Pretty Is as Pretty Does

Allison Clements pulls off an amazing feat in her debut novel. She creates a character who is vain, selfish, and not particularly self-aware, lets her tell her story in the first person, and makes us cheer for her!Even as some very predictable plot points come along, when the reader knows exactly what's going to happen and knows it will happen because of the character's flaws, we still hold our breath and hope it somehow will come out all right.There's a lot of small town stuff that rings true in this amazing novel, and there's a great twist at the end that the reader WILL NOT see coming. There's also a sort of timelessness. Clements has carefully not cemented the story into a specific time or decade, so we can all feel as if it's part of our own life.In the end, it's not about whether Lucy can get together with Billy Lee. It's about whether she will find out who SHE is. That journey turns out to be incredibly entertaining. This is a perfect summer book. A lot of fun and a great read.

Lucy Fooshee Bybee, the beleaguered protagonist of Alison's Clement convincing debut novel, has a problem. Trapped in the socially suffocating environment of Palmyra, Illinois is pre-feminist, mid twentieth-century America, Lucy yearns for a release from the psychological imprisonment she suffers in a mistaken marriage; she knows her life is out of kilter -- despite being blessed/cursed with exquisite physical beauty -- but she is not sure of the direction or actions she must take to liberate herself and discover her own authentic self. "Pretty Is As Pretty Does" is far more than one woman's quest for existential wholeness; it is a biting social commentary and s scathing expose of what women across America experienced in a culture which extolled their physical self and minimized their emotional needs and intellectual capabilities. This is an extraordinarily capable and important fist novel.Set in a time where feminist complaints were inaudible and a place where small-town virtues locked women into subordinate roles, "Pretty" explores the explosive consequences when one woman takes control of her own life. This was an America where a woman's good looks were perceived as the best asset to a happy life -- all attained through marriage to one of the town's wealthiest men, of course. Lucy is acutely aware of the fleeting nature of her own beauty; she even algebraically computes the half-life of her attractivenss. Restless, angry, sexually unfulfilled and absolutely convinced that life must have more to offer than watching her porcine husband shovel mounds of food into his mouth, Lucy does not have the array of answers and options clearly available to liberated women of contemporary times. Ironically, and unconsciously, Lucy seeks fulfillment of her repressed sexual longnings and suppressed existential yearnings through the symbolically-rich character of Billy Lee. Indeed, Billy's presence as a stranger in the parochial town of Palmyra increases his allure.For Palmyra is a quintessentially sterile town. It pounds down individuality and siphons away hopes. Lucy seethes as she reminds us that in her town "thins only come in a couple of colors. You got your brown and blue and green...What you do in Palmyra is you make a compromise. You take something else, instead of what you want." After but two weeks in a sterile, ugly marriage, Lucy realizes that the seemingly bland townspeople of Palmyra are silently lusting for her to fall, for her to accept being married to corpulent, predictable Bob. Lucy's attraction to the sultry Billy Lee is not only fraught with sexual tension; it comes to symbolize the difficulties any woman would have in a stifling social system to realize her own identity. Against her better judgment, she invests him with far more power than he actually has. Billy senses that Lucy perceives him to be a significant catalyst and he rejects that role while subtlely encouraging her sexual overtures. Lucy is aroused by Bill

Having grown up in a small close-knit community in Illinois, I identified with many of the issues confronting Lucy, the main character in *Pretty is as Pretty Does.* I especially appreciated the author's way of capturing the narrowness and naivite of such small Midwestern towns and especially of the plight of the young people raised in that environment. Lucy fell right into the role expected of her, and her prettiness opened the door to the maximum opportunity offered in such a setting: marriage. Only after meeting Billy did she understand passion. Her unbridled passion was what seemed so uncharacteristically Midwestern to me. Clement's book captured a lot of that smalltown sentiment, and her images of not only the town activities but also the characters rang true. I like the fact that a person from such a background can break the mold. Doing it with humor like Lucy is even more entertaining.

Alison Clement's *Pretty Is As Pretty Does* is a deceptively simple novel. Its plot revolves around Lucy Fooshee, a beauty queen living in a small Illinois town whose culture of propriety and conservative values jar with her free spirit. The simplicity of the novel, however, dissolves into a tale of subtle complexity as Clement calls into question most of the prescribed notions of how Lucy's life "should" go within a town inhabited by too many bigoted individuals. The ego-centered Lucy of the first chapter transforms herself, by the novel's end, into an independent woman who finally has grown to understand the transformative powers of sharing and love. Clement's unique voice, her keen sense of place, and her wonderful humor animate her debut novel. Clement displays a creative intelligence and wit that make this an engaging and refreshing novel. Hers is a fresh and new voice, one deserving of much praise.

What happens when you fall in love--two weeks after you've married the man you're supposed to marry?Lucy Fooshee, the local beauty newly hitched to farmer Bob Bybee, has dreams and yearnings unacceptable to the unspoken but rigid social rules of Palmyra, Illinois. She can't even get the color thread she wants due to the lack of choices in her small town. In Lucy's words, "What you do in Palmyra is you make a compromise. You take green and not turquoise. You take something else, instead of what you want."While Lucy is spoiled and self-centered, we relate to her wanting what she can't have. And as we get deeper into the story, Alison Clement shows us how Palmyra made Lucy who she is. Clement demonstrates impressive technical skill by telling the story in Lucy's voice, yet giving the reader insight beyond Lucy's scope of insight. The characters--Lucy, Bob, Billy Lee, Evaline, Mama, Mother Bybee, Aunt Babe, and a cast of eccentric extras--are vivid and human. I love novels that make me change my mind about the characters as I read along. We may not like Lucy, but Clement's fine writing helps us understand her. I highly recommend this original book.