Customer Reviews

Shem Creek: A Lowcountry Tale (Lowcountry Tales)

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Dorothea Benton Frank continues her books about life in the Low Country of South Carolina and gives voice to the middle-aged woman who needs to start over. At a book signing with the author that I attended recently, she said that a large segment of our population is made up of people who find themselves at a dead-end in middle age. Whether through divorce, death of a spouse, or never having married, these people need to forge a new path and make a better life for themselves.

Linda Breland is such a woman. A divorced New Jersey mom of two teen daughters, she is finding living from paycheck-to-paycheck frustrating and unfulfilling. Missing the closeness she needs to have with her daughters and depressed by her dead-end job, she is horrified to find contraceptives in her fifteen-year-old's makeup bag. At the end of her rope and desperate for a simpler life, she packs the family up and drives from New Jersey to her native South Carolina. There she finds the support system she needs in the form of her sister. Then she finds a job managing a restaurant and widens her circle of friends with some delightful characters, not the least of whom is restaurant owner Brad Jackson who has a rather messy marriage in his past and a teenage son.

How Linda learns to jumpstart her life, make friends, and find a deeper mother/daughter bond with her daughters makes for a light but uplifting read for everyone who has thought, "I deserve better!"

A special bonus for devoted readers of Dorothea Benton Frank is that some favorite characters from SULLIVAN'S ISLAND and ISLE OF PALMS make cameo appearances in this one.

My only complaint with this novel is the ending was evident from the very beginning. I would have liked to have had more of the unexpected. Though not as riveting as Frank's earlier works such as SULLIVAN'S ISLAND and PLANTATION, this was a nice and refreshing look at life in the changing lane.

I loved SULLIVAN'S ISLAND, liked PLANTATION, ISLE OF PALM was ok,but SHEM CREEK is simply a poor book. Linda Breland divorced
mother of 2 moves her family to her hometown Shem Creek. The
story goes down hill from there, she moves in with her sister, finds a job, falls in love. The plot was mainly boring and and the characters struck me a being false. Maybe there are people who talk that way but I don't know them. In anycase save your money and wait for the paperback.

The low country of South Carolina is my second home, so I love to read books that take place there. I have enjoyed all four of Benton Frank's books, but found this one lacking. While enjoyable, Shem Creek was not as rich or complex as the other three books, and lacked the more intricate character development and low country feeling contained in her other works. The resurfacing in minor roles of major characters from prior books is interesting and fun, but I find it annoying that I cannot quite remember just who they were. Some sort of key to characters would be helpful in forthcoming books.

This is a fun read ~~ while not on par with Frank's other books, it is still a fun read. This one has more dialogue than descriptions than the others ~~ which is why I gave it a three instead of a four. I love reading about the lush scenery in her other books and was disappointed that this one didn't have it as much. I love reading the descriptions of the food, the people and the history of the Lowcountry ~~ and this book barely skimmed on any of these. It has a more of a hurried feel to it ~~ like the author is racing to the last page. That is my opinion though and don't base your call on buying this book on that! It is just an observation!

Linda moves back to Mount Pleasant, S.C. where she had grown up. She has two daughters ~~ one entering college in the fall and one who is a junior in high school. She is divorced from her accountant husband ~~ also fighting him for the lack of attention that he pays the girls. She moves back to Mount Pleasant ~~ figuring there is no place like home. She finds a job as a restaurant manager in this restaurant that is a hole in the wall ~~ called Jackson Hole and owned by two men, Robert and Brad. Brad is a single dad estranged from his wife in Atlanta and after a tragedy, he is raising his son.

The book is based on Linda and her adventures in returning home. It is based on her relationships with her daughters and other members of the restaurant staff. It is an easy read and sometimes funny in spots ~~ you won't regret reading it. It's a light book and perfect to escape those doldrums that might be bothering you.

9-22-04

If I had my life to live over again, I would live it as a "geechee" (native of South Carolina's Low Country), but reading Dorothea Benton Frank is the next best thing.

In her newest novel, Shem Creek, Dottie once again introduces us to a hilarious and heartwarming mix of Low Country superstars, each of whom breaks the mold in unique and wonderful qualities. There's our heroine, Linda Breland, single mother of two teenaged daughters who moves back home from decades in New Jersey in hopes of taming her younger child and finding some peace of mind. There's her fabulous sister Mimi, the Martha Stewart of Shem Creek, perfect in every single way and enough to drive you crazy if you fold the napkins wrong. There is young Gracie, 16-year-old daughter of Linda, and enough to turn any mama's hair pure white overnight. There's big sister Lindsay, about to start college and leave her mother for the first time.

