Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Lowcountry Summer - Dorothea Benton Frank
Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition
Publish Date: March 29, 2011
Paperback, 384 pages
Fiction, Southern
ISBN: 978-0062020734
When I accepted a copy to review of Lowcountry Summer, I had never read anything by Dorothea Benton Frank and did not realize that the book was seventh in a series of Lowcountry Tales. It truly didn't matter because the storyline doesn't require that you have a long history of Ms. Frank's characters.
Since Scarlett O'Hara, I have been a fan of saucy southern belles who have more brains than all the men around them put together. Frank's heroine, Caroline Wimbly Levine, has all that and more. While Scarlett's libido was carefully hidden behind hoop skirts and bonnets, Caroline's sexual appetite is full face, front and center. Very much aware of her waning youth, here on page one is Caroline's lament:
But, darlin', when your years creep north of thirty, your assessing eye blinks, drifts to the past to scan your scorecard because your future is pretty much a foregone conclusion. Or is it? Surely by forty, you should know who you are and how well you are doing with your life. At least you hope you'll have life under control by then.
Frank obviously knows her south - specifically South Carolina. Her characters are a loving creation by someone quite steeped in the southern genteel old manners and traditions, but with a wicked twist of the present day liberated woman.
The first chapter opens with a small family gathering at the Tall Pines Plantation. Caroline's only child, Eric, is very reserved about his new girlfriend, who also already has a young child. Not her personal choice of mates for adored Eric. Her brother,Trip, and his wife, Fannie Mae, are separated, which tends to secretly please Caroline - her sister-in-law is not her favorite relative. Fannie Mae is an embarrassing drunk and not a fit mother to raise daughters. These nieces are out of control and Caroline is still dealing with the death of her mother, the queen matriarch, Miss Lavinia. Family drama ensues. Trying to fill her mother's famous shoes is something Caroline has to get a grip on and she starts trying to set her family on a more proper path. Needless to say, there are all sorts of obstacles, some humorous, some sad, that Caroline has to overcome.
Here's a quick video of the author in her own words about Lowcountry:
While Lowcountry Summer will never sit on the same shelf as Gone With the Wind, it is a quick and fun read, perfect for lazy days on the back patio or the beach. Fix yourself a nice cold Mimosa and visit a spell with the dysfunctional Tall Pines folks. No heavy lifting required.
*Harper Collins also has a widget that allows you to track your favorite author. The link above is for Dorothea Benton Frank, but you can search their site for your own choice and complete the box to be notified when something new is available from your favorite authors. (Scroll down the page and look to the right side bars.)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Backyard Crime Scenes
Could these two crimes be linked? Has some mad paleontologist reanimated long lost species upon our civilization? Have Batman and the Ricola Boy really become worm food?
And what poor super hero lost his x-ray glasses during an epic battle?
Stay tuned as investigators query three brothers who've been known to hang around the area, last seen in their yellow and green low rider.
More Charli....
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Charlotte Elizabeth is here!
My newest grandbaby girl (number 10 granchild, but only the second girl)!
All my girls (except Miss Caitlyn who had a cold and couldn't see her new cousin yet.
All my girls (except Miss Caitlyn who had a cold and couldn't see her new cousin yet.Monday, April 11, 2011
Baya Baya Baseball Kid
My youngest grandson is not quite 2, but already in spring training. I feel quite certain the little slugger is going to be a force to reckon with in a few years.
While he already has the mechanics down for swinging a mean bat (notice the hiked leading leg before his swing), he can't quite master the word baseball yet, hence the title "Baya Baya Baseball".
While he already has the mechanics down for swinging a mean bat (notice the hiked leading leg before his swing), he can't quite master the word baseball yet, hence the title "Baya Baya Baseball".
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Fires in Fort Davis and the Big Bend area
UPDATE: HOW YOU CAN HELP
Big Bend Now has listings of how you can help: How You Can Help.
I think we will give directly to the local fire department, but I am sure any help is welcomed.
My most favorite place in the world is suffering a horrific runaway wildfire which started on Saturday and no containment of the blaze in sight yet.
Mike Perry, who lives in Alpine, wrote up this regarding the now national disaster: It's Like a Large Black Ocean.
No human losses yet, but 60,000 acres and counting, 80 + structures and homes, and uncounted livestock and wildlife. And just as the pronghorns were beginnging to come back in better herd numbers.
Very very heartbreaking.
Big Bend Now has listings of how you can help: How You Can Help.
I think we will give directly to the local fire department, but I am sure any help is welcomed.
