Customer Reviews

The Saving Graces

5 star:		(162)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

If you're looking for a book that's powerful and funny, real and yet joyful, with characters you'll think about long after you've finished it, THIS is the one to buy. Trust me. I'm a picky reader and I loved this story from beginning to end. In fact, I want to buy copies for all my friends, because every woman I know will relate to the characters and situations in this book.

It's the kind of read you don't want to put down and you look forward to getting back to. A sophisticated, honest book that shows friendship in all its nurturing and flawed glory. The main characters love, help and understand each other; but they've also got secrets, private irritations and intricate conflicts. There's not a cliché among them. Just four complex, funny women who stick together and help one another make the most of their lives.

I honestly hated to finish this book and when I did I felt for days as if I'd lost my best friends. But that's okay because this one's a keeper. I'll just read it again.

Okay, "the saving graces" certainly doesn't qualify as outstanding literature. And yes, the story of 4 friends & each one's joys & sorrows is not the most original concept in the world: But the strength of this particular novel is that it's extremely well written & so much fun: it's a story that could really be about any of us, the themes are so familiar. "The saving graces" underline what most of us already know, that friends are the relatives we chose, the family we form for ourselves, whereas when it comes to our actual families, we don't have a choice.

Patricia Gaffney, from what I've heard (because this is the first book of hers that I've read) usually writes different kind of novels, historical romances etc. But I don't know why- she seems to be a natural in telling a contemporary, real, easy-to-read story.

This book is about the friendship of 4 women, around 40 years old: Rudy, Isabel, Emma & Lee. They meet twice a month for dinner & share secrets, talk about their lives, laugh a lot and sometimes cry. What women-friends do in real life, actually: and this is this novel's strength: although it's not the most substantial or inspired book in the world, it's one of the best books in the "light reading" category, since it's as if the story is taken out of real life. It's one of those novels that the reader gets totally engrossed in, so it's a very good selection for a weekend away or for a long airplane ride. You'll have a great time reading it...

After reading almost all of Patricia Gaffney's books, I have to say, her first contemporary is truly a work of art.

The Saving Graces is a novel of friendship. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel meet twice a month for dinner to talk about life, love, marriage, careers, achievements and disappointments.

Emma, wanting to publish her first book and in love with a married man. Beautiful Rudy, unsure of herself and afraid to upset her manipulative husband. Lee, the "normal" one who is desperatly trying to have a baby. And Isabel, divorced and battling the battle of her life. Cancer.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and made me wish I were part of The Saving Graces. I laughed, I cried (hid from my husband because I didn't want him to see me!) and most of all I fell in love with the four of them. I truly didn't want the story to end. Don't wait for the paperback. This book is one that you will truly enjoy and read over and over again. Loan it to your best friend. Maybe you'll start up a "Saving Graces" of your own.

I imagine that most of us women have at least two or three really close girlfriends ~~ ones that are there for you when you need them ~~ a divorce, separation, death of a spouse, break-up, child being born ~~ whatever ~~ and this book is like that. You cannot imagine your life without these essential women in your life ~~ and this book will only enrich your reading life because these four women are like us.

Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel are sisters of the heart and soul ~~ they've been through it all ~~ cancer, divorce, adultery ~~ and they talk through everything. They have relationships with each other that only women with close friends can only understand ~~ and others envy. In this book, they're put to the test when something unimaginable happens ~~ and Graffney shows how each of them survive this crucial test.

It's not a secret that I enjoy reading books on women's friendships and relationships with one another ~~ because I am fortunate enough to have close friends to rely on during my dark times recently. This is one book that I really appreciate because it is about friendship, love and courage. Rudy, Emma, Lee and Isabel are not easily forgotten ~~ I have friends who are like them.

But here's a warning ~~ you must have a box of kleenexs handy ~~ it is a tearjerker ~~ and don't read parts of it in public ~~ Graffney really tugs at your heartstrings. And when you've finished this book, be sure to pass it onto your best friend and tell her just how important she is to you.

