Customer Reviews

More Than Memory

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When high-school senior Nelda Hansen becomes pregnant, she is forced to wed Lute Hanson by her domineering father who orders Lute out of Nelda's life as soon as the vows are exchanged. Soon after the birth of a daughter, Nelda returns to the Iowa home of the grandparents where she had lived for the last several years where she hears Lute has joined the Navy. Sadly, the baby contracts an infection and dies when she is six month old, her father never having laid eyes on her. With the help of her grandparents, Nelda then moves to Chicago where she goes to school and becomes a commercial interior designer of some renown.

When she needs a break, she returns to Clear Lake, Iowa, to the farm her grandfather left her in his will. Both grandparents are gone now but Nelda feels a sense of security in the place where she'd known such happiness all those years ago. She hopes for a bit of R&R and to re-evaluate her life.

What she doesn't figure on is running into Lute. Unbeknownst to Nelda, Lute has been renting the land which is now hers (an attorney has managed her affairs in Iowa while she was in Chicago). Lute keeps finding excuses to help her out and eventually Nelda discovers that the ring he wears on the third finger of his left hand is not because he's married -- it's the one he had bought when they were married. When a night of passion leads to complications neither one of them expected, Nelda is determined to withdraw from Lute and plans to move from Clear Lake as soon as possible.

MORE THAN MEMORY is a real page-turner, full of the grit and reality which readers have come to expect of a Dorothy Garlock novel. Since she is writing about the town she has lived in since the 1950s, the descriptions of the town and the surrounding area are richly detailed. She includes some of the most tragic events of the 1950s in her story including the death of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper who were killed in a plane crash outside of Clear Lake after a 1959 concert and even sets a scene at that last concert.

Lute, whose dedication and caring for Nelda have lasted more than a decade, makes a wonderful hero. A particularly poignant scene has them meeting for the first time in over eight years at their daughter's gravesite. Nelda is sometimes too stubborn for her own good, but given her circumstances, her actions are understandable. What seems to be stubbornness is more of a defense mechanism because she doesn't want to get hurt again.

I enjoyed reading a book set in 1958-59 - years of my childhood and can remember time spent at my grandparents' farm during that same time which really helped this story come alive. I hope more authors will take the chance of writing less than traditional time-periods for their books as Garlock has. It was, for this reviewer, like a trip down memory lane.

According to the notes on the copyright page, MORE THAN MEMORY is evidently a rewrite of one of Dorothy Garlock's early books written as Johanna Phillips in 1982 for the Second Chance at Love line, PASSION'S SONG. At over 380 pages, it's more than just a simple rewrite, it's a complete re-working of the shorter novel.

In 1949 Clear Lake, Iowa, teenager Nelda Hansen married Lute Hanson. However, a minute after they exchanged "I do's" her father, who forced the marriage, informs the groom that he will receive the divorce papers as soon as the lawyer finishes them. The marine captain still cannot believe his daughter shacked up with a hayseed bumpkin like Lute and is now four months pregnant. Not listening to anyone, the military officer takes his daughter in hand and leaves for Des Moines. A little less than a year later, Nelda's six-month old child dies. Neither she nor her father attended the funeral.

Eight more years pass before Nelda returns home to the family farm. She still loves Lute as she immediately realizes when she sees him for the first time since her father took charge of their marriage and divorce. To his chagrin, Lute never forgot Nelda. However, both share misconceptions about the other from the incident that destroyed their future together.

MORE THAN A MEMORY is an enjoyable historical relationship drama that makes the lifestyle of the 1950's heartland seem very much alive. Younger readers will be shocked by the marine's actions, but single and pregnant was a fate worse than death back then. The lead couple is a warm pair who deserves a second chance. However, the meat of Dorothy Garlock's tale is the era as she portrays a radically different set of values (than today) wrapped inside a wonderful romance.

Harriet Klausner

Dorothy Garlock never disappoints. Her stories are realistic, heart breaking but heart warming and wonderful to read. You just immerse yourself in her stories and feel what the characters are feeling. She always gives you your money's worth and more.

Lute and Nelda's story has been described well by other writers. They loved lost, settled their problems and loved again. Lute and Nelda were forced by her militant father to wed then immediately after the wedding, Nelda's father told Lute he was filing for a divorce between them. They leave for Des Moines. The pregnant Nelda has her baby and the baby dies six months later.

Eight years later, Nelda and Lute meet at the baby's gravesite and each has misconceptions about the other.

This story is about lost love, misconceptions, misunderstandings and a resolution of those problems. A realistic story set in the 1950s, that era being very close to my heart. Read this wonderful story and suffer, then rejoice with Lute and Nelda.

