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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Character-driven Novel, July 29, 2009
This review is from: Of Words & Music (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)
Wealthy, sixty-something widow Lilah Kimball is forced to examine her life when the orphaned granddaughter she didn't know existed is thrust upon her. Lilah agrees to keep Bethany for the summer while the social worker searches for another relative to take the girl off Lilah's hands. Lilah is not a sympathetic figure at the beginning of the book, and I wanted to smack some sense into her. But then if she were what we hope for in a grandmother, there would be no story.
Lilah has to deal with her housekeeper and best friend, Marabet, whose disdain over Lilah's coldness toward the girl is palpable. Marabet forms an instant bond with Bethany, and she feels the youngster's pain at being so obviously rejected. A book can't rely on primary characters, and Marabet has an Oscar-worthy supporting role. She's the yin to Lilah's yang, the warmth to her chill. The one bright spot in Lilah's memory is her beautiful daughter, but even that is tainted by guilt she has yet come to terms with. All that is left is Bethany, a twelve-year old girl who wants and needs the love and home that Lilah is reluctant to give for fear that loving leads to losing, and losing loved ones is painful.
Every good book has a worthy adversary, and this one is no exception. The role falls to Lilah's son Charles, a carbon copy of Lilah's dead husband and the catalyst that sparks a series of changes in more than one character.
There are a couple of surprising twists at the end, which I won't give away. Ms. Fitzgerald is a lovely writer who knows how to evoke emotion, something I think is very hard to do. I cried more than once and fumed as often. Of Words & Music is definitely a great read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Music across the generations, August 12, 2009
This review is from: Of Words & Music (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)
Lilah Kimball's family came apart years ago, when her only daughter fell in love with an unsuitable man. Lilah's husband disowned their daughter and forbade anyone in the family from having any contact with her. Like a dutiful wife, Lilah followed his instructions because as she tells her son, "I still tried to be a good wife to him. Women of my generation were conditioned to do that."
Years pass. Lilah's husband is dead, replaced by her son who developed all of her late husband's bad traits and none of his good one. She has settled into a beige-colored widowhood, one more quiet, neutral possession that Gerome Kimball left behind.
Then a social worker comes to tell Lilah that her daughter is also dead and that her granddaughter, twelve-year old Bethany, is one step away from being made a ward of social services. Reluctantly, Lilah agrees to take the girl in until the state of Georgia can make more permanent arrangements.
Lilah's huge house is big enough for grandmother and granddaughter to avoid one another, until one day they come together at the black Steinway piano in the living room. Gradually music begins to unlock two hearts. Bethany begins to trust the world again. Lilah realizes she's too old and has too much good sense to live the rest of her life within the restraints that Gerome imposed upon her. This is a lovely story of two women, of different generations, getting on with getting on.
by Sharon Wildwind
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't put it down!, June 11, 2009
This review is from: Of Words & Music (Five Star Expressions) (Hardcover)
I opened the book thinking I could read a chapter or two and then go to sleep. I couldn't stop reading this one. The characters were so real. They each had their own personality that jumped off the page and made me feel like I knew them. No one character is too perfect or too flawed, and this makes the characters and story hit so close to home. The story line is also more real than many people realize, since so many families are split up because of choices we make in life. My only critique is that the book seemed to end too soon. I would have liked to keep reading and see what happened to Bethany years down the road when she ventures to make similar choices as her mother, and to see how Lilah reacts.
In addition, Lynda is a tremendous author. I read her first book, If Truth Be Told, which was also a great read. What's neat is that her character development is equally deep, but the stories are so unique. It's very refreshing to read an author that's not cookie cutter. GREAT books!
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