The Shortest Distance Between Two Women (Center Point Platinum Fiction (Large Print)) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Kris Radish (Author)

Book Description

Series: Center Point Platinum Fiction (Large Print) | Publication Date: September 1, 2009

Bestselling author Kris Radish takes the emotional measure of mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends in her wise and wonderful new novel of a woman unsure if she s on the verge of a breakdown or a breakthrough....

After all these years is there any way you would see me again? When Emma Lauryn Gilford heard the voice on her answering machine, she thought, How dare he? She s put a lot of distance between herself and Samuel, filling her life with work and family, lavishing her attention on her lovely nieces and a garden that s the pride of Higgins, South Carolina. So why does his voice still have the power to make her heart skip? Why can t she stop thinking about this man she d forgotten so long ago?

Emma has always been the dependable daughter, the mediator of the controlled chaos always surrounding her high-strung sisters and her widowed mother, Higgins s own senior citizen seductress. But with the annual Gilford family reunion just around the corner, at least two of her sisters approaching meltdown, and her favorite teenage niece taking sanctuary in her home, Emma s concrete wall of self-denial is showing cracks. And on the other side is a life she can t put off living a moment longer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Gilford family's yearly reunion encompasses the lives of matriarch Marty Gilford and her four daughters, especially youngest daughter, Emma, 43, who has spent a good part of her life doing whatever her mother and sisters want without really thinking of herself. Then Samuel, a voice from her past, calls up to rekindle their romance and throws Emma's well-ordered life into turmoil. Emma is forced to do some tough self-examination and to embrace her sisters for who they are—good and bad. Radish displays an intimate understanding of boisterous families, and as a veteran at portraying female relationships, her affection for her characters shines through, but she's covering a lot of familial ground here, and it's easy to confuse the characters. Also, the complaining, put-upon Emma is not totally sympathetic. While those familiar with Southern families will delight in a taste of home and there are many funny parts, overall, Radish's latest falls short. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

Women will surely connect with Radish s empowered femmes. Publishers Weekly

Radish delivers her message of sisterhood for all women while encouraging men to find their common bond with women and themselves. --Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 438 pages
• Publisher: Center Point Pub; Lrg edition (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602855536
• ISBN-13: 978-1602855533
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,837,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kris Radish grew up dreaming about living a Nancy Drew-like life and always held her own passion for writing very close to her heart. A former journalist, nationally syndicated columnist, magazine writer and university instructor, Radish also loves to tell stories about the times she picked nighcrawlers, served beer to cowboys, worked on a tomato farm and hung out of the side of a fast moving helicoper.

Radish is now the bestselling author of six novels and has captured the hearts of legions of fans with her heartwarming, real, passionate and often hilarious novels. Her stories focus on the important bonds of female friendship and celebrate the common feelings, heartaches, loves, and struggles that all women share. She loves to call her work "true fiction" because she addresses the real emotions that women live and share every day.

She is also the author of two non-fiction books, writes poetry, is the mother of two young and very fiesty adults, is known for her wild laugh and wilder hair, and is working on her seventh novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing book from a normally entertaining author, October 6, 2009

By 

Booksherpa (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shortest Distance Between Two Women (Paperback)

I just finished this book, and was quite disappointed in it. I've enjoyed all of Kris Radish's other books to varying degrees, with Sunday List of Dreams as my favorite. This book was the worst she's written. It was full of all the things I dislike about Kris Radish's books - an overabundance of long and colorful metaphors, one dimensional characters, men who do nothing but serve as punching bags and background material, and a woman who seemingly changes from wallflower to warrior overnight. Worst of all, the ending was utterly lame - the situation set up in the first page comes to a whimper of a resolution, leaving me totally unsatisfied and saying "That's it?!". There was little of the wit that was clearly evident in her previous books. The strong female friendships that form the core of all her books are shallow and forced here. The only characters that seem to be classic Radish are Susie Dell, Marty Gilford, and Emma's niece, Stephie, but none of these are the 4 sisters that supposedly form the main relationships of the book. The other characters have issues that seem more to be a response to the frequent criticism of Radish's characters for being unrealistic than actual character traits. Her treatment of alcoholism and infidelity in the storyline seems flat and forced.

Previous to this release, I would have named her last book as her weakest. This is not a good trend. I would get this book, and the next Radish book at your local library rather than spending money for them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a young adult story at best, September 2, 2009

By 

Sam I Am (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shortest Distance Between Two Women (Paperback)

just read the last 3 chapters. ubelievable. i mean simply unbelievable. i don't mind a little embellishment, but please. this is a young adult story at best, and should be bannished for creating a bit too much hope for future young women.

and as far as the men in the book are concerned, they are cardboard characters. as men should read books with female characters of depth, women should read books that provide at least "some" insight into the male psyche.

avoid this and stories like it. read the last 3 chapters. nothing but kumbaya. it cheapens the emotional depth of women for that matter. i read the last chapter to my girlfriend, we laughed or maybe gagged at the level of syrup the reader is expected to swallow.

PASS on this!!!!!!!!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars wading thru the swamp of mush, September 16, 2009

By 

Katie K. (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shortest Distance Between Two Women (Paperback)

Love, love, love. The Beatles sum up this book quite well. Love, love, love. All you need is love. Though so much love can be a bit over-emotional at times. And possibly unrealistic. I don't think I've ever called either of my sisters "Sister" or "Love" or "Sweetie". They'd laugh at me. This book was over-flowing with sap and mush. I will admit that it did bring me to tears a couple of times, and I did love the story itself, the concept of women coming together through craziness and some adversity, but wow. Wading through the swamp of sappy mush as a bit tiring at times.

The other thing about the author's style that bothered me was the jumping back and forth from present to past. She'd start out a chapter in the present tense, and then revert back to a scene that happened that morning or the night before or last week or even 10 years ago. It became confusing. Am I reading about today? About yesterday? When exactly did this happen?

Ok so I realize this sounds like I didn't like the book. Not true. It kept me entertained with every turn of the page and I was invested in the life of Emma and cheered along with everyone at Stephie's pageant and would have loved to have shared a glass of wine with the women in the gazebo. It was a great journey through female emotions and finding happiness. Actually, choosing happiness. This is a book that I do recommend, but just understand that it sometimes gets nauseatingly sentimental.