And then there is the drop-dead wonderful cast of "Jackson Hole," a local restaurant where Linda gets a job--and promptly finds herself interested (although she denies it) in her boss Brad.

What I love about this book, and about ALL of Frank's books, is that she is not afraid to describe the very deep love between women--sisters, mothers and daughters, best friends, aunts and nieces. And she has unabashedly happy endings, and what, exactly, is wrong with that? Her take is that the entire South Carolina Low Country is a place of magic where all things are possible. And you know what? I believe her!

Pick up the book and lose yourself in some fabulous geechee charm.

While Shem Creek is located on the east coast, it could be anywhere by the writing style and characters. Any small town could have a Linda and a Brad. They are heartwarming characters that bite into American History and leave you wanting more. While their lives are filled with the same daily crisis as all others, they survive. A story woven with tried and true details is told tongue in cheek, edging on humor, and bordering on benign, this story is told with an honest love of people and life.

I found the details of their lives to be interestingly naive, and yet on a deeper level, there was simply more. Everyone had a past, and baggage was carried well by each character in the story. Much like real life - each person was complete with a past, a present, and a future. You sat on the edge of your seat reading to the next detail, hoping it followed along.

Surprises in the book were many, people didn't stay true to form, but created their own meandering path through life, as we each do in real life. I enjoyed the tender moments, the laughter, and the sadness that I found in the book - all very much related to life in a small town.

I anxiously awaited the release of Shem Creek after spending the last week of July reading Isle of Palms. I was hoping to continue the warm Southern family atmosphere into the last days of summer but I have to say I was disappointed. Shem Creek feels like it was put together in a hurry and reads like it. I had trouble keeping characters straight in the first few chapters; we don't really get an introduction to each character until about halfway through the book and by that time, they can't grow on you.
The inclusion of characters from Isle of Palms was familiar, but they didn't lend anything to the theme. None of Shem Creek's players are as intriguing or relatable as Frank's previous novels, which makes her a favorite author, and I miss that.
Good summer read, Dot, but please take your time with your next book!

I really really love Dorethea Benton Frank, and look so forward to her new books. I rush out and buy them in hardcover and read them like a treat...But this one I have to say was the first to diappoint.I found the story not as compelling as the others, and the dialogue drove me batty. Way too many exclamation points etc. It just seemed to lack the charm of her other books.I did like Linda the Mom in the story,and her sister Mimi was someone I would love to be like,sweet hospitable and a good baker : ) But it didnt draw me in or make me feel like I knew them.I couldnt give it any fewer stars out of pure loyalty to her and her work, And am excited to see if she will come out with another book and Wow me again.

Linda Breland moved away from the Low Country when she met her husband Fred. After many years of marriage, Fred leaves her and marries a woman ten years younger. Linda has more than one job and they are going nowhere, a daughter about to head off to college, and another daughter who has been in a lot of trouble lately so she decides to return home and start her life over in the simple, laid back Low Country.

Brad Jackson, is estranged from his wife. He left the big city of Atlanta, and his son Alex, to open a restaurant along the Shem Creek called Jacksons Hole. With no prior restaurant experience, Linda applies and gets a job managing there.

Shem Creek is another story of a woman being dumped by her husband and subsequently running off to start her life over again with her children in tow. I am a huge fan of DBF but Shem Creek was a let down for two big reasons. First, the narration was hard to follow because different chapters were told by different characters and it took a bit of time to figure out which person was talking. Second, when I read DBF books, I feel like I am right there in the Low Country with the characters, and I did not feel that way with Shem Creek. The story could have taken place anywhere.

Overall, Shem Creek was an OK book and I still can't wait to read more by DBF.

In this book, Linda, a single mother, decides to move her family from New Jersey to South Carolina, where she grew up. She lands a job in a local restaurant, and author Frank thrills the reader with descriptions of fluffy biscuits, mouth-watering pound cakes, and seafood in all its glorious paramutations. (I love how Southern novels - and often, plays - seem to incorporate food as such a basic part of their stories. In the South, food is very central to culture. ) As a result of her move, Linda rekindles her relationship with her sister, strengthens her bonds with her daughters, and finds true love.

Some of the characters (and their conversations) are hilarious, particularly Louise (who works at the restaurant), Mimi (Linda's sister) and Linda herself. Linda's two daughters are less developed, but they are not as central to the story, I suppose.

Everything does seem to fall into place for Linda with a little too much ease, but a happy ending now and then never killed anyone. I am NOT someone who believes that everything I read (or watch) must mirror life. If it did, where would we find the escapism we're looking for whne we turn to books and movies?