The Secret Lives of the Kudzu Debutantes by Cathy Holton

I just finished this book while I was on vacation and can recommend it for beach or poolside, particularly if you are somewhere in the South.

Following The Revenge of the Kudzu Debutants, this second installment in the lives of an independent group of women from Ithaca, Georgia, is the ideal fun beach read, “packed with authentic Southern flavor and characters as colorful as azaleas in full bloom,” according to the jacket notes. Nita, Lavone, and Eadie are fast friends from the time each was married to one of the three partners in the most prestigious law firm in town. Now the partnership and two of their marriages are dissolved, and the three friends are getting on with their lives, each having newly discovered her independence. As the book opens, however, each friend is facing anxieties and sadness. Nita is anxious about her impending marriage to a man thirteen years her junior, who makes some very risky financial decisions to prove himself to his new bride and her connections. Lavonne is lonely and longs for love despite her new slim figure and her business success. Eadie remains married to Trevor but feels neglected and indulges in an excess of alcohol and wild behavior, ignoring her own artistic gifts. At this most vulnerable time, Virginia Broadwell, grand dame of Ithaca and Nita’s ex-mother-in-law, sees her opportunity to exact her revenge on the three friends for their part in her own social and economic downfall in the wake of the scandal that ruined the law firm. Virginia hatches a devious plot, but hides secrets in her past that could prove her Achilles heel. Will the friends be able to pull together their wit, spirit, and gumption in order to derail Virginia’s scheme?

This is a fun read and it is also a very good picture of friendship among women. I thought the characters were very sympathetically and perceptively drawn, even the larger-than-life character of Virginia Broadwell. Her over-the-top persona provides a good bit of the comedy in the book, which is very funny in places. There is lots of sly observation of character and motive that makes people believable among all the characterizations. Perhaps the book makes you think how people can start to believe their own legends of themselves? Give the book a try and tell me what you think.

Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

Someone drew my attention today to an article in the English newspaper, The Guardian about a locket, containing what is believed to be Jane Austen's hair, which is expected to reach more than five thousand pounds (or US$9,812) at auction. Click here for the article.

This snippet of trivia reminded me that my book club has just finished reading The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. What a great summer read this book would be! And of course, it is perfect for a book club. My group was looking for something lighter now the evenings are getting longer but our reading time is getting shorter. At first glance The Jane Austen Book Club appears almost like chick lit. Six people, five women and one man, meet each month in the hot California summer to discuss all the books of Jane Austen in turn. They meet in each other's homes, and there is a lot of attention paid to interior decoration, clothes, and snacks. When we got into it, however, my group found lots more to discuss.

I got an awful lot out of it, though I didn't express my opinions very vocally, because I was not sure if everything I saw was really there. The book's a bit like that, it creeps up on you and keeps you off balance. One reviewer talks of Fowler's "sly wit." I thought all of the book was a bit sly. Maybe Fowler just did it for her own amusement to see if she could write a 21st century book like Austen? If so, she certainly manages the irony, the bons mots, and the almost unnoticed put-downs very well. We saw lots of sentences we wanted for sheer delight to quote during our discussion.

The plot also keeps you off balance. On the face of it is a story of how the six meet every month and how their relationships grow. Jocelyn is a key figure in the book, and it is she who invites the members of the club. I was a bit puzzled in the beginning as to why she invited whom she did. Obviously she had a purpose, and you think you know what it is, and then the plot twists and you are no longer so sure. The members meet together and use the stories of Jane Austen to help them work through their own problems of life and love. Each book is seen through the eyes of one of the participants, but the focus soon wanders off the book to the hidden lives, desires and motives of the characters. Will each character have a happy ending, and will the happy ending be the one you think it will be? You must check this book out to find out!

Other similar suggestions:
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg