Pug Sheridan (Paperback)

by Sandra Cline (Author) "I was born to be a teller of stories..." (more)
Key Phrases: feather bundle, talking stick, Seven Sisters, Mamau Maude, Rola Moon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
... I was amazed at the wonderful story ... a magnificent tale. -- RawSistaz.com

... written in the style of magical realism appealing to readers of all ages. -- New Mexico Woman Magazine

A dramatic, soul-searching story of growing up, coming of age, and daring to take a stand. -- Midwest Book Review

Pug Sheridan is a signpost and lighted beacon both, burning ever more brightly than the nighttime sky's most dominant star. -- The Boox Review

Somewhere, Eudora Welty's smiling. [Her] tradition of Southern writing ... is alive and well in the gripping new novel Pug Sheridan. -- Express Times, Easton, NJ

The character of Pug, the style of writing, and the mix of feminism, racism, theology, and mysticism remain extremely engaging. -- Fearless Reviews

The literary world [has been] graced with a timeless new heroine. -- Madison, Wisconsin, Capitol Times, January 7, 2005

This novel will be appealing to fans of the coming-of-age genre... -- The Historical Novel Society

[Cline's] fiction reveals a great deal of knowledge about the truth of life ... in the end, a work of art. -- Southwest BookViews

[Pug Sheridan] had me laughing and weeping by turns ... Cline is a first class storyteller. -- MyShelf.Com, January 2005

Product Description
A spiritual odyssey set in the rural South of a century past, "Pug Sheridan" depicts a young woman's arduous quest for identity and redemption. More than a typical coming-of-age tale, the novel explores the natures of love, friendship, loss, and racism and reveals how childhood choices affect our adult lives in unexpected and sometimes wondrous ways.

In her own wise, distinctive, tough-talking manner, Pug narrates her metamorphosis from rough-and-tumble tomboy to mature woman. Along her difficult path, she struggles against human evil in the form of a resurgent Ku Klux Klan that threatens her family and her most cherished friends -- the members of a secret sorority transcending racial taboos, known as the Seven Sisters. The conflict tests Pug's courage and resourcefulness and ultimately forces her to confront her own capacity for violence, and her inner demons.

"Pug Sheridan" concerns the ties that bind us all, in life and even beyond. Caught in a web of extraordinary and even supernatural experiences, Pug comes to learn the lesson taught by her adopted Cherokee grandmother: "Our life's purpose is to remember who we are. Life's meaning is to become that. We are not just animals. We are not just spirit. We are something more."

A page-turner with a rapid pulse, "Pug Sheridan" will be treasured by readers of all ages for dramatizing the heartfelt truth that the answers to our most soul-searching questions can often be found within ourselves or reflected in the eyes of those who love us most.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 275 pages
• Publisher: Autumn Leaves Publishing (August 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975455443
• ISBN-13: 978-0975455449
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #199,664 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dramatic, soul-searching story of growing up, October 30, 2004

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Pug Sheridan is author Sandra Cline's debut novel, a work in which she drew upon interviews with more than fifty elderly residents in the area in which her story is set. Set in the rural South of one hundred years ago, Pug Sheridan tells of a young tomboy girl who survives the difficult transition to womanhood, and must struggle against the evil of a resurgent Ku Klux Klan that threatens her family and cherished friends - members of a secret sorority that dares to transcend racial taboos. Yet the darkness in the world around her will force her to put her courage, resourcefulness, and even her willingness to enact violence to the test. A dramatic, soul-searching story of growing up, coming of age, and daring to take a stand.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book, February 16, 2005

By	Anne Grant (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed Pug Sheridan more than anything I've read in a long time. The author uses a fresh approach to many ageless issues such as racism and spirituality. Set in the deep south early in the 20th century, the reader follows the life of an extraordinary girl facing daunting situations. The characters are well-crafted and believeable, and the author has obviously done loads of research on the customs and the culture prevalent in the south during that era. It is a coming-of-age novel carefully mixed with life lessons, and served up with good old-fashioned humor. I can't wait for Sandra Cline's next book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pug's life, February 9, 2005

By	Melva L. Litty (Aurora, Nebraska) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With Sandra Cline's background of growing up in Alabama, her research and her interviews with people who lived there in years gone by, she has been able to write an engaging story about life there 100 years ago. Her descriptive language lets you get a feel of the times, and lets you immerse yourself along with the characters in the book. You become one with Pug in her dealings with the group of Seven Sisters, through the joys and through the sorrows, and with their dealings with the Ku Klux Klan and racial tensions. The story pulls you along from beginning to end.