Customer Reviews

Silk Hope, NC (A Harvest Book) (Harvest American Writing)

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Lawrence Naumoff writes about women, and he does it with piercing insight, total understanding. The female characters he creates often hold pedestrian jobs, lead run-of-the-mill lives, yet emerge as extraordinary figures. Such is the case in his work of fiction, Silk Hope, NC.

Initially, it takes a lot to like Frannie Vaughn - she kicks over most conventional traces, is brassy, and irresponsible to the extent that she misses her mother's funeral. Frannie and her sister, Natalie, inherit the old farm house in Silk Hope after their mother's death. For centuries the house has been handed down to the daughters in the family to provide a haven in which they could find refuge "no matter what else happens between them and the men in their lives."

Natalie, protesting that women no longer need a sanctuary, wants to sell the house so she and her fiancé can make a down payment on a home in town. Frannie, on the other hand, wants to keep the house, and this desire grows until it creates marked changes in her life.

Naumoff intersperses his tale with social commentary, reflections on family ties, and hearty doses of humor. Frannie's confrontation with an overly pious television preacher is not to be missed. As a matter of fact, neither is Silk Hope, NC.

- Gail Cooke

Tom Hanks or Ron Howard should get their hands on this book. It is the next Forest Gump of movies. There are numerous hysterical incidents that would make memorable movie scenes - riding a pig, pigs escape from car trunk, pig attacks man, converting a cardboard box into a confessional, etc. This book has it all

I grew up near Silk Hope, and it wasn't even close, which made the book a little disappointing for this reader.

All in all the story was good--some really funny parts--but I was glad when it was through and that's unusual for me.