Sullivan's Island: A Lowcountry Tale (Lowcountry Tales) (Paperback)

by Dorothea Benton Frank (Author) "I searched for sleep curled up in my quiltthe one made for me at my birth by my paternal grandmother's own hands..." (more)
Key Phrases: honey chile, Aunt Carol, Grandma Sophie, Sullivan's Island (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Frank's debut novel is a story of redemption set in South Carolina's steamy low country. Susan Hamilton Hayes's comfortable Charleston existence is shattered when she finds her husband in bed with another woman. Faced with a failed marriage, a confused teenage daughter and a mediocre job, she sets about the business of healing. Slowly, supported by visits to her sister in their childhood home on sleepy Sullivan's Island, Susan becomes a successful newspaper columnist, regains her confidence as a woman (despite a hilariously deflating date) and finally explores the death of her complex, abusive father decades before. Chapters alternate between the present and 1963, the year her father died, as Susan faces both the strength and the damaging effects of her family legacy. The ending - complete with a perfect suitor reemerging from Susan's youth - is almost too picture perfect to ring true but both the setting and the characters are blazingly authentic. Frank evokes the eccentric Hamilton family and their feisty Gullah housekeeper with originality and conviction; Susan herself - smart, sarcastic, funny and endearingly flawed - makes a lively and memorable narrator. Thanks to these scrappily compelling portraits, this is a rich read. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Set in the steamy, stormy landscape of South Carolina, Sullivan's Island marks the debut of an exquisitely talented writer--and tells the unforgettable story of one woman's courageous journey toward truth.

"A moving story of family, of love, of place and heritage and home. Ms. Frank's evocation of the Lowcountry rivals that of Anne Rivers Siddons and Pat Conroy both, but this tale of island life is uniquely her own."--Bret Lott

"A passionate, true-to-life, spit-fire tale of reconciliation and redemption."--Fern Michaels

"Achingly real."--Anne Rivers Siddons

"Hilarious and wise."--Pat Conroy

"Southern womanhood has found a new voice."--John Berendt

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Jove; First edition. second printing edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515127221
• ISBN-13: 978-0515127225
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (168 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,909 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I would give it more stars if that were an option!, April 8, 2000

By	Sofia Michaels (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews

This is the first time I'm reviewing a book on Amazon, and I am apalled at the back and forth bickering between the bad reviews and the mostly rave reviews. I thought this book was simply...amazing. I loved Dorothea Benton Frank's writing style, her characters and her story. I read this book in two days, and that's only because I had started it right before going to bed. I was so completely transported into a whole other world, away from the traffic noises and putrid smells of urban life, and smack right into the salty air of sea water and sweet pie smells in the rambling house on Sullivan's Island. I felt like I was a part of the family, in this great story. It's obvious that all the authors who gave an endorsement to this book felt the same way. Instead of ranting and raving against them for giving their seal of approval, I am praising Pat Conroy, Bret Lott, Anne Rivers Siddons and Fern Michaels. They saw something special in this first-time author and they are completelly right. I would buy Ms. Frank's next book in a heartbeat! I only hope it comes out soon, because I'm starting to feel restless in my urban environment again, and am in need of some good ole' southern comfort, 'eah! Much thanks to the author for giving her readers this wonderful debut novel! Keep them coming!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real "keeper", April 28, 2000

By	Karen White (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

I finished SULLIVAN'S ISLAND 3 days ago, and the characters have stayed with me constantly. I'm almost sad to have left them behind. I'll go to my reading chair with anticipation, only to realize with disappointment that the book's over.

This story, with its wonderful cast of real characters, is a gripping tale of growing up and finding oneself amongst the craziness of life. I laughed and cried and several times thought, "gosh, I _know_ that person."

I do wish we could have learned more about the father's death, and the conclusion of Susan's investigation--I thought it was wrapped up a bit quickly.

Otherwise, I can still smell that salt water and the feel of the gritty sand under my feet. If Ms. Benton Frank doesn't give me a new book to read soon, I'm going to end up as one of those dreaded summer tourists on Sullivan's Island in the very near future.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gift for 6 Friends!, June 12, 2000

By	Frankie Brogan (Townsend, TN 37882) - See all my reviews

Under-the-weather. I sent my husband to the library to get me a book. How he picked this one has to be a miracle! I am about to attend the 3rd reunion on Pawley's Island with 6 childhood friends, the "Morningside Girls" from Knoxville, TN. who are now each 77 years of age! Our roots are in East Tennessee but we love our Lowcountry sojourns. I did an unprecedented thing for me: Came right to your Website and ordered 7 copies, one for each of us. I read -- no, devoured, this marvelous book laughing and crying and wanting my friends to also experience the joy of reading an author almost half our age who could capture so perfectly the mystery of family relationships that our generation appreciates, evoke the haunting magic of SC Lowcountry, introduce us to the Gullah musical cadence of words that speak love, and at the same time do it with such rip-roaring, hilarious vitality that I am inspired, renewed, and made in one fell swoop a forever admirer of Dorothea Benton Frank. It's the best novel I have read in years! Honesty, humor, history are combined to leave a memorable imprint and make me want to do the same thing for Appalachia!