singularly, and as a whole grabs your attention and won't let go till you've finished the book. A lot of ground is covered in this story, infidelity, suicide, murder, interracial couples, homosexuality, the slow death of small town America, and the importance of friends in our lives.

I definitely recommend this book. If you're looking for a satisfying read, you'll most certainly find it here. I can't wait for Ms. Thomason to come out with another novel. I loved Designing Women, I loved this book, and I have high hopes for the next tale she graces us with.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A witty, hilarious tale filled with pathos and hope, October 15, 2004

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liberating Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

Linda Bloodworth Thomason shows the same creativity she used as a writer for such television programs as "M*A*S*H" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" in LIBERATING PARIS. The book's title leads a reader to anticipate a story about World War II. However, Thomason's first novel is set in Paris, Arkansas. Six childhood friends mature and deal with evolutions in each of their lives that affect the others. In addition, the town's face has changed and the characters must deal with the manifestations of that development.

Woodrow McIlmore the Third, "Wood" to his friends, is the epitome of success in his hometown of Paris, Arkansas. Married to the perfect wife, Milan, father of Charlie and Elizabeth, beloved town doctor Wood enters middle age with a generous lot of blessings. He reflects on his past and those souls whose influence has been the greatest in his life, at the funeral service for his father, Dr. Woodrow McIlmore, Jr.

Five compatriots from childhood join with Wood in his grief. Earl Brundidge, Jr., Mavis Pinkerton and Carl Jeter, along with Milan, share memories that none will forget. The unmentioned sixth member of the friends' group has moved from Paris. Her name is rarely mentioned. Wood's mother Slim is a woman's libber before her time and encourages them in unconventional behavior (for the era).

A complication in the form of one Sidney Garfinkel is apparent at the funeral. He offers consolation to Slim, and Wood resents him for interfering with his mother's grief. To intensify matters further, Elizabeth announces that she has fallen in love with and plans to marry the following summer Luke Childs, son of the maligned sixth member of Wood's friendship circle.

As Mavis puts it to Milan, "Do you really think it would matter that much to Elizabeth if she knew that her daddy had a - an affair with her fiancée's mother?"

Kathleen Duffer, "Duff," anticipates a joyful reunion with her former lover when their children decide to marry. But she's reluctant to renew a friendship with Milan, her rival for Wood's affection. Now divorced, her mid-life femininity renews with a vengeance. Wood finds himself once more the prize for the victor of the sexual battle.

The group evolves in life changes, but their friendships stand time's tests. Mavis discovers sexual realities and makes life-altering decisions. Jeter's life as a paraplegic takes on new meaning when he joins her in those choices. Brundidge, divorced father of two little girls, discovers a new relationship that will ultimately change him.

Thomason's witty dialogue and humorous metaphors make for a hilarious story, but one that is filled with pathos and hope as well. Underlying the problems faced, the six friends tackle feelings about the major event in Paris, a large discount Fed-Mart store. Small-town business will change forever.

My initial reaction to LIBERATING PARIS, with its misleading title, was cautious. Initially I wasn't certain that I would discover its redeeming qualities, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not the world-famous liberation of a great city but the emancipation of individuals in a tiny community fascinated me. LIBERATING PARIS is about ordinary people dealing with change in small-town USA, about bittersweet lives in a real world.

--- Reviewed by Judy Gigstad

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Arkansas woman loved "Liberating Paris", January 2, 2005

By 

catholicgrl2 (Dallas, TX, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liberating Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

If you liked the movie, "Love Actually," then you'll love "Liberating Paris" by Linda Bloodworth Thomason. Similar to Hugh Grant's hit movie, this book has multiple characters with multiple plots. The first chapter of the book leads the reader to believe the story will focus on one character - Wood McIlmore and his wife, Milan. But it's only a few chapters into the book that you realize you're going to know the intimate details of the lives of many other characters.

I only have one complaint about the book - Bloodworth Thomason does not seem to know Paris, Arkansas, as well as she should, given her story is set there. Less than 10 miles away from the small town of Paris is the town of Subiaco, Arkansas, which is comprised mainly of a large, Catholic, all-boys boarding school. Subiaco and Paris are "sister" cities, yet Subi was not mentioned once. Also, residents in Paris often travel to the nearest "big city" - Fort Smith, Arkansas - yet, it also wasn't mentioned. Bloodworth Thomason should have learned a little more about this area.

However, still worth a read!