21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is not "another gentle read"., March 22, 2005
This newest novel by Joan Medlicott is superb. The Three Mrs. Parkers follows the lives of three women as they come together to live with each other in the foothills of the mountains near the border of North Carolina and South Carolina. There are many controlling factors that bring each of them to this joining of their lives, and this is a place and circumstance that neither of them would have thought possible.
Winifred, at age 75, is the oldest of the Parker women and she has traveled the longest distance to reach what she hopes will be a refuge for her in Salem, South Carolina. There she plans to live out her days with her widowed daughter-in-law, fifty-two-year-old Zoe Parker, at Zoe's invitation. However, what Zoe doesn't realize is that Winifred's health is rapidly declining.
Zoe's telephone call asking Winifred to come was quite an unexpected opportunity for Winifred. Unexpected because she and Zoe had never liked each other and hadn't been in contact for years. Winifred had never accepted Zoe as her son's wife and had cut all ties with both of them shortly after the wedding. However, just as Winifred has an agenda so does Zoe. Zoe badly needs money to keep her from losing the beautiful mountain home that was left to her by her own parents; Winifred could provide the needed finances for that.
The third Parker woman is Katie, Zoe's daughter. Winifred, by her own choice, has never met Katie, although she is her only grandchild. Katie is a young divorcée and has come to Salem following the death of her 9-year-old brain damaged daughter, Laurie Ann. She needs her mother's help to heal and a quiet place to grieve.
***** Joan Medlicott has a knack for getting inside the feelings and dreams of her characters in a way that allows the reader to completely understand and empathize with each of them, and I especially liked the paring of these three remarkable women. As they learn to live together and help each other, these three women redefine the meaning of struggle, compromise, forgiveness, and love.
This story is not "another gentle read," as some like to say. It is HIGH DRAMA as it tells the stories of these women's lives. I have to confess that I was not prepared for the obstacles these women had to overcome, and I certainly didn't expect to be sitting on the edge of my seat wishing I could bite my nails - but I was! Bring it on, Joan! *****
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I deeply appreciated this brilliantly woven tale! Highly recommended., January 29, 2006
A wonderful story about a middle-aged widow in danger of losing her family's home, who must swallow her pride and turn to her snobbish mother-in-law, a woman who turned her back on her own son when he "married beneath him", for financial assistance. In return, the ailing mother-in-law must face coming down off her high horse and recognizing her late son's wife for the wonderful person she is. Mediating the reconciliation is a woman grieving the death of her handicapped daughter, who helps both her mother and grandmother forgive past hurts and move forward together, all while healing her own pain.
This is my first experience with this author, and it surely won't be my last. This is a very well-written story, told from the heart, of love, life and forgiveness. I felt a strong emotional connection to the characters as they worked through their differences and come to a greater understanding of the other.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unlearning hate, October 8, 2005
When Zoe Parker is in danger of losing the house and land bequeathed to her by her parents, she asks her mother in law for financial assistance. Widowed Zoe and her mother in law Winifred, have always been at loggerheads, with Winifred insisting that her late son married beneath him, and, because of her stubborness and pride, has cut off contact with Zoe and her daughter, Katie. Saying that she would need to see the property before investing her money and, not mentioning the fact that she has a serious illness looming, she comes for a visit and immediately puts everyone's back up with her domineering ways and arrogance. Katy has also moved in with her mother after the death of her severely handicapped daughter, but without knowing any of the details of Winifred's hurtful attitude to Zoe and her refusal to help in the years following the death of Zoe's husband, cuts through the barrier of years to become very attached to her grandmother. This is the story of three generations of women of the same family, trying to bond, trying to forgive and trying to make sense of their lives at this point. I don't know that I'd be quite as forgiving to such a hurtful person, even if I did know her background and some of the reasons for her behaviour, but then, perhaps I'm not of such a generous spirit as these women!
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