I read at least a book a week, and I can't remember when I have read such an enjoyable, believable tale about female friendship. Patricia Gaffney captures the beauty and the ugliness of female relationships, and accurately depicts how women tend to pair up. Ultimately, they all pull together and there love, although on different levels, is present for each member of the group.

What a great book!

Definitely a "woman's book," The Saving Graces is about the lives and friendships of Lee, Rudy, Emma and Isabel. The four women share intimate weekly dinners and occasional trips to North Carolina's Outter Banks, where we are privy to their thoughts and conversations. Few subjects are off limits to the women, and as readers we are involved in their interactions with men, careers, families, and the individual dilemma each character faces. Lee is the stable one, except that she wants a child and can't conceive. Neurotic Rudy struggles to find herself beneath the smothering domination of a charming but self-centered husband. Emma bemoans her status as a single woman who finds true love with a married man. Isabel, as the book's wise crone, has a life-threatening illness, is recovering from a shattering divorce, and finds an unexpected new love in her life. While every character's story has a singular theme, they are nicely woven together by author Gaffney's clever and clear ability to change voice, becoming first one character followed by the others. She keeps the collective story-line moving forward and at the same time explores the individual feelings of her characters. The book's strength lies in it's readability and accurate revelation of how close women friends interact. This includes the fact that, as in real life, one or two of the characters talk about the others when the others aren't present. The weakness of The Saving Graces lies in the neatly tied up package each woman's life becomes by the book's conclusion. Overall, it's a pleasing, fast read for women of any age. The Graces capture much of what is wonderful about the constancy of women friends in our lives.

Patricia Gaffney's gem of a novel reaffirms the special friendships that only women can share. The four main characters are diverse in personalities but united in the bond that they share. You will cheer on each woman as she faces her own life crisis while being supported by her "saving graces". The yarn is told in the first person as the four friends unwind their stories as the narration is alternated by them. Patricia lovingly molds her characters as real women who truly care for and nurture one another. You will be moved by their stories and inspired by their sisterly devotion. Relax with a cup of tea and steep yourself in this rich story!

After reading almost all of Patricia Gaffney's books, I have to say, her first contemporary is truly a work of art.

The Saving Graces is a novel of friendship. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel meet twice a month for dinner to talk about life, love, marriage, careers, achievements and disappointments.

Emma, wanting to publish her first book and in love with a married man. Beautiful Rudy, unsure of herself and afraid to upset her manipulative husband. Lee, the "normal" one who is desperatly trying to have a baby. And Isabel, divorced and battling the battle of her life. Cancer.

This story pulled me in from the beginning and made me wish I were part of The Saving Graces. I laughed, I cried (hid from my husband because I didn't want him to see me!) and most of all I fell in love with the four of them. I truly didn't want the story to end. Don't wait for the paperback. This book is one that you will truly enjoy and read over and over again. Loan it to your best friend. Maybe you'll start up a "Saving Graces" of your own.

My book club read this book. We all loved it. I especially loved it. The characters were so well developed. You may not have always agreed with them. But you did feel like you knew them, and cared for them. The only thing with this book was at the beginning it was a little hard to follow. Every chapter is one of the friends. I did what one reader suggested, I made little notes on each character. I used that instead of back tracking into the book. Before I was even half way done with the book I didnt need the notes. You get to know the characters so well. Then the book just flowed for me. I thought the story was great and nicely told I hated to see it end. If you just want a good story about friends read this book. Or if you ever read "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" and liked it you will like "The Saving Graces."

This book was the book of the month selection from the CORBEL book club. Most of us agreed that this was possibly the best book we have ever read. WARNING - keep a box of tissues handy! There are 8 members in our book club and we could all see ourselves as the characters. It really made us feel as though we were a part of the book. Mostly I think it made us very thankful that we have friends (such as those in our book club). Female friendships are very special. It always amazes me that women can be so different yet care so much about each other. If you don't have friends such as those in the book I think this story will make you crave such an experience that you will soon find yourself attempting to develop special friendships of your own.