My most favorite place in the world is suffering a horrific runaway wildfire which started on Saturday and no containment of the blaze in sight yet.
Mike Perry, who lives in Alpine, wrote up this regarding the now national disaster: It's Like a Large Black Ocean.
No human losses yet, but 60,000 acres and counting, 80 + structures and homes, and uncounted livestock and wildlife. And just as the pronghorns were beginnging to come back in better herd numbers.
Very very heartbreaking.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Birthday In Manhattan
For the want of my own Aladdin's lamp, I would wish my good friend, Ronni, a time machine to visit her old haunts in her beloved New York. This YouTube slide show is pale in comparison to your own memories, but maybe they will evoke the right kind of fond remembrances and dreams.
Here's hoping you have a wonderful birthday with much joy. Ya'll stop by Time Goes By to wish her happy birthday!
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Get Devilish with Joe Lansdale
Article first published as Book Review: Devil Red by Joe Lansdale on Blogcritics.
The Louisiana bayou country has Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell; east Texas one ups them both with Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. If you're a big fan of James Lee Burke, then I need to properly introduce ya'll to Joe Lansdale, a Texas author with enough meat, 'tators and gravy to satisfy the pickiest reader.
Devil Red is the latest bronc out of the pen for Lansdale and it might be finer than frog hair based on the recommendation of my best bookwormy friend. And though I am fond of slinging a few cliches, Lansdale smoothly transcends my own bad writing habits and smokes his stories with authentic Lone Star flavor sans any corn pone. In one conversation, Leonard remarks about the stillness of the night as "quieter than a politician's brain". Hoo boy, I'm gonna write that one down.
In fact, all of Lansdale's novels are so rich with his vernacularistic swagger, I find myself busier than usual with the electronic highlighter on my Kindle. Luckily, most if not all of his books are available via the Kindle store if that's your choice of ride.
In Devil Red, Hap and Leonard get neck-deep in a vampire cult, the Dixie Mafia, and the deadliest assassin they've wrassled with to date - Devil Red. I'm betting you're gonna get a kick out of these two unlikely vatos - Hap, a white straight liberal who wonders why people just can't get along and Leonard, a black gay Vietnam veteran who votes Republican. Top shelf characters, twisty knotted plot, blood, guts and bullets sauced over with a ladle of political incorrectness makes this new offering the whole enchilada.
Just be sure to bring your own beer and limes, then settle in for some fine reading fun.
The Louisiana bayou country has Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell; east Texas one ups them both with Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. If you're a big fan of James Lee Burke, then I need to properly introduce ya'll to Joe Lansdale, a Texas author with enough meat, 'tators and gravy to satisfy the pickiest reader.
Devil Red is the latest bronc out of the pen for Lansdale and it might be finer than frog hair based on the recommendation of my best bookwormy friend. And though I am fond of slinging a few cliches, Lansdale smoothly transcends my own bad writing habits and smokes his stories with authentic Lone Star flavor sans any corn pone. In one conversation, Leonard remarks about the stillness of the night as "quieter than a politician's brain". Hoo boy, I'm gonna write that one down.
In fact, all of Lansdale's novels are so rich with his vernacularistic swagger, I find myself busier than usual with the electronic highlighter on my Kindle. Luckily, most if not all of his books are available via the Kindle store if that's your choice of ride.
In Devil Red, Hap and Leonard get neck-deep in a vampire cult, the Dixie Mafia, and the deadliest assassin they've wrassled with to date - Devil Red. I'm betting you're gonna get a kick out of these two unlikely vatos - Hap, a white straight liberal who wonders why people just can't get along and Leonard, a black gay Vietnam veteran who votes Republican. Top shelf characters, twisty knotted plot, blood, guts and bullets sauced over with a ladle of political incorrectness makes this new offering the whole enchilada.
Just be sure to bring your own beer and limes, then settle in for some fine reading fun.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Three Small Men: A Burger and a Bet.
From my witty firstborn and my ever-hilarious grandsons:
Three Small Men: A Burger and a Bet.: "So, something really funny happened yesterday evening. Well, something good and something funny. The good part first. My ever-creati..."
Three Small Men: A Burger and a Bet.: "So, something really funny happened yesterday evening. Well, something good and something funny. The good part first. My ever-creati..."
Blawgy Fools....
Always entertaining, always clever, you should treat yourself to The Fool's April's Fool.
I am always amazed at his vernacularistic swagger. Long live The Fool!
I am always amazed at his vernacularistic swagger. Long live The Fool!
...The biographical equivalent of 12 hour chili - Sticks to the ribs! -