Nelda Hanson left her heart in Iowa eight years ago. She's built a life and a career for herself in Chicago, but it's time to go home. Time to face the memories that await her there.

Lute Hanson sees the girl he once loved all grown up, a business woman. He knows there's no place for her in his life, but his heart won't listen.

Two people who share some tender and some bitter memories...but maybe they share something else as well...maybe it's love? Dorothy Garlock never fails to deliver a fantastic story!

I am a new fan of Dorothy Garlock's books. Unlike her other more popular ones, this book is not one in a series of 3 or 4 books this story stands alone. (It's nice not to have an open ending for a change.)

Nelda and Lute are high school sweethearts forced to marry-and-divorce (by Nelda's [angry] father) at a young age due to accidental pregnancy.

The story is about the couple meeting again 9 years later and all the hurt and sadness that comes with not having closure. Nelda and Lute's hurtful past kept them apart but love and old desires resurface--which unwillingly pulls them together.

While this book is not Garlock's best, it is a very excellent read. As with all of Garlock's books, you cannot put the book down from page one. You will be, as usual, very happy with the story. If you've never read a Garlock, you MUST pick this one up. It will be the beginning of a very happy relationship with Dorothy Garlock books!

Ms. Garlock does it again with another wonderful story, and excellent cast of characters. The chemistry between Nelda and Lute is electric... as are the fights they are almost guaranteed to get into with every meeting.

Nelda, a stubborn woman forced to grow up too early when her strict father tears her away from the man she so desperately loves, when she becomse pregnant as a teenager. Obviously the relationship Nelda had with her parents has left her with a low self esteem, that when Lute tries to court her, she picks up and twists every word he's ever said to her disadvantage... too scared to again feel the pain of the first time she lost him. She quickly decides she would be inadequate as a farmer's wife, and Lute will quickly tire of her anyways... so she is determined to make a clean break, only after she's already too far gone and with a broken heart. Will Lute come after here? Of course! But the twists and turns of this story, and the emotional chemistry between the two are sure to start a fire at every meeting.

Lute, a charming farmer... terrified to feel the pain of a broken heart, and knowing the sophisticated career city girl that returns to her grandparents farm will surely bring to surface the unbearable pain that has been quietly lingering since the day he first lost Nelda. He's drawn to her, and cannot help but get close to her again... but each time he crosses the line, he reminds himself that Nelda is a city girl, and would never be satisfied as a farmers wife. Too scared to get hurt again, he lashes out at her with words that play like a tape recorder in her head, after every encounter.

Everyone of the friends they make see how much the couple are in love, but their own pride and misunderstandings keep getting in the way. It will take one thing to break the vicious cycle, and maybe a little intervention from a good friend.

This is an excellent story, and I was surprised to read the other reviews on this site. Towards the end, I do think it dragged a little too much, however, it still supplied great memories that added to the final result of the story. I would have given this five stars, however, I've read other Dorothy Garlock books and seen how talented she truly is... this is an excellent story... not her best, but still one of the best I ever read. If you are a first time Dorothy Garlock reader, grab the With Song series. It's my favorite series. This is not a series, as many of her books are... but very good!

Enjoy!

I am new to Dorothy Garlock but thought this story was charming and heart warming. You kept hoping that they would get their act together and cheering for them. There was also intrigue and mystery. I am now a brand new fan of hers and can't wait to read more of her books. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

I'm so surprised so many people didn't like this book. I loved it. It made me cry. I loved when she was sick and he took care of her and I was moved by the story regarding loss of the child.

I really do love Dorothy Garlock and I have thoroughly enjoyed all of her books that I have read up to this one But More than Memory was a major dissappointment. First of all, the first 100 pages were just plain boring. I didn't really start to become even slightly interested in it until around page 130. I would have put it down and not finished it but I try really hard to finish every book I start. I thought the last 4th of the book was good, but as a whole it was unsatisfying. The 2 main characters, Nelda and Lute, are in constant battle and then suddenly they'll just have sex. The next thing you know, they're fighting. It's a constant circle that repeats itself. I would not recommend this book to anyone, Especially if you have never read a Dorothy Garlock book. Try Annie Lash, With Hope, or The Searching Hearts. These are a few of my Favorites!!

I have read many Dorothy Garlock books, and this one is really not that good. It is a mediocre love story of two high school sweet hearts. Throughout the book, Nelda and Lute continually sleep together, fight, and then make up. This cycle repeats itself about three times. It gets boring after awhile. After the Parade was a much better book.