Customer Reviews

Little Altars Everywhere: A Novel

5 star:		(110)
4 star:		(67)
3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

I wish that I had read this before its sequel, "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." With the background on the life of Siddalee Walker and her siblings offered in this fecund tapestry of family dysfunction, I have a much better understanding of Sidda's "whining."

This is a disturbing tale of a prominent family in small-town Louisiana and the hidden rot at its core. Viviane Abbott Walker is a self-centered, immature woman who would have done better to collect dolls than have living, breathing children to annihilate. The best answer the narcissistic Vivi can come up with to the everyday problems of life is to drown them in alcohol. Under its influence, she systematically physically abuses and emotionally batters her children, indelibly damaging them for life. Her weak husband's solution to the domestic battlefield is to flee to his hunting camp for days on end and drink himself into oblivion. This bittersweet novel was excruciatingly painful to read, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

There were divinely funny moments interspersed with heartbreaking passages that make one so angry you forget that this is fiction. I suspect that many of us can identify with key issues of this profoundly touching novel. I know I did. This is one of those rare jewels whose lessons to live by can change your life.

Richer, darker and deeper than the second book or the movie, this book truly is a 'must' read if you want to understand the Walker family, especially the mystery who is Viviane Abbot Walker.

Starting as a simple short story ("Looking for My Mules," with Shep, Viviane and an old man lost on their farm), Rebecca Wells' tales of growing up in Louisiana in a less than perfect home grew first into Little Altars Everywhere, then into the Divine Secrets book and movie. Each chapter contains a well crafted short story, told from the viewpoint of different characters. Each chapter offers a title with the name of the narrator and year they are talking in. In some cases, the titles are enough to draw you in (Catfish Dreams; E-Z Boy War; The Princess of Gimmee.)

From the 60's to the 90's, each story offers a simple, but meaningful slice of the entire Walker family's story. Some are told in the present, some are memories of what happened long ago. The chapters weave together to give you a wider view of what was going on from different perspectives.

As you read, you'll find yourself piecing together the story of Sidalee, her siblings, her mother Vivi and father Shep, as well as Willetta and Chaney, the black couple who were hired help, and who have an outside view of the family.

Don't stop reading with this book, or you'll miss a view of the whole person -- doting mother, child abuser, unloved child, shattered schoolgirl, broken hearted, passionate lover, distant wife and mother as well as a view of Shep as a fallible human being and how he contributed to Vivi's 'condition' and the affect it had on their children.

A treasure of a book, you may find it more unsettling than the movie or the second book. Excellent writing, it will leave you wanting to know more (unless you've already read the second book!)

I read "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. When I found out there was a book that came before of the same characters I had to read it. The book was good and a must-read for anyone that reads the Ya-Ya's. BUT be prepared. It's definitely a more disturbing picture of Vivi. While we get a better look into Big Shep's head (Sidda's father) and learn that his compassion runs deeper than Vivi's but he just either doesn't know how to show it or feels there'd be no point to it anyway. Vivi's dark side is much more than I'd suspected having read the second book first. Her alcoholism is plain as day in Altars whereas in the Ya-Ya's she just seems to be a social drinker. (Same goes for Big Shep) And you can see more clearly the emotional scars all of her children carry and how they truly feel about their mother. This book left behind some disturbing images in my head and I wish that I had been left with the ones I garnered from reading the Ya-Ya's. One's where Vivi's motherhood crimes did not seem so vicious and contemptable.

I loved "Ya Ya" so much, I immediately went out to find this novel and read it. Equally as brilliantly written and captivating it is well worth the read. The only thing I found was that it changed my view of the characters in a way that is kind of upsetting. With "Ya Ya", I felt for the mother, I felt her life and struggles damaged her and made her the way she was, but that deep down she was a good mother and a loving mother that did her best with what she had emotionally. In "Little Alters" I had no love left for her character, not even a lot of like. She did inexcusable things that are only ever so slightly alluded to in "Ya Ya", and it changes your view.
This book is fantastic, but, if you have fallen in love with the Ya Ya's as you percieve them in "Ya Ya", I reccomend NOT reading this book. I know that sounds strange, but, it's impossible to respect them the same way, to wish that you and your girlfriends will be them someday etc., when you read "Little Alters".

As a guy, I was fully prepared to dislike what I thought was an emotional chick book written by an egotistical wannabe actress. After all, I panned that fatuous bimbo Candace Bushnell in my review of "Four Blondes." I even gave One Star to Macho Super Author Robert Ludlum, although I felt badly when the big guy died just after my review was posted. This is all my way of saying that I don't throw around these Amazon Five Stars lightly

Well, let me tell you, "Little Altars Everywhere" is outstanding. Author Rebecca Wells gives gripping and believable voices to each of the six members of the dysfunctional Walker clan and to their black employees (read "slaves"), Chaney and Willetta Lloyd. Each of the 17 chapters is told first hand by one of these eight characters. The first half of the interconnected vignettes are set in the 1960s; the rest in the early 1990s.

As an actor/playwright, Wells is well versed at stepping inside her characters and in getting each person's dialect and emotions just right, even across the book's 30 year span. Southern speech is mimicked perfectly without being overbearing or hard to understand, and the emotional descriptions and scenes are touching and effective without being maudlin. Just when I think Wells is about to go too far with one of her characters or scenes, she stops with exquisite timing. It's almost as if Rebecca Wells has multiple personalities herself.

Wells writes about what she knows and describes her native Louisiana in convincing style. We're oppressed by the heat of the low country; we hear mosquitoes buzzing, radios blaring and air conditioners whirring; we see big old cars and pickup trucks speeding along dusty roads. We smell the good earth and the crops. We touch the Walker kids in their moments of supreme happiness and abject sadness and we can practically taste the alcohol swilled by Viviane and Shep Walker and their friends. We feel their hangovers. And, of course, the massive dysfunction of the Walker family attacks all our senses. All this from the printed page...

The author deals with sensitive sexual topics with discretion and taste. Wells leaves much to the theatre of the mind, which is a hallmark of the mature writer that she is. You want graphic details? Wait for the TV movie, which would likely miss the humor and comedy that Wells spreads throughout her wonderful book. I can assure you that you'll keep a closer eye on your kids after reading about the kleptomaniac Lulu and her five-fingered discounts. Wells sprinkles hilarious little zingers and social comments everywhere, and is good at time-locking her situations with references to music, literature and historical events of the period. You'll laugh and smile throughout this book. But you'll also purse your lips, clench your teeth and swear at Viviane for the destruction and havoc she wreaks. As Tolstoy said at the beginning of "Anna Karenina", "All happy families are the same; all unhappy ones are unique unto themselves." You'll understand this reference when you read "Little Altars."

Viviane Walker is a vile excuse for a mother, wife and human being. If she were a dog, she'd be taken out behind the barn and shot. As it is, she's encouraged by her ridiculous Ya-Ya friends and tolerated by her cowardly husband and cowering children and by a Southern culture that gives full rein to her preposterous behavior. Of course, Viviane does show occasional signs of compassion towards her husband and children, just as Hitler did toward Eva Braun. At least Hitler shot himself.

Wells left the door wide open in "Little Altars" for her sequel, "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," which I'm now reading. You see that review soon. Many read these books out of sequence, since "Divine Secrets" has gotten more recognition than "Little Altars." It doesn't matter, since "Little Altars" can be a revealing flashback if you read the sequel first. Either way, don't miss these two gems! They are both insightful commentaries into a complex family and into a way of life that is fortunately alien to most of us.

Every now and then a book comes along that just grabs you by the emotions and won't let go. I read Divine Secrets first and then rushed out to buy Little Altars, and although the writing style is quite different, each book has amazing strengths of its own.
Little Altars is a short book (the trade paperback is only about 224 pages), but it packs a big punch. Each chapter is told by one of the characters in a reminiscent style. I really liked that the male characters are more fleshed out here. Wells lets us in on the inner workings of Shep, Little Shep, Baylor, and Chaney; this is an aspect that really isn't present in the female-centric Divine Secrets.

These stories are fantastic! It's been quite a while since I laughed and sobbed so often while reading the same book. "Cruelty to Animals" had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe! "Snuggling" and "E-Z Boy War" were two stories that simply made my heart ache. Wells is wonderful at creating characters that stand on ther own; she gives each one a unique voice and then simply allows the story to tell itself. The writing is simple but powerful, and all of these "little" stories combine to create a vivid picture of this Louisiana community. In Little Altars, we really get to see the characters for who they are; this isn't so much one character trying to figure out her mother, her family, and her own place in all of it. This is more of a combination of stories to show that every family has so much more meaning underneath its outward appearance. Be prepared to be shocked by some of the more horrific things you learn about Vivi in this book. And if Willetta's chapter doesn't shake you to the core, then this type of story-telling might not be for you!

Little Altars is a bit darker than Divine Secrets, but it is just as enjoyable. It's an emotional roller-coaster, and I'm glad I took the ride!

Parts of this book made me breathless with its heart-breaking beauty. Parts made me laugh out loud. Parts have taken up their places in my mind and won't go away.

Much of the content of this book is difficult, although it ultimately is about survival. Alcoholism, abuse, casual racism.

Although many have called this book a novel, it is more a collection of related short stories told in various voices, most of which seem very authentic and real.

Like many people, I read the 2nd book "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" first. This is a more difficult, less funny book, but it is a book worth your time.

In reading the second novel, "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood", and loving it last summer, I was enthralled to pick up a copy to the first in the series "Little Alters Everywhere". I found "Alters" to be much more of a downer, going from how mother Vivi, a raging alcoholic, physically abuses, sexually abuses, and verbally abuses her four Southern children.

However I was still very impressed at the author's ability to narrate from a childs point of view. With such innocence, and raw humor, you almost forget it wasn't Lulu, Sidda, Baylor, or Little Shep who wrote the chapter.

The author weaved in with the tragic reality of how Vivi is traumatizing her children with hysterical, and twisted humor: such as the ugly dogs 'babies', and so on.

This is definetly a good book, but I definetly consider "Ya Ya" a reward to read after this book. Enjoy!

Ms. Wells introduces us to the Walker family and various other players in the small town of Thornton, Mississippi. This book did not take me through the emotions that her second book The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood did. I couldn't wait to read this book and was somewhat dissappointed in the less than captivating story. I gained tidbits of information about characters I already knew and that helped me enjoy this book a bit. Ms. Wells has the gift to create wonderful characters and make them real to life. Every emotion that the characters feel is there for you to see and feel. Personally I missed the refreshing sense of humor that the second book displayed. I am glad that I read the book but could not say it keep me enthralled like this author's other work. Ms. Wells please give us more about this interesting group of lost souls but please remember that humor is often nature's balm to a bad situation.

I read Divine Secrets a few months ago and absolutely loved it. It was one of the best books I've ever read. Little Altars Everywhere was a book I began with much anticipation and did not let me down. It amazes me how Wells makes the reader hate and love characters at the same time. This book gives more background on the children and is one of those books you devour in 2 or 3 days time. I finished the book feeling sad, feeling happy and feeling that my life may not be perfect, but it was blessed to not have a mother like Vivi. The Ya-Ya series are some of the best written literature I have ever read. I recommend it without reservation, to female readers aged 18-45.